Hypertherm Associates participating in the Community Service Time program that provides each
employee with 40 hours of paid time for volunteering. (Photo Courtesy of Volunteer NH/Hypertherm Associates)


With only one-in-five NH residents volunteering frequently and only about 30% participating in social groups, Granite Staters are at risk of becoming socially isolated. This may lead to fewer Granite State volunteers.

That is one of many findings from a report released in October by the Carsey Institute of Public Policy at the University of NH, raising questions about what volunteerism in NH may look like moving forward.

The “New Hampshire 2024 Civic Health Report,” which details how engaged and connected the state’s citizens are with their communities, reports that most NH residents report feeling connected to where they live. However, the “share of Granite Staters who feel they matter fell by more than 30 percentage points,” between 2019 and 2023. The share of NH residents who do favors for neighbors fell to a low of 5%, the report states.

So, what does this mean for NH’s nonprofit sector, which is dependent on volunteers? The good news is NH’s rate of people who frequently volunteer is on par with the U.S. average and has remained flat from its pre-pandemic levels, rising slightly from 19.1% in 2019 to 19.5%
in 2021.

The authors of the Civic Health Report note that many volunteers might have changed their mode of volunteering during the pandemic, with increases in such activities as getting groceries for the elderly but decreases in volunteer activities that required being in public spaces.

However, while overall volunteerism in the state remained static during the pandemic, “longer-view analysis suggests that rate of giving and volunteering have been declining over time,” the report states.

These findings, along with the state’s changing demographics, present both challenges and opportunities for nonprofits seeking to engage volunteers.

Tapping into Demographics
New Hampshire’s population has grown by 6.5% since 2010, reaching approximately 1.4 million residents as of July 2023. This change was primarily driven by in-migration, according to the NH Fiscal Policy Institute (NHFPI).

New Hampshire is the second-oldest state in the country with a median age of 43.4 years old, according to NHFPI. In 2023, approximately 20.8% of NH’s population was aged 65 or older, while about 15.3% was between the ages of 55 and 64. The number of children in NH under 18, according to NHFPI, has continued to decline. However, younger adults between ages 18 and 44 made up 60.5% of those migrating into the state between 2018
to 2022.

What does that mean for nonprofits looking for volunteers? Opportunity. New Hampshire’s large share of older residents means there is a growing group of skilled retirees with time to volunteer, says Gretchen Stallings, executive director of Volunteer NH, which helps to connect NH residents with volunteer opportunities, including an online volunteer match program at volunteernh.org.

The state’s aging population means more services are needed to help residents age in place, including a network of volunteer drivers, especially in rural communities, says Jennifer Rabalais, co-director of the Center on Aging and Community Living at the University of NH in Durham.

“Driver networks provide a critical role for access to health care and shopping, just the community in general,” Rabalais says. The Center on Aging and Community Living partnered with driver networks across the state earlier this year to help with volunteer recruitment “because there is such a great need for volunteer drivers,’ she says.

While demand for such services are  increasing due to NH’s aging population, there is also opportunity to tap into that demographic for volunteers as well. “Older people have many contributions as well and can be part of the solution we’re looking for,” Rabalais says. “Yes, we have more people who are seeking the service, but we also have more potential volunteers.”

Those who answer the need have reported a more rewarding experience than they anticipated, Rabalais says. “In today’s society, it’s so easy to feel disconnected. It’s a great way to feel connected, to support others in your community. You really can make a difference.”

Indeed, that large share of younger people moving into the state are also likely looking for ways to engage with their new communities. “Younger generations are seeking purpose-driven opportunities, particularly around social justice and advocacy,” Stallings says.

As a result of these demographic trends, Stallings says she’s seeing some “interesting shifts” in the way volunteering happens in the state. “Skills-based and short-term volunteer opportunities are becoming more popular as they allow flexible, meaningful ways to contribute,” Stallings says. “Virtual volunteering continues to grow as well, something that took off during the pandemic but hasn’t slowed down,” she says of people providing volunteer services online. AARP lists a variety of ways people can virtually volunteer for its organization, including assisting older adults with their tax returns, providing driver safety education, tutoring children, or advocacy work.

CASA NH, an organization of court-appointed special advocates for children who have experienced abuse or neglect, has about 600 active volunteers and seeks to recruit 150 new advocates each year, says Erica Thoits, director of community relations.

“We’re constantly recruiting and unfortunately the need does not get lower,” Thoits says. The need for more volunteers exists across the state but is currently greatest in Cöos County, where there are fewer residents and, in turn, a shallower volunteer pool.

CASA advocates spend around 10 to 15 hours a month on their case, Thoits says, all with the goal of creating a full portrait of a child’s life. It’s not a role for everyone, but it also doesn’t require specific skills or experience. She says she would specifically like to attract more working-age advocates.

“As long as you are interested in making a difference, and have a heart to help, we can teach you the rest,” Thoits says, adding it’s hard to overstate the effect that advocates have on the lives of children. “A child’s future is at stake. That sounds melodramatic but it’s absolutely true. This is really changing the course of a human’s life, and probably their life down the road.”

Corporate Volunteers
As businesses seek to be good corporate citizens, many provide paid time off to volunteer. Corporate volunteerism continues to “have a huge impact,” Stallings says, noting that a single corporation can provide thousands of hours of service. “When businesses invest in their communities, everyone benefits, employees feel fulfilled, and communities thrive,” Stallings says.

“We’re very fortunate in New Hampshire to have a pretty engaged business community that recognizes the importance of the strength of their community,” says Kathleen Reardon, CEO of the NH Center for Nonprofits.

From the corporate perspective, a robust volunteer program helps to boost the profile of the company brand, while also strengthening their teams and contributing to employee engagement.

Each nonprofit has unique needs for volunteers, Reardon says. Sometimes the need is for many hands to perform a day or two of unskilled labor, while in others it might be better to provide a few skilled workers to help with new marketing materials or leadership succession planning.

Reardon notes that it takes work and resources, on the nonprofit side, to accept corporate help. With that in mind, she suggests considering a grant to offset those expenses, and to communicate often and early so that the partner organization is well prepared to receive the volunteers. She calls it “taking corporate volunteering to a new level.”

“I think that a lot of times people come into an organization with a preconceived notion of what the organization needs and what they want to do,” Reardon says. She explains that it should be about what nonprofits need, instead of what corporations assume they need.

Creating an Inviting Culture

Attracting volunteers can sometimes be a challenge as joining any organization can be intimidating for some. “Today’s younger generation, there’s a thought that they don’t want to give back to the community, they don’t want to volunteer. That clearly hasn’t been my experience,” says Allan Clark, founder and president of Pemigewassett Search and Rescue, which has 85 active volunteers.

Clark attributes his recruiting success to carefully cultivating a welcoming culture. Every new member is assigned a mentor, whose job is to answer any questions the newcomer might have, and to introduce them to the rest of the team. “They feel welcomed, they don’t feel intimidated, that seems to work,” Clark says.

Pemigewassett Search and Rescue keeps those recruits coming back by using meeting time efficiently, and by showing appreciation for dedicated volunteers. Those who participate in eight rescues in a calendar year earn a parka, for example.

“The organizations that are having difficulty, it’s because the leadership haven’t adopted the philosophy that the younger generations are different than the older generations,” Clark says. “They think they’re going to change them to be like the older generations, and that’s just not going to happen.”