Member News

(United Way)

The days are short, the Thanksgiving leftovers devoured, and every coffee shop is pumping Christmas music: It’s officially the holiday season.

While Americans prepare their menus and shopping lists, many also use this time of year to give back to their communities.

More than 75.7 million people, or around 28 percent of Americans, formally volunteered last year for a total of nearly 5 billion service hours, according to a recent Americorps report. But there’s not a lot of information on how many people volunteer their time during the holidays specifically, Allison Russell, assistant professor of public and nonprofit management at the University of Texas at Dallas, told PBS News in an email.

Nonprofit professionals and volunteer administrators have told Russell that their organizations often do get an influx of volunteers around the holidays, “which often corresponds with hosting a particular event, such as a seasonal fundraiser.”

PBS News spoke to experts to find out how your winter volunteering can make the greatest impact. Here are five tips for giving back during the holidays and beyond, plus a few ideas for making your donations count.

Do what you like to do...

First and foremost, experts say, consider volunteering in a field you enjoy.

“If you care about the arts, look to a local community theater and see if you can help with the gift shop, or help as an usher,” said Rick Cohen, chief operating officer at the National Council of Nonprofits. “If you love animals, animal shelters are always looking for volunteers.”

People who like to work with children might consider opportunities at children’s hospitals. If you like to drive, look for organizations that provide transportation to people with mobility challenges. Senior living facilities often have volunteers provide companionship for residents, especially those whose families aren’t around.

If you’ve got a lot of interests, figure out which is the least common, Cohen said, because that’s the one that’s least likely to get the necessary support.

...or do what you're good at

For those who may find it tough to join a new social setting or be around people, skills-based volunteering can be a great way to give back.

“Everyone has a gift or a talent or a skill set,” said Angela F. Williams, president and CEO of United Way.

Take those talents to nonprofits and offer your services, Williams said. If you can create websites, find a nonprofit without one. If you’re a writer or marketer, help a local charity get the word out.

Lawyers “know how to put the paperwork together to start a nonprofit or to file the annual reports,” she said.

Don't be afraid to ask

Don’t know where to start? Reach out to nonprofits that interest you and ask them directly what help they need, Cohen said.

Not all organizations will have a comprehensive list on a website of every job they need volunteers for, he said. Organizations also may find it helpful if you suggest a direct set of skills you have or an area you can help with. Sometimes they may not have an opportunity, Cohen said, but “it never hurts to ask.”

If you’re drawing a total blank on how you might help an organization or cause you care about, follow them on social media and sign up for newsletters, Williams said.

“Then that’s a constant reminder: Hey, they’re there. They need you,” she said.

Make it a group activity

Volunteering with your community can help solidify prosocial behavior, said Nathan Dietz, research director at the Do Good Institute at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. Try finding volunteer opportunities with friends, family and neighbors, he said.

“Don’t get me wrong: I think if you go someplace by yourself, you’re going to be able to provide some value and you’re almost bound to have a great, fulfilling experience,” he said. But just being together with people you know is one of the strongest drivers of getting involved.

Many communities also have listservs, Facebook groups or newsletters that may allow you to find others in your area who want to volunteer with you.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, “I think a lot of people have kind of fallen out of the habit of doing things together in-person,” Dietz said. “I strongly believe that the more we take advantage of the opportunity to do that with people, the better everything is going to be.”

Not all community volunteering has to be through formal nonprofits, Cohen said. You might have a neighbor recovering from knee surgery who could use help shoveling her driveway, or there might be a local mutual aid group that triages and organizes people’s pressing needs. Take advantage of those community networks to generally offer up services, such as manual labor or transportation help.

Commit long-term

Organizations don’t just serve people during the holidays, so consider making volunteering part of your regular routine. An organization that needs help in December likely needs that same help in June, all three experts said.

“You see this rush of volunteering around the holiday season and unfortunately it tapers off right after, and nonprofits need that assistance year-round,” Cohen said. Even picking a different volunteering opportunity each month still helps nonprofits beyond the holiday season, he said.

“There is a need in our communities 365 days a year. And so we can’t forget to be neighborly or to care about our communities once we get past the holidays,” Williams said.

Rather donate than volunteer?

Though formal volunteering has begun to rebound from pandemic lows, nonprofits across the nation are struggling to recruit and retain small- and medium-sized donors, according to an October report from the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Cohen suggested four tips for how you can evaluate if you want to donate to an organization.

• Determine an organization’s actual work. If you donate to a cancer organization, try to find out if they’re researching for a cure or providing care to patients and families. You don’t need to decide if one path is better than the other, but you should know where your money is going. “The most important way to evaluate an organization is its impact and if the work that it is doing matches up with your passion,” Cohen said.

• Don’t spend too much time examining tax forms. In the past, some donation advice suggested people uncover how much donated money went to overhead and administrative costs versus programming. That’s not particularly useful, Cohen said. “Because of the way nonprofit finances work, those tax forms are not as helpful as people may think,” he said. “Lower overhead does not equal more efficiency.”

• If you’re donating goods, evaluate the state of your gift. If it’s not something you would want to use or wear, it’s probably not worth donating. Organizations have to sort through donations, which takes time, and are responsible for disposing of unusable items, which costs money.

• Try to commit to monthly donations. With recurring donations, organizations can rely on steady funding. “If you become a recurring giver where you’re donating a certain amount every month, it helps the organization have a little bit more certainty,” Cohen said. Also, the organization will come out slightly ahead with your $10 monthly donation versus $100 at the end of the year.