Research and Key Findings
Understanding how COVID-19 has impacted our audiences in real-time was a top priority for Volunteer Toronto's response initiatives. To build meaningful interventions that enable volunteerism, we sought to better understand how the sector has been disrupted, the needs of essential programs, and the evolving mix of grassroots and non-profits stepping up to fill gaps in the community.
Our research and key findings collected during the 2020-2021 year continue to inform our work in rehabilitating the voluntary sector and will help us reimagine the future of volunteerism in the next five years.
310
non-profits
engaged in mini-consultations
With funding provided by the United Way of Greater Toronto, Volunteer Toronto intensified non-profit engagement tactics during Ontario’s Stay-At-Home Order in the winter of 2021. Through personalized phone and email-based outreach, we proactively assessed the status of volunteer programs and offered consultations to help organizations adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic. The outreach campaign helped us understand how organizations have adapted their services typically powered by volunteers and was used for a detailed analysis on highly impacted sub-sectors. Watch above to see what we learned.
23
active
grassroots groups
interviewed
Engaging grassroots groups was also a priority given the sheer quantity of new groups founded in 2020-2021 and their effectiveness in responding to the pandemic. Despite what appears to be the sudden and vast emergence of groups and individuals stepping up in response to a global health crisis, grassroots community-led initiatives and Mutual Aid efforts have long and meaningful histories. Organizing of this nature is not just for crisis moments and big disasters. Day-to-day, ongoing, collective participation helps strengthen communities, build new social relationships, and shift systems of knowledge and power.
With the same funding support, we hosted interviews with 23 members and/or founders of 100% volunteer-run groups in the winter of 2021. This research revealed significant differences between how non-profits, mutual aid networks, and grassroots groups operate. Our research unpacked urgent needs, and needs for the future, as well as how groups perceive their role in addressing community issues from the ground up. Watch above to see what we learned.
With a Seed Grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Volunteer Toronto conducted research and released a report on the barriers new immigrants face when accessing sport. The research included focus groups with 11 newcomers, interviews with five community sport organizations, and online research supported by a team of volunteers.
Here's what we learned:
Newcomers face barriers to accessing volunteer roles very similar to paid roles in the employment sector
Motivations for newcomers becoming a sport organizer include: building a professional network, integrating with Canadian culture, personal fulfillment
All sources indicate that implementing sports leagues, teams, and clubs in Toronto is nuanced and complex
Key learning areas include interpersonal relationship management, Canada sport culture and ethics, permits and regulations, infrastructure of organized sport programs
The research directly informed the development of a Getting Started as a Sport Organizer pilot training program which addressed the knowledge gaps identified. The pilot included online modules, recorded webinars, a workbook in three languages, and live Q&A sessions. At completion, the course gave students not only the certification and training they need to break into sport, but also the confidence needed to enter the sector as coaches, organizers, and volunteers.
100%
of participants reported a good learning experience
32
participants enrolled in the training program
14%
of participants founded a new league in 2021
47%
of participants plan to lead or coach a sport group
In our third year of an ongoing partnership, the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus (UTSC) conducted primary research for Volunteer Toronto. This year, in the Winter of 2021, students drilled into the impact of COVID-19 and the virtual volunteer experience.
The research team drew from two sources – a survey and focus groups. The survey looked to measure how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted experience(s) of volunteering, specifically volunteers in virtual roles. Afterward, the team’s focus groups recruited survey participants to better understand individual experiences.
Generally, the research concluded that virtual volunteering is not experienced the same by everyone, and that the need for internet access can amplify accessibility and social barriers in volunteer experiences. Hover over the questions below to reveal key insights from the research.
There are several areas in need of support, including mental health, connectivity, physical health, and accessibility
#1: What areas do
virtual volunteers need more support in?
Most interviewed volunteers identified issues associated with giving back online and prefer an in-person experience if given the choice
#2: Is there strong
enthusiasm for online/virtual volunteering?
This year, Volunteer Toronto was selected to participate in TD Bank's corporate volunteer program: TD Analytics for Social Good. The program connects TD employees as skilled volunteers and select non-profit partners to solve a question, problem, or explore an idea through data and analysis using the organization's own information sources.
The Volunteer Toronto project focused on quantifying the impact of COVID-19 on volunteering using non-profit data, volunteer postings, and Google Analytics. More specifically, the team determined how interest in volunteer opportunities changed over the course of the pandemic, which sub-sectors (e.g. homelessness and housing, arts and culture, seniors and long-term care) required the most or least support to recover from pandemic-related impacts, and how more senior (age 60+) volunteers are engaging with Volunteer Toronto's website.
It was a pleasure to work with Volunteer Toronto as part of the Mindpower initiative at TD. This was a very valuable experience for our team, as it allowed us to use and further enhance our analytics skills and to give back to the community in a meaningful way. We were pleased that the insights we provided will be able to help Volunteer Toronto to understand which organizations and sub-sectors were most affected, how they can allocate their resources to help organizations to recover from pandemic-related impacts, and modify their website to increase engagement from interested volunteers. All in all, we were very grateful to have the opportunity to work with Volunteer Toronto on an impactful project!
— Sarah Kaissi & Amanda Easson, TD Project Leads
We continue to leverage new data to inform our decisions. Access further insights
on the volunteer sector during COVID-19:
published on July 3, 2020 on VolunteerToronto.ca
published on July 27, 2020 on VolunteerToronto.ca