New report reveals extraordinary impact volunteers make to communities, contributing £4 billion to the UK’s economy in just three years

The National Lottery Community Fund has awarded 4,200 grants (£700 million) in National Lottery, government and third-party funding to support volunteering in the past five years
1,500 of these grants (£124 million) supported the volunteering response to COVID-19
Two million volunteers, from charities supported through the grant maker in the past three years, have contributed £4 billion to the UK’s economy
The number of volunteering grants The National Lottery Community Fund awarded between 2013 and 2019 increased by almost two thirds
94% of its grantholders involved volunteers in delivering their projects last year.

A new report published today by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, reveals the extraordinary social and economic impact volunteers make to communities. Almost two million volunteers, from charities supported through the grant maker in the past three years*, have contributed an astonishing £4 billion to the UK’s economy.

The report, named Power in Purpose, reveals that in the past five years** The National Lottery Community Fund has awarded 4,200 grants to support volunteering, amounting to almost £700 million in National Lottery, government and third-party funding.

1,500 of these grants, totalling £124 million, supported the volunteering response to COVID-19. This not only provided charities and community groups with vital volunteers to grapple with the impacts of the pandemic, but also gave individuals the opportunity to learn new skills and gain experiences, improving their employment prospects.

The number of volunteering grants The National Lottery Community Fund awarded between 2013 and 2019 increased by almost two thirds*** (64%), supporting more and more organisations to provide training, cover volunteer expenses and remove barriers, creating a better volunteering experience accessible for all. 94% of its grantholders involved volunteers in delivering their projects last year****, highlighting the impact they have on communities and in the voluntary and community sector.

Volunteering has huge benefits, from improving people’s confidence and self-esteem, to building their resilience and raising aspirations. It can also provide people with a sense of purpose and new friendships, reducing isolation and loneliness.

Jane, aged 44, from Sheffield, is just one of almost 20,000 volunteers who have given 630,000 hours of their time to help reduce loneliness amongst people aged over 50, through the seven-year (2015 – 2022), £87 million Ageing Better programme set up by The National Lottery Community Fund.

Last year, Jane began volunteering as a telephone befriender with Age Better in Sheffield and South Yorkshire Housing Association. Jane was matched with Betty, aged 91, and they spoke every day, sharing their experiences of both living alone during tough times in lockdown.

Jane (pictured) said: “Considering Betty and I are generations apart we’ve got the commonality of isolation. Just being able to talk to someone for half an hour every day is really helpful. We talk a lot about her garden, her family and a little bit about the past, and we talk about what we’ve both done with our days – both of us often say ‘nothing!’, so we have a bit of a laugh about that.

“By giving your time to other people, it does have a positive effect on your own mental health. People often say by doing service it benefits both parties. Being able to do things for other people gives you a sense of purpose – otherwise you’d just be sat at home dwelling on stuff. When you can do something for other people, it does help.”

Volunteering is for people of all ages. Through the #iwill Fund, a joint £50 million investment with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, over half a million young people have taken part in social action and volunteering in their communities across England.

Phoebe, a 20-year-old student at the University of Leeds, is one of these inspiring young people who has stepped up to volunteer. Thanks to the Pears Foundation and the #iwill Fund, Phoebe has been supporting the Voluntary Services team at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust since February 2020, helping to grow youth volunteering opportunities across health and care services in England, Scotland and Wales.

Phoebe (pictured) said: “Supporting the Voluntary Services team has shown me I have a big passion for supporting the NHS and inspired me to potentially pursue a career within the NHS or health sector in the future. It’s also given me a sense of fulfilment and purpose, which has been great over the last year with the pandemic. I love seeing the difference my support has made to the wider community and the fact that I can use my own skills developed through my degree to do this.”

Spirit of 2012, a ten-year charitable trust, is another initiative creating a lasting legacy through volunteering. Set up in 2013, thanks to £47 million of National Lottery funding, it organises sports, arts and cultural events across the UK, building on enthusiasm for big occasions, like the Olympic and Paralympic Games, to improve how people feel about themselves and their communities. By mobilising 44,000 volunteers, it has given 2.8 million people an opportunity to take part in 124 community projects, reaching an incredible 5.3 million people across the UK through events and celebrations.

Faiza Khan MBE, Director of Engagement and Insight at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “Volunteers are the lifeblood of the voluntary and community sector. Without their dedication, knowledge and skills, much of the vital work by charities and community groups would simply not be possible. We’re incredibly proud to see the amazing impact money raised by National Lottery players is making to volunteering across the UK, supporting communities to prosper and thrive and build back stronger as we recover from the pandemic.”

The National Lottery Community Fund distributes money raised by National Lottery players, who raise £36 million**** each week for good causes throughout the UK. Thanks to National Lottery players last year, it awarded over half a billion pounds (£588.2 million) of life-changing funding to communities across the UK.

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk

Date published: 28 July, 2021
Region: England

Notes to Editors

* Based on 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2021

** Based on 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2021

*** Volunteering grants increased from 440 per year to over 700 per year

**** Based on 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021

Read the full Power in Purpose report. It also includes information on these National Lottery funded programmes:

Our Bright Future has given more than 120,000 young people an opportunity to get involved in environmental work in their community since 2016.
Ten Place Based Social Action partnerships across England are bringing together local communities, including 1,320 volunteers, to address priorities in their neighbourhoods, from improving local transport, to creating whole new visions for their area, like a dementia friendly borough in Colchester.
Create Your Space, a joint initiative with the Welsh Government, has secured 3,175 hours of volunteers’ time in the first year, to empower communities to conserve, create and enhance outdoor spaces in Wales.
Time to Change, led by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, helped to shift public attitudes to mental health between 2007 and 2021. National Lottery funding enabled the work of these leading mental health charities to reach millions of people and contribute to this change. They’ve also trained over 7,500 people with lived experience of mental health problems to campaign, raise awareness and tackle stigma and discrimination.
Helpforce has worked with over 100 NHS trusts and voluntary organisations to increase and improve volunteering opportunities in the health and care sector. It has received support through National Lottery funding since 2017, adding a level of coordination and quality to volunteering in the sector that wasn’t there before.

About The National Lottery Community Fund

We are the largest funder of community activity in the UK – we’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. National Lottery players raise £36 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, £43 billion has been raised for good causes which has supported over 635,000 projects, benefiting millions of people - that’s 255 projects per postcode area.

We are passionate about funding great ideas that matter to communities and make a difference to people’s lives. At the heart of everything we do is the belief that when people are in the lead, communities thrive. Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, our funding is open to everyone. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.

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About Ageing Better

Ageing Better is a seven-year (2015 - 2022), £87 million programme set-up by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK. Ageing Better partnerships are based in 14 locations across England, from Torbay to Middlesbrough and the Isle of Wight to East Lindsey. Working with local people, charities, businesses, public sector services and voluntary groups, the Ageing Better partnerships are exploring creative ways for people aged over 50 to be actively involved in their local communities, helping to combat social isolation and loneliness. Ageing Better is one of five major programmes set up by The National Lottery Community Fund to test and learn from new approaches to designing services which aim to make people’s lives healthier and happier.

About the #iwill Fund

The #iwill Fund is made possible thanks to £50 million joint investment from The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to support young people to access high quality social action opportunities. The #iwill Fund brings together a group of organisations who all contribute funding to embed meaningful social action into the lives of young people. The #iwill Fund supports the aims of the #iwill campaign - to make involvement in social action a part of life for young people, by recognising the benefit for both young people and their communities. By bringing together funders from across different sectors and by making sure that young people have a say in where the funding goes – the #iwill Fund is taking a collaborative approach.