SMOF News, volume 3, issue 15

What is going on with volunteering, and news in brief.

Volunteering in Crisis

Some nonprofit conventions have rebounded back to full strength since 2020, but many are struggling to find enough staff. This is part of a broader trend of fewer volunteers all across the nonprofit world.

The Washington Post has a story this week on research into the exact problem and its causes:

Many older volunteers who were more susceptible to the virus decided it was too risky to continue volunteering. Company policies that changed to allow employees to work from home made it harder to organize their participation in volunteer activities. Fewer people coming into cities to work meant reduced opportunities to help out at those nonprofits based in cities where much of the need is.

But there are also trends that precede changes brought on by the pandemic.

The Do Good Institute’s research has shown that a number of different factors affect whether people choose to volunteer. People with higher levels of education are more likely to volunteer, as are married couples and parents who have children living with them, according to the institute’s research. But younger people are waiting longer to marry and have children. And many college graduates are carrying a student loan burden that forces them to work more to pay those bills and leaves less time for volunteering. [The Do Good Institute’s research director Nathan] Dietz said the greatest decline in volunteering has been mostly concentrated in suburban and rural areas where volunteering rates had been the highest.

Similar stories are being told around the English-speaking world. The Philanthropist reported earlier this year on research into the decline of volunteers in Canada. The Conversation has stories on the same trends in the UK and in Australia.

All these stories see a long-term decline, followed by a sharp drop starting in 2020. All find that the biggest reservoir of volunteers has been older people, who were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, both directly and through becoming more cautious. All see a larger trend of people having less spare time and money.

Suggestions for reversing the trend vary, even within the same article. The Philanthropist’s sources recommend both appealing to the values of younger generations by emphasizing that volunteering is about helping a community, and recognizing that those same people may have a more transactional approach to volunteering after encountering it as a high school requirement.

Outreach to more diverse potential volunteers is mentioned in more than one article, as is embracing the possibilities of hybrid work to allow more people to participate.

And the Post article has one suspiciously simple observation:

But one factor trumps all, Dietz said: “The most commonly cited reason why people volunteer, period, is because people ask them to volunteer.”

In Brief

• Multiple readers have pointed out that the Dublin in 2029 Worldcon bid does too have a website already, contrary to what this newsletter said last week.

• ATL Comic Convention (Atlanta, Georgia, February 9-11) has added Zachary Levi, Neil Kaplan, and Brianna Knickerbocker as guests.

Event Calendar

Weekend of December 15-17

• Sac Gamers Expo (video games), Sacramento, California, USA

• DreamHack Atlanta 2023 (video games), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• Con+Alt+Delete (anime), Rosemont, Illinois, USA

• OtakuFest (anime), Miami, Florida, USA

• Nashville Anime Day, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA

• Mahoning Valley Comicon, Boardman, Ohio, USA

Weekend of December 22-24

• Winter Furry Fusion, Shanghai, China

• Otakukon (anime), Harare, Zimbabwe

• Holiday Matsuri (anime), Orlando, Florida, USA

• Comic Fiesta 2023, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Weekend of December 29-31

• Furvester 5: Mad Science (anthropomorphic), Reutlingen, Germany

• Yunyou Island (anthropomorphic), Chengdu, China

• New Year’s Furry Ball, Newark, Delaware, USA

• Bewhiskered 2023: Furries on the High Seas, Durham, North Carolina, USA

• OKiCon (anime), Norman, Oklahoma, USA

• Doki’s Winter Fest (anime), Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA

• Comic Market 103 (fan comics), Tokyo, Japan

Weekend of January 5-7

• ShadowCon (relaxacon), Memphis, Tennessee, USA

• GAFilk 2024 (music), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• Anthro Northwest 6 (anthropomorphic), Seattle, Washington, USA

• Japan Meeting of Furries, Toyohashi, Japan

• Painted Desert Fur Con: The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro!! (anthropomorphic), Phoenix, Arizona, USA

• Spartacon XXXIII (gaming), DeWitt, Michigan, USA

• Philadelphia Area Gaming Expo, Oaks, Pennsylvania, USA

• OrcaCon 2024 (gaming), Bellevue, Washington, USA

• Animé Los Angeles 19, Long Beach, California, USA

• Ichibancon 14 (anime), Concord, North Carolina, USA

• SacAnime, Sacramento, California, USA

• Taiyou Con (anime), Mesa, Arizona, USA

• Anime-ZAP!, East Peoria, Illinois, USA

• Fan Expo New Orleans (media), New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

• St. Pete Comic Con 2024, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

Weekend of January 12-14

• Chattacon XLIX, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA

• Arisia 2024, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

• Marscon 2024, Norfolk, Virginia, USA

• Further Confusion: Pixelated (anthropomorphic), San Jose, California, USA

• MidWinterFrolic 2024 (anthropomorphic), Altura, Minnesota, USA

• Snowcon 14 (gaming), Bangor, Maine, USA

• Cascade Games Convention, Bellingham, Washington, USA

• Dice + Diversions (gaming), Peachtree Corners, Georgia, USA

• RiverCityCon (gaming), Louisville, Kentucky, USA

• Midwinter Gaming Convention, Pewaukee, Wisconsin, USA

• Geekway Mini: Geekway to the Future (gaming), St. Louis, Missouri, USA

• Congress of Gamers Winter Session, Rockville, Maryland, USA

• HexaCon 2024 (gaming), Broomfield, Colorado, USA

• SCARAB 2024 (gaming), Columbia, South Carolina, USA

• SaltCON Bryce (boardgames), Bryce Canyon, Utah, USA

• 28th Annual Chattanooga Railgaming Challenge, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA

• Spartacon XXXIII (wargaming), DeWitt, Michigan, USA

• BattleTex IV (wargaming), Houston, Texas, USA

• Siege of Augusta XXXIII (miniatures gaming), Augusta, Georgia, USA

• Ichibancon 14 (anime), Concord, North Carolina, USA

• Anime Impulse, Pomona, California, USA

• MondoCon 2024 (media), Budapest, Hungary

• CONsole Room: Year 11 (Doctor Who), Bloomington, Minnesota, USA

Coda

• Three generations of Godzilla actors (YouTube, hat tip: The Whippet)

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