Study on Volunteering in the European Union Final Report
volunteers in their activities. Similarly, Hungary has seen an 80% increase in the number of non-profit organisations since 1993 and the number of organisations increased by over a third between 2000 and 2007. In Romania, there has been a fourfold increase in the number of registered associations and foundations over the past ten years. In Italy the number of voluntary organisation has increased by over 300% between 1995 and 2007. This significant increase in the number of voluntary organisations can be linked with the creation of the law on the recognition of voluntary organisations as official partners of local authorities for programming and implementing social assistance programmes. Through this law, voluntary organisations that are registered in the regional registries can participate in calls for tenders issued by local authorities and, if their projects win, become equal partners with local authorities – as a result, they receive funds to implement projects that benefit regional communities. Countries like Austria have reported strong but slightly more modest increases in the number of voluntary organisations. According to the Austrian Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, and Consumer Protection, the number of associations (the main form of voluntary organisations in the country) increased by 7% to 111,282 between 2000 and 2007. Overall, the number of associations has more than doubled in the past 40 years; in 1960 there were only 42,269 associations in Austria. In Poland, the number of non-profit organisations grew by 19% between 2004 and 2007 - although there are signs to suggest that the rate of growth is gradually stabilising and research carried out recently by Klon/Jawor Association reported a decline in the number of newly established organisations. According to their study, in recent years the third sector ‘grew older’, indicating that the number of ‘young’ organisations reduced while the share of the older ones increased (i.e. there were not as many new organisations being established). The report has identified several factors, which may have had an impact on this decline:
improving labour market conditions;
decreasing unemployment;
the enlargement of the European Union and corresponding migration of young people;
the development of the NGO sector, which has improved its operational efficiency and the expectations of donors; and
a declining commitment to social activities on the part of Polish population.
In some countries the long-term future of voluntary organisations is uncertain, especially with regard to organisations that rely fully on voluntary workforce. For example in Finland, the majority of non-profit organisations are led by people aged over 50 years. As such, there are uncertainties as to what will happen in the future. Young volunteers need to be recruited to carry out managerial activities in these organisations. However, this is likely to be a difficult process given that, as previously stated, in many countries it has become increasingly difficult to find young people who are willing to take on longer-term voluntary positions of responsibility. Evidence from a number of countries suggests that young people tend to prefer ‘project based’ approach to volunteering and interested in taking part in projects with a specific goal or timetable (see for example, the Netherlands).
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