Volunteer Program Risk Assessment Tool
This tool calculates your program's risk level based on key metrics from real-world studies. Enter your current volunteer data to identify areas needing improvement.
Overall Risk Score
Volunteer Reliability
Based on your 40% no-show rate, your program likely loses 20% of planned service capacity weekly. This matches the Scottish Council's finding that 40% of services face no-shows.
Burnout Risk
With volunteers averaging 5 hours weekly, your program exceeds the Edinburgh mentoring program's 15-hour average that led to burnout. You're at high risk of volunteer dropout.
Hidden Costs
Your 60% turnover rate means you're spending approximately 720 hours/year on onboarding (60% of 50 volunteers × 12 hours). This equals one full-time employee's workload.
Recommended Actions
Based on your results, implement these evidence-based solutions:
- Set clear expectations - Define specific time commitments and tasks. Many volunteers leave due to unclear roles.
- Implement structured check-ins - Regularly ask "How are you holding up?" to prevent burnout.
- Provide practical training - Offer role-playing scenarios for difficult situations (like handling crisis calls).
- Value volunteers as partners - Give meaningful roles rather than busywork; recognize contributions.
Volunteers are the backbone of countless nonprofits, community centers, and charities. They show up when no one is paying them. They give their time, energy, and heart. But behind the gratitude and applause, there’s a quiet truth: volunteering isn’t always the perfect solution it’s made out to be. For every story of a volunteer who changed a life, there’s another where the system broke down because of how volunteers work - or don’t work - in practice.
Volunteers Don’t Show Up Consistently
One of the biggest headaches for organizations relying on volunteers is unreliability. A food bank in Glasgow planned a weekly distribution for 200 families. They counted on six volunteers each Saturday. Four showed up. Two canceled last minute because of a sick child, a shift change, or just forgetting. The result? Half the families left empty-handed. That’s not rare. A 2024 study by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations found that nearly 40% of volunteer-run services faced at least one no-show per week. Unlike paid staff, volunteers have no contract, no penalty for skipping, and no accountability beyond guilt. That’s not a moral failing - it’s human nature. People get busy. Life happens. And when you’re depending on goodwill to run a service, you’re running on unstable ground.Volunteer Burnout Is Real - and Often Ignored
Volunteers aren’t immune to exhaustion. In fact, they’re more likely to push themselves too hard because they feel they owe it to the cause. A volunteer who runs a youth mentoring program in Edinburgh might spend 15 hours a week helping teens with homework, emotional support, and transport - all while holding down a full-time job. No one checks in. No one says, “Take a break.” After six months, they stop answering messages. They don’t quit with a notice. They just vanish. Burnout doesn’t come with a warning label. It creeps in quietly, and organizations rarely have systems to spot it. Unlike employees, volunteers don’t get paid time off, mental health days, or performance reviews. They’re expected to keep giving - even when they’re empty.Training Is Often an Afterthought
You wouldn’t let someone drive a bus without training. But you might let them tutor a child with trauma, handle sensitive financial aid applications, or manage a crisis hotline - all without proper orientation. Many small charities have no formal onboarding. Volunteers get a quick chat, a folder of PDFs, and are sent out to do complex work. One hospice volunteer in Aberdeen was handed a list of patient names and told to visit them weekly. She didn’t know how to respond when a patient cried. She didn’t know what to say when someone asked if they were going to die. She felt guilty for not knowing. The organization never realized she was unprepared - until she quit after three months, overwhelmed and traumatized. Training isn’t luxury. It’s safety. For the volunteer. For the people they serve.
Volunteers Can Undermine Paid Staff
It sounds counterintuitive, but volunteers can hurt the very teams trying to run programs. When a nonprofit hires a part-time social worker to support homeless youth, but then relies on volunteers to do the same tasks for free, the paid worker starts to feel replaceable. Their role gets diluted. Their expertise is ignored. Managers begin to ask, “Why pay someone when we have volunteers?” This creates resentment, low morale, and high turnover among paid staff. In one community center in Dundee, two full-time youth workers left within a year after volunteers took over their caseloads. The center didn’t lose volunteers - it lost professionals who knew how to navigate complex systems, file paperwork, and advocate for funding. Volunteers can’t replace expertise. But when they’re used as a cheap substitute, they break the system.Volunteer Turnover Costs More Than You Think
Recruiting volunteers sounds free. But the hidden cost? Time. A lot of it. Every new volunteer needs orientation, supervision, scheduling, and follow-up. A 2023 report from the UK Volunteering Network found that organizations spend an average of 12 hours per volunteer onboarding and managing them. If you lose 50 volunteers a year - which is common in small charities - that’s 600 hours of staff time just to replace them. That’s equivalent to one full-time employee’s workload. And that doesn’t include the lost momentum. Every time a volunteer leaves, programs stall. Relationships with clients break. Files get misplaced. New volunteers have to relearn everything. The cost isn’t just in hours - it’s in trust.
Volunteers Aren’t Always the Right Fit
Not every person who wants to help should be helping. Some volunteers bring unintended harm. A well-meaning volunteer might show up to a refugee support group and give advice based on their own cultural assumptions. Another might take photos of vulnerable people without consent and post them online to “raise awareness.” There’s no screening process. No background checks. No training in cultural sensitivity. In Edinburgh, a local animal shelter had to ban a volunteer after he repeatedly ignored quarantine rules and brought his own dog into the kennels. He meant no harm. But the damage was done. Without clear boundaries and oversight, good intentions can become dangerous.The Myth of Infinite Goodwill
The biggest problem isn’t the volunteers. It’s the expectation that goodwill is endless. Communities assume that if a cause is noble enough, people will always step up. But that’s not how human behavior works. People need structure. Recognition. Purpose. Support. And when those are missing, even the most passionate volunteers walk away. Organizations that treat volunteers like disposable resources - rather than valued partners - don’t fail because they lack volunteers. They fail because they don’t know how to keep them.What Can Be Done?
It’s not about stopping volunteers. It’s about managing them better. Here’s what works:- Set clear expectations upfront: How many hours? What tasks? What’s not allowed?
- Offer training that’s practical, not just informational. Role-play tough scenarios.
- Check in regularly. Not to micromanage - to ask, “How are you holding up?”
- Give volunteers real roles, not just busywork. Let them lead projects.
- Respect their time. Don’t ask for last-minute help unless it’s an emergency.
- Pair volunteers with paid staff. Let them learn from each other.
Volunteers aren’t the problem. The problem is pretending they don’t need support. Treating them like free labor doesn’t save money - it costs more in the long run. Real change happens when organizations stop seeing volunteers as a workaround and start seeing them as people - with limits, needs, and value.
Are volunteers legally protected if something goes wrong?
In Scotland, volunteers are covered under the same health and safety laws as employees if they’re working under an organization’s direction. But liability protection varies. Most charities have public liability insurance that includes volunteers - but not all do. Volunteers should always ask: “Is there insurance covering me if I get hurt or if someone claims I caused harm?” If the answer is unclear, walk away. No cause is worth risking your legal safety.
Can volunteers be fired?
You can’t fire a volunteer the way you fire an employee - but you can ask them to stop. If a volunteer violates rules, behaves unethically, or creates a hostile environment, the organization has every right to end their involvement. The key is to handle it respectfully: a private conversation, clear reasons, and no public shaming. This protects both the volunteer’s dignity and the organization’s reputation.
Why do volunteers quit so often?
The top reasons? Feeling unappreciated, unclear roles, lack of training, burnout, and poor communication. Many volunteers leave because they don’t feel seen. They show up, do the work, and hear nothing but “thank you.” No feedback. No growth. No connection. Volunteers stay when they feel part of something meaningful - not just useful.
Is it better to pay people instead of using volunteers?
Not always - but sometimes, yes. If a role requires consistency, expertise, or emotional resilience - like counseling, case management, or crisis response - paid staff are more reliable and effective. Volunteers are great for one-off tasks: planting trees, serving meals, stuffing envelopes. But for ongoing, high-stakes work, paid roles reduce risk and improve outcomes. The best organizations use volunteers to extend their reach, not replace their core team.
How can I tell if a volunteer opportunity is well-managed?
Look for these signs: a clear description of time commitment, a formal orientation, a point of contact, regular check-ins, and feedback opportunities. If the sign-up page says “Just show up!” with no details, it’s a red flag. Good programs treat volunteers like partners - not spare parts.
If you’re considering volunteering, ask yourself: Will this organization help me stay engaged - or just use me up? And if you’re running a nonprofit, ask yourself: Are we building a movement - or just a stopgap? The best communities don’t just rely on volunteers. They invest in them.