Ready, Willing, and Needed: Renewing older-adult volunteering in Canada
Volunteer Canada · 2026
Older adults contributed roughly 30% of Canada’s formal volunteer hours in 2023. Yet declining participation and fewer hours volunteered are weakening a major source of support for community organizations.
Steven Ayer and Paul Anderson of Common Good Strategies wrote Ready, Willing, and Needed for Volunteer Canada, combining national survey evidence, practitioner interviews and promising approaches to older-adult volunteering.
The report found that participation varies sharply with income, health and social connections. It also identified a missed opportunity: older adults were the age group least likely to report being asked to volunteer.
Its recommendations address the practical conditions that help people contribute: flexible roles, accessible recruitment, transportation and financial barriers, and the staff and systems needed to support volunteers. It also explores connecting volunteering with healthy-aging and social-connection initiatives.
For nonprofits and funders, the findings point to specific investments in volunteer coordination, community partnerships and more accessible opportunities. These changes can help organizations reach people whose interest and experience are being missed by existing recruitment approaches.