Even more pronounced among the elderly and women, the decline in associative commitment is estimated at 15% by one study. “Tele-volunteering” has become a common practice.
A drop of 15%. This is the number of volunteers engaged in the voluntary sector since the start of the health crisis, according to an Ifop survey published this Thursday on behalf of France Bénévolat and the network of experts and academics Research and Solidarity (R &S). In 2020 and 2021, 27% of volunteers even ceased their commitment, but these departures were partly offset by the arrival of new volunteers who “have decided to engage on the occasion of the pandemic”, according to this study carried out every three years.
“The damage is limited”
In the end, the proportion of French people who “give their time for others” within an association fell from 24% in 2019 to 20% in 2022. “These figures almost happily surprised us, given the feedback that seemed catastrophic. In the end, the damage was limited. observed Jacques Malet, the president of R&S.
The departures are more pronounced among women (-6%) than among men (-2%), but also among those aged 65 and over than among the youngest. In addition, the number of volunteers among the most committed is also significant with, for example, only 3.9% of 35-49 year olds present each week compared to 7.9% in 2019. Among the main reasons for the departure of volunteers during the Covid-19, we find the lack of human resources in their association, which was already in 2019 the main disappointment with the lack of material and / or financial resources, as well as relations with members or beneficiaries.
“Associative divide”
Among the glimmers of hope of the period: the digital “played an essential role” by allowing “keep the link” between the associative actors and “offer alternative activities”, notes the study. Tele-volunteering is practiced by 60% of volunteers. Useful in the “school support, telephone reception, accounting, communication”, this type of commitment is well experienced “provided that we do not lose sight of conviviality” and can allow people with reduced mobility or isolated in rural areas, for example, to also feel useful, underlines Jacques Malet.
The world of voluntary work is also marked by a “associative fracture”, underline the authors of the study: 56% of higher education graduates belong to an association, against only 22% of people without any diploma. “It’s a shame, because precisely in the associations we do not ask for a diploma to get involved”, commented Jacques Malet. And “for people in social difficulty, […] it could be a new chance”.