Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012, are not just the future; they’re already remaking the face of volunteering in the present. But, unlike their predecessors, Gen Z is doing it with a combination of technical expertise, social awareness, and business acumen that’s ushering in a new age of community action. Here, we explore the distinctive drivers, mindsets, and new trends that make up Gen Z volunteering—and look to the future for the movement.
A New Mindset
“Even with 86% less buying power than baby boomers had at their age, Gen Z donated an average of 5.3 times in 2022 — more than millennials and Gen X. This serves to underscore their enthusiasm for philanthropy despite financial restrictions, affirming that their cause commitment is real and effective.”
42% of Gen Z volunteers do so to develop skills and see visible results.
Source: Forbes, 2023
Volunteering is not box-ticking or requirement-meeting for Gen Z—it’s about impact. Gen Z desires to witness effort and time put into tangible, measurable impact. They desire to witness how their effort benefits people’s lives, saves the world, or accomplishes social justice.
Gen Z volunteers are highly discerning. They look for causes that would resonate with them meaningfully in their own self-determined values—whatever that may be—for climate action, cause work on mental health, racial justice, or animal rights. Mass-style volunteering does not interest them, but the experiences that speak to their genuine values and sense of being.
The New Wave of Volunteering
While Gen Z cares about things all over the world, they begin by putting their mark here. That hyper-local behavior—staking out the park, serving at local shelters, or serving as a role model to kids—is paired with a global awareness fostered through social media and the classroom. They understand that change at home creates a ripple, and therefore becomes change on a global level.
Flexible shifts and tele-volunteering opportunities do much to get Gen Z where they are — juggling college, internships, and side gigs. Gen Z’s digital skills have made volunteering a whole new phenomenon that is not geolocation-based. From virtual mentoring and fundraising over the virtual world to virtual campaigns, they volunteer anywhere and at any time over apps, social media, and web pages. Digitally native volunteering also allows micro-volunteering—small, bite-sized volunteering for busy lives.
Did You Know?
Over 60% of Gen Z enjoy opportunities that allow them to use their digital skills while volunteering.
Yes—your TikTok skills can make a difference.
Unlike volunteerism in the past, Gen Z volunteers will probably give nonprofits skills—coding, graphic design, video editing, data analysis. A “pro bono” form of volunteering this way makes their work more productive and allows organizations to update and expand on their work.
Gen Z not only volunteers with conventional organizations—they create their own. Entrepreneur oriented, they launch grassroots movements, social enterprises, and community projects. This kind of leadership of actively engaging focuses on collaboration, innovation, and problem-solving rather than belonging.
Why They Volunteer
According to Forbes more than 70% of Gen Z volunteers report volunteering as a way of meeting new individuals . So, if you’ve always thought volunteering was only about giving back—think again. For Gen Z, it’s also a vibrant social space, a chance to connect, make friends, and build meaningful relationships.
In a time characterized by digital loneliness and disjointed communities, volunteering has emerged as one of the only spaces where actual, human connection is still present.
Mental Health Perk
The majority of Gen Z volunteers believe that volunteering boosts their self-confidence.
They also see it as a way to combat pandemic stress and social anxiety.
Volunteering as resume development, skill and experience acquisition, and career development—coupling giving back with career advancement.
They call for open evidence that what they are doing is actually having an impact, forcing institutions to release impact stories and indicators.
Looking Ahead: What’s Next?
Volunteer matching, training, and impact measurement will be done by technology and AI to an extent that will be automated. Imagine AI-powered platforms through which Gen Z volunteers will be matched with cause work most tailored to their potential and passion areas and get instant feedback on the change they create.
Generation Z will enter the labor market expecting businesses to make volunteering easier by providing paid time off, skill-based employment, and corporate social responsibility. Volunteer and professional roles will become indistinguishable and form hybrid careers based on social impact.
Gen Z will collaborate more intergenerationally, mixing youth creativity with maturity. This can optimize influence and enable cross-age learning.
Volunteering for the environment will grow further, spearheaded by Gen Z in launching initiatives on renewable energy, conservation, and sustainable living. Their campaign will compel organizations to mainstream sustainability in all volunteering.
Tips for Organizations
Offer digital, micro, and skills-based virtual volunteering opportunities, consistent with the way Gen Z lives.
Create environments—both online and off—where volunteers feel a sense of belonging to something greater than themselves and can connect with other volunteers.
Give Gen Z space to self-organize and form new ways of working in collaboration with each other, maybe even without top-down direction.
Final Thought
Gen Z isn’t only volunteering—They’re transforming the way it’s done. Their convergence of cause passion, tech expertise, and entrepreneurial mindset is building a more active, creative, and results-driven volunteer force. Gen Z isn’t asking nonprofits to become something they’re not — just to evolve in ways that reflect today’s world. Meeting their needs isn’t a shift away from your mission, but a way to ensure it continues.
The future of volunteering is here now, and it’s Gen Z-driven. Buckle up to ride along!
April 22, 2025
