Youth Volunteering Trends: Informal Acts of Service Gain Prominence
A recent survey conducted by The Allstate Foundation and Gallup indicates that young people are actively contributing to their communities, though often through less formal and more sporadic means than traditional volunteering. This shift comes as nonprofits grapple with an aging volunteer base and seek to engage younger generations.
Survey Highlights Widespread Youth Engagement
The poll, which involved 3,013 U.S. youth and young adults aged 12 to 25, found that approximately 8 in 10 respondents have participated in some form of community service or volunteering. Among those who volunteer, about two-thirds cited helping others or making a difference as a major motivation, while 6 in 10 emphasized contributing to their community, and roughly half highlighted supporting a cause they are passionate about.
Zoë Jenkins, a 22-year-old overseeing recruitment for the youth engagement nonprofit Civics Unplugged, commented on the broad definition of service. "When we typically think of service it can be very narrow. Of, like, kids picking up litter or engaging in food drives," she said. "That all definitely counts as service. But I think for me, how I think about it is just people helping other people. And that’s, I think, a really broad bucket."
Challenges and Opportunities for Nonprofits
These attitudes have led youth-focused philanthropies to reconsider volunteerism approaches. Many young people express a desire for in-person connections and impact but face barriers such as lack of awareness about opportunities and time constraints. About half of non-volunteers reported not knowing where to find opportunities or having insufficient time as key obstacles.
Greg Weatherford II, Director of The Allstate Foundation and Social Impact, emphasized the value of diverse service forms. "We so applaud the young people that build complex nonprofits that solve complex issues," he said. "Equally important is the young person that’s taking time to write a letter to a classmate who may just be needing to have some extra encouragement as they get ready to take their school test or just navigate a new semester."
Informal Acts and Donations Prevail
Generations Z and Alpha often serve their communities outside traditional nonprofit structures. About 7 in 10 young people reported helping someone with a task at least "a few times" in the past week, suggesting service is viewed as an ingrained part of daily life rather than an extracurricular activity. Only 1 in 10 volunteers said all their service was required, such as through school or clubs, while about half noted some mandatory involvement and roughly 4 in 10 reported no mandated activities.
The most common form of service among youth is giving, with about half donating or organizing donations for items like food or clothing. Alex Quian, Senior Manager of The Allstate Foundation Youth Empowerment Program, highlighted the accessibility of donation drives, which do not require transportation or complex scheduling and can be quickly initiated via social media. Approximately 3 in 10 young volunteers have fundraised for a cause, and 2 in 10 have raised awareness.
Jenkins noted, "Young people are perhaps more aware than ever of the power of money," underscoring their resourcefulness in mobilizing support.
Emphasis on Youth Leadership and Tailored Opportunities
About half of young people reported that their service experiences allowed them to make choices, assist with planning, or help lead at least "sometimes." The Allstate Foundation aims to boost this by funding more youth-led volunteer opportunities. Gallup found that leadership often involves choosing activities, but young people are less frequently involved in decision-making, goal-setting, or planning.
Jenkins advocated for more developmentally appropriate activities, suggesting that nonprofits move beyond traditional tasks like litter pickups. For older Gen Z volunteers, she recommended storytelling as a service form, citing organizations like the National Organization for Victim Advocacy and the Sexual Assault Youth Support Network as examples that enable advocacy.
"It’s not that young people don't care," Jenkins said. "We’re not necessarily providing the right opportunities that actually let young people feel like they’re showing up as their full selves."
American Red Cross Adapts to Youth Preferences
The American Red Cross has seen a 25% increase in Gen Z volunteers from 2024 to 2025, attributed to its self-run youth clubs in high schools. Matt Bertram, Vice President of Volunteer Services, explained that these clubs offer flexibility, allowing students to manage their engagement with activities like community education, blood drives, and fundraisers.
The organization communicates opportunities via email and text, as preferred by youth, and simplifies entry by enabling underage applicants to trigger parental consent requests directly. Bertram emphasized adapting to changing motivations, with short-term and project-based options to accommodate evolving capacities as young people transition through life stages.
"There's lots of folks who want to do traditional volunteering. There's lots of folks who want to do a one-time project. And there's lots of folks who want to maybe do something through a club or school or through their service organization," he said. "If we can continue to work hard to put all those people together, that’s how we’ll build that workforce of the future."
The Gallup poll was conducted from November 17 to December 1, 2025, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points for youth and young adults overall.
