A decline in the number of volunteers working in charity shops following the Covid pandemic may never be halted, the Charity Retail Association has warned.

Its strategic plan for the next three years warns that the charity retail volunteering workforce has declined from 220,000 in early 2020 to around 186,000 at present, a fall of 15%.

A factor has been the impact of lockdown when shops, schools and other places of work closed, on people’s lives.

This has “made them think that there are other things to do than volunteer for charity or in charity shops”.

The “cost of living situation” is another reason. This has “required more people to devote any spare time to paid work rather than spend their time volunteering”, the CRA’s strategic plan adds.

It warns that “it is unclear as to whether the situation will ever improve”, with charity retailers instead turning to offering paid roles to keep shops running.

“It's notable that a number of our members have adopted a position of mitigation rather than cure by taking on more paid staff to fill the gaps,” says the CRA’s plan.

“This is not always disadvantageous as paid staff can be very productive and often can pay for their own salaries and then some.”

The CRA believes that the core of charity shops needs to “remain with volunteers” to preserve “the profitable business model that we have benefited from for so many years”.

Flexible roles

But it warns that despite volunteering campaigns and improvements in offering more flexible roles “in the end our belief is that this is going to continue to be a struggle for the majority of our members given the financial and social climate in which we are operating”.

The CRA’s strategic plan includes a new statement of purpose “to lead and support the sector, inspiring everyone to be involved in charity retail and to understand its social, environmental and economic value in a changing world.”

This includes accelerating the growth of reuse and wider sustainability initiatives, raise the profile of the sector and ensure its income streams are “robust and ethical”.

“At a time when all retail faces unprecedented challenges and headwinds, we as an organization do indeed go from strength to strength in supporting our members to continue to raise large sums for the good causes they represent as well as championing sustainable shopping and acting as hubs in their communities,” said CRA chair Emma Peake about the launch of its strategic plan.

“It’s an exciting time for the sector and for CRA, and we hope reading it will convey our key messages of inspiration and understanding.”

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