Health-based Volunteer Programs: A Benchmark

For 10 years from 2013 to 2023, Leaders of Health Volunteer Engagement (LOHVE) Network conducted annual surveys of health-specific volunteer programs, initially across Victoria but later more broadly across Australia and then in other parts of the world. Taking data from all 10 surveys, LOHVE then published the LOHVE Volunteer Sector Benchmarking Study in 2024, considered a world-first study of health-specific volunteer programs.

This Engage feature – by Sharon Walsh, Founder/Chair of the LOHVE Network – looks back at this journey, with insights into Volunteer Engagement across the health sector. As Walsh writes, this article celebrates “reaching the 10-year benchmarking milestone two years ago, how we went about it, and the tangible outcomes – both personally and collectively – that came from joining together to document our progress.”