Volunteering in Kentucky

The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) announced in August 2020 that Serve Kentucky is offering free access for volunteer-based organizations to Volunteer Kentucky, the state's new online volunteer portal designed to connect volunteers to community needs. The Volunteer Kentucky portal helps volunteer programs recruit new and manage current volunteers, manage events, track involvement and produce reports – a necessity for grants and funding. This site is available to nonprofits, government agencies, schools, faith-based organizations, and others.

Volunteer Kentucky is available, not only for agencies to share their needs but also for residents to find volunteer opportunities. Read the full press release and check out the video announcement by Governor Beshear.​​

Disaster Volunteering​

​For information about volunteering for recent disasters, please visit our Ongoing Disaster Relief Efforts webpage for more information.​​

Effective Volunteer Management in Blue Skies and in Times of Disaster​​

Hosted by the Kentucky Nonprofit Network (KNN) in partnership with Serve Kentucky. Special thanks to our keynote speakers from Hands On Nashville: Lori Shinton, Alex Dorman, and Nelly Pérez Meléndez; and to our panelists: Heath Duncan from Habitat for Humanity Pennyrile Region and Josh Mullins from Hindman Settlement School.

Access the recording from KNN.​

Visit the following links for more information:

• Slides: Keynote Presentation by Hands On Nashville
• Slides: Serve Kentucky Online Volunteer Portal
  
• Serve Kentucky Volunteer Kentucky Online Portal
• Disaster Preparedness: Continuity of Operations Planning for Nonprofits (Louisiana Alliance for Nonprofits)
• Emergency Response Planning for Arts Organizations (UK CEDIK)
• KNN Volunteer Management Resources: including the Volunteer Management Initiative webinar series and the Virtual Volunteer Management series
• Principles and Practices for Nonprofit Excellence in Kentucky: Guide and members-only workbook
• KNN Members: Login into the Member Information Center to access various samples and other resources​​
  

Kentucky State Service Plan

Serve Kentucky engages Kentuckians to volunteer to help their neighbors and impact our communities across the Commonwealth. We oversee AmeriCorps programs and work with local partners to support and promote service and volunteerism. Learn more about our plan ​to engage all Kentuckians, to deliver opportunities for good people to do great things.

For the past 20 years, AmeriCorps has collaborated with the US Census Bureau to collect data on volunteering and civic engagement to take the pulse of our nation’s civic health. The Current Population Survey Civic Engagement and Volunteering Supplement is the most robust longitudinal survey about volunteerism and other forms of civic engagement in the United States.  

​The 2021 survey covers volunteering and other civic behaviors from September 2020-2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The data informs AmeriCorps’ Volunteering and Civic Life in America report, which examines national rates of organizational volunteering, helping others informally, charitable giving, and other civic behaviors. This research supports evidence-based decision making and efforts to understand how people make a difference in communities across the country.  

​Formal Volunteering and Informal Helping

The rate of formal volunteering through organizations dropped by seven percentage points, from 30% in 2019 to 23.2% in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Formal Volunteering

• Formal volunteering involves helping others through organizations and includes activities like supporting COVID-19 testing, immunization, and other public health efforts, conducting wellness checks on isolated seniors, supporting food banks, and providing virtual tutoring and mentoring to help students stay on track in school.  
• ​An estimated 23.2% of Americans or more than 60.7 million people formally volunteered with organizations between September 2020 and 2021. In total, these volunteers served an estimated 4.1 billion hours with an economic value of $122.9 billion. 

​Informal Helping

• Informal helping involves helping others outside of an organizational context, including doing favors for neighbors like house sitting, watching each other’s children, lending tools, running errands, and other things to lend a hand. 
• ​The rate of Americans informally helping others remained stable between 2019 and 2021. Nearly 51% of Americans or 124.7 million people informally helped their neighbors between September 2020 and 2021. ​
  

• 796,199 formal volunteers contributed 53.8 million hours of service through organizations worth an estimated $1.3 billion
• 22.6% of residents formally volunteered through organizations
• 96.6% of residents talked to or spent time with friends or family
• 51.1% of residents informally helped others by exchanging favors with their neighbors
  
• 71.0% of residents had a conversation or spent time with their neighbors
• 20.1% of residents belonged to an organization
• 44.7% of residents donated $25 or more to charity​
  

Interested in Volunteering?

Search for volunteer opportunities here, contact your area volunteer center or local United Way. Nationally, the estimated value of a volunteer’s time is $29.95 per hour, according to the Independent Sector, an advocacy group ​​​​​for volunteers and community service groups. The estimated value of a volunteer’s time in Kentucky is $24.83 per hour. 

Volunteer Insurance Policies from CIMA

Click on the links below to complete the online application for the type of insurance policy needed.​

For more information, call CIMA at (800)​ 222-8920.

Interested in becoming a National Service member?

Feed your volunteer spirit by serving others full-time or part-time as an AmeriCorps or AmeriCorps Seniors member. Learn more about National Service in Kentucky.