Strengthening belonging through volunteering and civil society

The National Forum for Voluntary Organizations (Ideella Sverige) runs Volontärbyrån, a platform that matches people with volunteer roles in non-profit organisations across Sweden. The platform helps individuals take part in meaningful activities and become part of a social context, while organisations gain support to involve more volunteers in their work. Since many participating organisations create meeting places, support networks and inclusive activities for people in different life situations, the approach strengthens social connection in practice. It reduces barriers to participation and helps turn civic engagement into a route towards belonging.

What it sets out to do

To counter loneliness by making it easier for people to join communities through volunteering in civil society.

Who it reaches

National – across Sweden, with both local and digital reach

Who runs it

The National Forum for Voluntary Organizations runs Volontärbyrån

What seems to make it work

What makes this work is that it offers a simple and meaningful way into community. Volunteering gives people a reason to show up, take part and connect with others around something concrete. In addition to promoting volunteer roles that are specifically designed to reduce loneliness — often by creating social contact and a sense of belonging for older people and others at risk of isolation — we also see that the volunteers themselves gain much more than the feeling of “just” helping others. In our surveys, 90% say they have made new friends through their engagement. 77% experience a greater sense of meaning in life, 68% feel more hope and optimism about the future, and 66% say their volunteering has increased their trust in other people. Volontärbyrån makes that first step easier by helping people find an organisation, a role and a context where they can belong.

What gets in the way

One challenge is that matching people with a volunteer role is only the first step. For volunteering to actually lead to connection and belonging, organisations need the capacity to welcome, include and support volunteers well. Another challenge is reaching people who are further away from civic engagement or who may need more encouragement to take the first step. To address this, we support organisations by building their capacity — for example through training on volunteer coordination, inclusion and how to reach new target groups. If we were to strengthen the model further, we would invest even more in this kind of support, so that more organisations can create inclusive and lasting volunteer experiences.

How it is funded

Volontärbyrån is not run as a separate short-term project, but as part of our ongoing work. The core of the platform and matching service is funded through an annual government grant from the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society (MUCF). The work is also sustained through other organisational and operational grants from funders such as the Swedish Inheritance Fund, the City of Gothenburg, Crown Princess Margareta’s Memorial Fund, the National Board of Health and Welfare, and the City of Stockholm.

Moving it somewhere else

Yes, this could work in other countries too. The basic idea — helping people find community through volunteering — is widely transferable. But it would need to be adapted to the local civil society landscape, levels of trust, digital access and how common volunteering is in that context. It also depends on organisations having the capacity to welcome and support volunteers well, since matching people is only one part of what makes the model work.