The social significance of volunteering
Since June 2020, the Stuttgart native has been promoting social-digital innovations in voluntary work to support social transformation processes. She talks about cohesion, change and a resilient society. As a pillar of our society, volunteering is crucial to motivating people to actively contribute to society and bring about positive change. To promote this, the importance and value of volunteering is recognised worldwide every year on the 5th of December, International Volunteer Day. “Volunteering enables people to experience self-efficacy. The justified expectation of being able to make a difference with their own actions motivates them to become active, whether in elections or in socio-political discourse,” says Katarina Peranić. Direct contact with the population, for example in associations and at club get-togethers, is essential for political communication in order to bring concrete problems from everyday life to the parliaments. “Civic engagement promotes our democracy because citizens experience their actions as relevant,” emphasises the expert.
Attracting new volunteers
However, associations and initiatives face major bureaucratic challenges. A 2019 study by the Standards Control Council of Baden-Württemberg shows that medium-sized associations spend more than 42 days a year on administrative tasks. Financial bottlenecks are another problem, as 65 percent of non-profit organisations in Germany have an annual turnover of less than 20,000 euros. In addition, many organisations have difficulties recruiting new volunteers. Although around 29 million people are involved in voluntary work, there are only around 7.5 million in leading voluntary positions. Katarina Peranić explains: “While the number of people getting involved is growing, the number of people taking on responsibility for civil society organisations remains constant.”
– Katarina Peranić, Vorständin DSEEWe want to empower committed individuals and volunteers to play an active role in shaping social change.
The German Foundation for Civic Engagement and Volunteering aims to strengthen civic engagement and volunteering, particularly in structurally weak and rural regions. "We want to empower committed individuals and volunteers to play an active role in shaping social change," says the Chairwoman, describing the foundation's mission. The DSEE offers a wide range of services, including needs-based advice, training and an extensive online seminar series called “#DSEE erklärt” (#DSEE explains). A central element of DSEE's work is the networking of stakeholders from the federal government, federal states, local authorities, business and civil society. "This allows us to create important synergies that make volunteering even more effective," emphasizes Katarina Peranić.
German Volunteering Award for more visibility and recognition
Since it was founded in summer 2020, the DSEE has supported more than 13,000 projects with over 90 million euros in twelve different funding programs. "These projects are very different, but they are united by the fact that local people come together to tackle specific challenges," says Katarina Peranić. Volunteering thus promotes a culture of solidarity and trust and creates structures that can be activated in times of crisis. A recent study by the Berlin Betterplace Lab, sponsored by the DSEE, highlights that civil society organizations can make a significant contribution to the resilience of society as a whole.
The German Civic Engagement Award, which will be presented by the DSEE for the first time in 2024, plays an important role in the visibility and recognition of voluntary work in Germany. Katarina Peranić explains: "Winning the German Volunteering Award brings increased awareness, media interest and new opportunities to recruit volunteers. The award raises appreciation to a national level and gives important initiatives additional attention." This is important because volunteering remains essential for social cohesion, democracy and social resilience.
Our insurance cover for voluntary work
Our insurance solutions focus on the protection of volunteers. As part of our sponsor insurance policies, we ensure that volunteers are comprehensively covered. In addition, we advise state chancelleries and responsible ministries in various federal states on how they can best insure volunteers outside of legally independent structures. Our aim is always to support and enable voluntary work, as it is essential for many facilities and institutions in order to maintain operations and carry out important tasks.