2020 Volunteers Count Survey

Thank you so much for taking the time to complete our annual Volunteers Count survey – in its seventh year (!!!!!!), and after an incredibly trying year for so many reasons, we’re looking to get back to the core of why it was begun back in 2014: To showcase the power that resides in communities across NYC through their volunteers. And in 2020, a year like no other, to also recognize how volunteers continued to harness this power to address the city’s greatest needs when half the world shut down.

During 2020 (including COVID-19 and the uprising for racial justice) and continuing to present day, volunteers kept the city running – they helped put food on the table, kept people socially connected, registered people to vote, advocated for an accurate Census count, and much more. They showed up continually throughout the pandemic to ensure basic needs were met, and humanity remained a constant.

The following questions have been developed to give us a quick snapshot of how your group functioned during 2020, and will be used to report out on the ways people power kept our most fundamental services and supports running.

Not sure if you should fill this out? We’re looking for all types of organizations to complete it to ensure we’re telling the full story of volunteerism in NYC. Did you get things done for your community in 2020 using volunteers? Then we want you to complete this survey! This can include:

Nonprofits with formal 501c3’s
Grassroots, volunteer-led, and mutual aid groups (you don’t need to have a 501c3 status)
Block associations
City agencies
Hospitals
Faith-based organizations and houses of worship
Colleges/universities
Other groups who engaged volunteers (you can check a box and describe who you are if you aren’t on this list!)

[Note: We are not asking businesses or corporations to complete this survey; however, we encourage businesses to share the survey with their nonprofit/community partners to report their volunteers including corporate volunteers that may have served with them).]

Once you know the number of volunteers/individuals who served with your group between January 1 – December 31, 2020, it should take you approximately 10-15 minutes to fill out the survey. You can access a copy of the questions here to prepare your answers in advance.

Questions? Still not sure if you should fill this out? Reach out and ask us! volunteerscount@cityhall.nyc.gov