The Impact of Covid 19 on Heritage Volunteering
Author(s): Marcus Ward
Volunteering is of especially high value to the Heritage sector: the Centre for Economics and Business Research estimates the economic value of heritage volunteers to be approximately £520m year (CEBR, 2018). An estimated 5.5% of the adult population in England who volunteered did so in heritage in 2018 - an increase from the 5.1% reported the previous year. (DCMS, 2019-2018). Not only do volunteers play an important supporting role in the sector, but they also occupy important leadership positions; an estimated 60% of the organisations in our industrial heritage strategy are led and owned by volunteers. Historic England (2020) and National Lottery Heritage Fund (2020) reported in April 2020 that 27% and 55% of the heritage sector organisations who responded to their respective surveys cited a lack of available volunteers. They identified this as one of the greatest threats posed by Covid-19 to heritage organisations, representing an acute risk for small charities and faith-based organisations.
- Report Number:
- 50/2021
- Series:
- Other
- Pages:
- 14
- Keywords:
- Heritage
