Funded by the Government of Canada’s Community Services Recovery Fund, the Seniors Community Grant Program through the Ontario Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility, and private donations, Volunteer Success is proud to announce an expansion of Volunteer Success: NextStageVolunteering.com This site exclusively serves the needs of older adults (55+) who are looking to volunteer and wish to learn more about volunteering in general, including the many benefits of getting involved. The site also provides a search feature to easily help them find opportunities in communities across Ontario and Canada and links to learning resources to increase digital literacy.

Older Adult Volunteers are a key demographic for volunteer-involving organizations. While they may not volunteer at the same rates as their younger cohorts, when they do volunteer, they tend to give much more of their time. Volunteer rates in general have been declining in Canada for quite some time and the pandemic only accelerated that trend. Our goal with NextStageVolunteering.com is to reverse this trend and encourage greater numbers of older adults to get involved or re-involved in their communities.

Our research suggests that:

• Volunteer opportunities may be difficult for older adults to find and many may not be aware of how to search for opportunities online
• Even healthy older adults and seniors may experience digital barriers to getting involved in their communities due to lack of comfort with online onboarding requirements including application forms, interviews and scheduling tools.
• Older adults may not be aware of the significant mental and physical health benefits of volunteering and the impact on reducing social isolation.

Our easy to navigate website enables older adults and seniors to easily find a variety of opportunities in their local community simply by entering an address or a postal code. In addition:

• Seniors who feel uncomfortable with using online platforms can quickly connect with coaching and webinars on using internet-based resources including finding and applying for volunteer opportunities.
• Our website will offer enhanced accessibility for visitors.
• Professionals and other individuals who wish to continue using their skills post-retirement or in transition to retirement can “Make an Offer” to organizations, such as an offer to consult or train.
• Finally, our platform will provide easy to read resources on the how, what, where and most importantly, the why of volunteering in the retirement years so that more older adults become aware of the many benefits of staying actively involved in their communities.

Individuals and organizations looking to learn more can contact info@volunteersuccess.com.