199. The Future of Volunteerism - Trends & Predictions Part 2 Artwork

Volunteer Nation

Nonprofit leadership author, coach, and expert Tobi Johnson shares weekly tips to help charities build, grow, and scale exceptional volunteer teams. Discover how your nonprofit can effectively coordinate volunteers who are reliable, equipped, and ready to help you bring about BIG change for the better. Rather than continuing to “do more with less,” achieve abundance for your organization by engaging community talent that helps you do more with more. Society is evolving and so, too, is volunteerism. With over 25 years of experience working in nonprofits, public sector agencies, and grassroots campaigns Tobi is known for her modern “big hat” thinking and straight talk about what it takes to achieve success in today’s world. You will learn how to coordinate volunteers, improve the volunteer experience, recruit volunteers, appreciate volunteers, and do it all more efficiently with the right volunteer management software and digital tools. It’s a mix of interviews and solo shows you’re not going to want to miss. So, if you’re ready to ditch the stress and harness the power of people to fuel your good work, you’re in exactly the right place. Hit subscribe and let’s DO this!

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Volunteer Nation

199. The Future of Volunteerism - Trends & Predictions Part 2

January 29, 2026 • Tobi Johnson, MA, CVA

0:00 | 34:40

In this episode of The Volunteer Nation Podcast, Tobi Johnson continues her deep dive into the future of volunteerism with Part 2 of her trends and predictions series.

Building on the first three trends covered in Episode 198, Tobi explores how wellness, technology, data, and evolving models of giving are reshaping how volunteers engage and what leaders need to prepare for next.

Inspired by futurist Faith Popcorn’s question, “If you knew everything about tomorrow, what would you do differently today?”, this episode is both a practical roadmap and a strategic thought experiment for volunteer leaders who want to stay ahead of the curve.

Full show notes: 199. The Future of Volunteerism - Trends & Predictions Part 2

Volunteering Trends - Episode Highlights

[00:59] - Volunteering Trends and Predictions: Part 1 Recap
[04:41] - Trend #4: Volunteerism as a Prescription for Wellness
[09:14] - Trend #5: The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Volunteerism
[16:33] - Trend #6: Touchscreen Volunteering
[20:31] - Trend #7: Blurring the Lines Between Philanthropy and Giving
[25:33] - Trend #8: Better Data and Analysis
[28:21] - Recap and Final Thoughts

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Thanks for listening to this episode of the Volunteer Nation podcast. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to subscribe, rate, and review so we can reach more people like you who want to improve the impact of their good cause.

For more tips and notes from the show, check us out at TobiJohnson.com. For any comments or questions, email us at WeCare@VolPro.net.

Tobi Johnson, MA, CVA

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