Volunteers power arts, culture, and heritage (ACH) activities

Volunteers bring their valuable skills, experience, and time to enable events and activities to happen and reduce costs for organisers and participants (Manatū Taonga, 2026a).

Around half of New Zealanders (53%) volunteer in some capacity (Statistics New Zealand, 2023). However, less is known about how and why people volunteer for different ACH activities.

This report explores who volunteers in ACH, what they do, and what drives them, based on findings from the Manatū Taonga New Zealanders’ Cultural Participation in 2025 survey. ¹

ACH volunteers come from many different backgrounds – people of all ages, genders, ethnicities, and income levels. However, some groups are slightly more likely to volunteer than others. Younger adults, Māori, Pacific peoples, or disabled people have been shown in other research, such as Audience Atlas (Creative New Zealand, 2025) as more likely to volunteer for arts and culture. This report focuses on age and ethnicity, as these showed the biggest differences in our research.

By sharing these insights, we hope that organisations, communities, and event organisers can better understand their volunteers and support their particular needs.

Footnote

1. Data are sourced from the New Zealanders’ Cultural Participation in 2025 research. 2000 adult New Zealanders were surveyed between September–October 2025 via Verian’s survey panel. They were asked ‘In the last 12 months, have you given time to support, or done any volunteering (without pay), to help an organisation, group, or community with arts and cultural activities?’

How ACH volunteers contribute

Volunteering is widespread in the ACH sector, with 1 in 4 New Zealanders (24% of respondents) giving their time to ACH activities in the past year.

On average, these volunteers give 1 hour of their time a week, aligning with the national trend towards shorter, more flexible volunteering (as found by Tūao Aotearoa Volunteering New Zealand, 2026).

Volunteers are highly engaged cultural participants. They are far more likely to attend, create and produce ACH activities. These volunteers are not just helpers – they are core audience members and active contributors to cultural life.

Arts, culture, or heritage events / activities attendance is higher among volunteers. 96% of ACH volunteers attended ACH events or activities, compared with 85% of non-volunteers.

Creating and producing arts, culture, or heritage events / activities is strongly linked to volunteering. 69% of those who volunteered for ACH also created or produced ACH activities, compared with 31% of non-volunteers.

Different ages, different ways to volunteer

35% of young adults (18–29yrs) volunteer in ACH

Top motivations for volunteering  were:

• 56% – Giving back to the community
• 48% – To follow my interests
• 40% – To gain work experience
• 32% – To make friends

Younger adults were motivated to volunteer by a range of reasons, but more likely to volunteer for social and work experience reasons compared to other age groups.

Types of activities volunteered for:

Younger adults report volunteering across a wider range of ACH activities:

• 39% – Cultural festival or event support
• 35% – Museum / gallery / heritage place visitor host
• 31% – Art and craft events
• 31% – Theatre, dance, or music support

Estimated volunteering hours

Over typical 4–week period (median): 5 hours.

With the majority going to ngā toi Māori (Māori arts e.g. carving, weaving, kapa haka, whaikorero) activities.

21% of middle-aged adults (30–59yrs) volunteer in ACH

Top motivations for volunteering  were:

• 66% – Giving back to the community
• 39% – To follow my interests
• 30% – To improve my wellbeing
• 28% – To promote ACH activities

Like older adults, this age group are more motivated by supporting community. However, like younger adults, they are more likely to say work experience and socializing are important reasons.

Types of activities volunteered for:

Middle-aged adults report volunteering across fewer ACH activities compared to younger adults:

• 23% – A workshop or class about a cultural or creative activity
• 23% – Theatre, dance, or music support

Estimated volunteering hours

Over typical 4–week period (median): 4 hours.

With equal spread across all volunteer activities.

22% of older adults (60+yrs) volunteer in ACH

Top motivations for volunteering were:

• 80% – Giving back to the community
• 55% – To follow my interests
• 39% – To improve my wellbeing
• 29% – To promote ACH activities

Giving back to community was a significant driver for volunteering in older adults, more so than any other reason.

Types of activities volunteered for:

Older adults report volunteering across a more focused range of ACH activities compared to other age groups:

• 23% – A workshop or class about a cultural creative activity
• 15% – Theatre, dance, or music support

Estimated volunteering hours

Over typical 4–week period (median): 5 hours.

With majority going to museum / gallery / heritage place visitor host and heritage or tāonga preservation.

Key insights

Younger adults and Māori stand out as the groups most likely to volunteer in ACH 

While 24% of New Zealanders overall volunteer, these groups participate in much higher rates, showing their strong connection to cultural activities and community life.

• 31% of Māori volunteer in ACH the highest of all ethnic groups.
• 35% of 18–29 yr-olds volunteer in ACH the highest of all age groups.
• Pacific (28%) and Asian (27%) peoples also volunteer at high rates.
• Māori volunteers give more time, with a median of 6 hours over a typical 4-week period, spread across a wide range of activities.

Giving back is the strongest reason for volunteering (67%)

But different groups emphasise other reasons for getting involved.

• Younger adults (18–29) are more motivated by work experience (40%), than other groups (21% total).
• Younger adults are more likely to volunteer for social reasons – to make friends (32%) or because a friend asked them to join (30%) – compared to other groups (25% and 23% respectively).
• Older adults (60+; 80%) and Pacific volunteers (82%) are strongly motivated by community contribution – much more than other groups (67% total).
• Māori (37%) and Pacific (42%) volunteers are more motivated by preserving and protecting arts, culture, heritage, and ngā toi Māori, compared to other groups (28% total).

Cultural festivals or event support is the most common volunteer activity across all groups (37%)

But different communities contribute in different ways. Younger volunteers tend to spread their time across a wider range of ACH activities, while Māori volunteers show particularly strong involvement in cultural preservation and supporting ngā toi Māori.

• Younger volunteers support a wider range of ACH activities, compared to other age groups.
• Māori volunteers contribute more to ngā toi Māori events (30%) and heritage or taonga preservation 29%) than other groups.

Data

References

Creative New Zealand (2025). Audience Atlas Aotearoa New Zealand 2025.

Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage (2026a). Economy Te Ohanga Evidence Brief.

Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage (2026b). New Zealanders Cultural Participation in 2025.

Statistics New Zealand (2023). General Social Survey Wellbeing Statistics 2025 (update).

Tūao Aotearoa Volunteering New Zealand (2026). State of the Decade of Volunteering.