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1. Historical developments

2. Main concepts

Historical developments

The modern concept of volunteering in Spain began to take shape with the establishment of democracy in 1978. Before this, volunteering was largely associated with charity and lacked alignment with contemporary values of solidarity, social justice and inclusion.

In its early stages, volunteering was often viewed with reservations and caution by political authorities, social workers, and trade unions, for a variety of reasons.  

During the early years of Democracy, the development of voluntary entities was scarce and poor. Many of social movement’s leaders became professional politicians and the aims and objectives of those movements seemed to have been somehow achieved. The newly created Democracy was born with a strong welfare and statist aspiration, denying or giving residual work to voluntary organizations (Casado, 1992).

The 80’s were of key importance in the development of volunteering in Spain, when voluntary activities especially focused on social volunteering were promoted and coordinated “from above”. In 1981, the General Directorate of Social Action created a working group on “Volunteering in Social Action” with representatives from the Administration and different voluntary organizations. In 1986 the Spanish Volunteer Platform (Plataforma de Voluntariado de España, PVE) was created with the aim of promoting volunteering and gather together the various organizations form the local and regional scope to establish common channels of thought and action. This organization has become the reference of systematization and coordination of voluntary action in Spain.

The major development of voluntary work happened during the 90’s. The voluntary organizations increased exponentially and so did their institutionalization and professionalization which meant an increase in the professionals and volunteers and the creation of platforms and federations at the State and regional level (Aranguren, 2001). As stated in the introduction, 1996 meant the creation of the first State Law 6/1996 with the purpose of promoting and facilitate the participation of society on volunteer actions within public or private non-profit organizations (Ley Estatal del Voluntariado 6/1996). Since then, almost all Autonomous Regions have developed their own legislations recognizing the importance of voluntary activities as an expression of social participation in the political, economical and cultural development of democracies. 

In recent years, there has been increasing momentum toward the digitalization of volunteering access. In November 2024, a proposal was introduced in the Youth Commission of the Spanish Congress for a unified digital platform to facilitate young people's access to volunteering opportunities, particularly at the European and international levels. This reflects a broader shift towards greater accessibility and participation through digital means. It is part of ongoing efforts to modernize volunteering engagement and increase youth involvement in cross-border opportunities.

Main concepts

Volunteering is a dynamic concept that evolves over time across different social and cultural contexts. 

According to the State Law on Volunteering (Ley 45/2015 de Voluntariado),volunteering is defined as the set of general interest activities carried out by individuals who act out of solidarity, free will and without compensation, who are formally linked to a volunteering entity and a structured volunteering programme.

The law also outlines a wide range of volunteering fields, including: social, international cooperation, environmental, cultural, sport, educational, socio-sanitary, community development, civil protection and emergency volunteering.

The Spanish Volunteer Platform (Plataforma de Voluntariado de España) further defines volunteering as an “organised activity developed within a non-profit organisation by people who, out of altruism and solidarity, participate with people and social reality, facing situations of violation, deprivation or lack of rights or opportunities in order to achieve a better quality of life and a greater cohesion and social justice as an expression of organised active citizenship”.

While the term 'volunteer organisations' is not officially defined in legislation, such entities are generally considered part of Spain´s Third Sector and are classified as NGOs (ONGs).

In the Spanish context, volunteering is clearly differentiated from:

• Internships, which are typically linked to formal education or employment and often include financial compensation or academic credit.
• Community service, which may be compulsory in some cases (e.g., judicial sentences or school projects) and lacks the voluntary and altruistic nature required by the law.
• Paid civic engagement or activism, which, while sometimes aligned in purpose, do not meet the legal requirements of free-of-charge and formal programme structure.

The law also sets minimum age requirements (12 years old), and for volunteers under 18, parental or guardian consent is required.