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Spain

2. Voluntary Activities

2.4 Youth volunteering at national level

Last update: 21 April 2026
On this page
  1. National Programme for Youth Volunteering
  2. Funding
  3. Characteristics of youth volunteering
  4. Support to young volunteers
  5. Target groups
On this page
  1. National Programme for Youth Volunteering
  2. Funding
  3. Characteristics of youth volunteering
  4. Support to young volunteers
  5. Target groups

National Programme for Youth Volunteering

There is no dedicated national programme exclusively for youth volunteering in Spain, that is organised, funded and monitored directly by the State.

However, the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumers and 2030 Agenda (Ministerio de Derechos Sociales, Consumo y Agenda 2030) promotes specific youth volunteering projects. The Youth Institute (Instituto de la Juventud - INJUVE) also runs national-level programmes and provides resources and information for young volunteers.

The main volunteer program of the INJUVE is the International Volunteer Fields (Campos de Voluntariado Internacional), an ongoing initiative since 2012. It offers young people aged 18 to 30 the opportunity to participate in volunteer projects abroad. 

Other notable initiatives, managed by the Ministry of Culture, include: 

  • FormARTE, aimed at training young specialists in fields such as arts, cultural management, archives, conservation and restoration, museology and librarianship.
  • CULTUREX, provides practical training in cultural management young people in Spanish cultural institutions abroad.

The Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico) has developed its own national-level environmental volunteering initiatives, including:

Additionally, the Reducamar Network maintains an inventory of national and regional volunteering and training programmes, along with open-access educational resources.

The Ministry of the Interior (Ministerio del Interior) oversees civil protection volunteering, mainly implemented through regional and local networks. The National Association for Volunteer Groups (ANAV) is coordinated at State level by the General Directorate of Civil Protection and Emergencies (Dirección General de Protección Civil y Emergencias) and supported by the National School of Civil Protection (Escuela Nacional de Protección Civil). These networks receive financial support for training, equipment and operational costs related to volunteering.

Funding

Due to the absence of a centralised youth volunteering programme, youth-related funding is embedded within broader state and regional volunteering initiatives.

Financial support for volunteering activities is distributed across different levels of government: the central administration, Autonomous Communities and local entities.

In the national scope, there are several financial aid lines specially addressed to promoting youth associationism and volunteering. Many youth volunteering organisations receive co-funding from both the State and regional governments.

National funding instruments include:

  • Grants for youth associations and service organisations covering operational costs, infrastructure, and activities related to youth volunteering.
  • The Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID), under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Unión Europea y Cooperación) provides funding for both international cooperation and local project development, including those supporting youth volunteering initiatives.
    • For example, in 2023, AECID awarded €600,000 for the coordination of NGOs.
    • In 2024, AECID allocated €11.5 million to the Innovation for Development grants, marking an increase of €2.5 million compared to the previous year’s budget. This increase is part of a broader effort to support development cooperation, including youth participation projects

The Ministry of Culture (Ministerio de Cultura) also funds cultural volunteering programmes:

  • The FormARTE programme received  890,000 € in 2024.
  • The CULTUREX grants were allocated 268,413 € for 2023 and 2024

The Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico) supports environmental volunteering through:

Characteristics of youth volunteering

There is no official national registry dedicated solely to measuring youth participation in volunteering. Available data comes from general surveys, such as CIS Barometers such as CIS Barometers and reports by the Spanish Volunteering Platform (Plataforma del Voluntariado de España).

According to the Volunteering Barometer: Voluntary Action in 2024 report of the Spanish Volunteering Platform (Plataforma de Voluntariado de España), 10.1% of the Spanish population over the age of 14 - more than 4.2 million people – engage in volunteering. This confirms an upward trend, considering that the rate was 8.2% in 2022.

In relation to youth volunteering:

  • 13.1% of volunteers in Spain are aged 14 to 24, a notable increase from 6.6% in 2023. The majority of new volunteers in 2024 are between 14 and 34 years old.
  • Young volunteers aged 14 to 24 show a strong preference for animal protection causes, while those aged 25 to 34 are more likely to support people with disabilities.
  • 9.5% of volunteers are students, and 49.9% are employed.

Support to young volunteers

According to Article 10 of the Law on Volunteering (Ley 45/2015 del Voluntariado), all volunteers are entitled to:

  • Insurance coverage for risks related to accidents and illness during their volunteer activities, provided by the host organisation.
  • Reimbursement of expenses incurred as a result of their volunteer work.

Although insurance is legally mandatory, coverage varies across entities. According to the report “Third Sector Social Action: The Impact of the Crisis” (El Tercer Sector de Acción Social en 2015: el Impacto de la Crisis, 2015) in 2013, 87.5% of volunteering entities had insurance coverage in place. While this figure has become more stable in recent years, universal compliance has not yet been achieved. 

Reimbursement of expenses has remained consistent, with around 70% of organisations offering it. Similarly, volunteering commitment agreements are implemented in 75%, a figure that has remained stable since 2010.

Target groups

As previously mentioned, the current legal framework does not specify target groups for youth volunteering. General legislation applies to all age groups. 

However, youth volunteers are entitled to all rights, benefits, supports and protections under the Spanish legal framework.  Being a young volunteer does not entail any legal incompatibility with other activities, except where explicitly stated in legislation.