Sponsors (9)
The bill encourages increased volunteerism and youth civic engagement to boost community services, but it provides no funding or mandates—potentially improving short-term support while shifting long-term service burdens onto unpaid volunteers and under-resourced nonprofits/local governments.
Local communities and public services (public safety, health, social services) may receive more volunteer hours in 2026, reducing demand on local budgets and service gaps.
Nonprofits and volunteer-run organizations are likely to see increased public attention and higher volunteer recruitment during the designated period.
Schools, youth groups, and faith-based organizations may gain renewed engagement from younger people inspired to serve, supporting youth development and civic participation.
Relying on volunteer recruitment risks shifting ongoing service needs onto unpaid volunteers instead of funding sustainable paid positions, straining nonprofits and reducing service reliability.
The resolution creates no funding or legal obligations, which may raise public expectations for improved services without providing the resources to meet them, leaving local governments and nonprofits to absorb the gap.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Designates 2026 as the "National Year of the Volunteer" and records congressional findings about the value of volunteerism, recent declines in volunteering, and recruitment/retention challenges facing civic organizations. It recognizes the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission’s America Gives initiative and expresses intent to promote renewed national commitment to service for the Nation’s 250th anniversary. The measure is a nonbinding policy statement: it does not appropriate funds, create legal obligations, or change existing statutes. Its primary effect is symbolic and promotional, encouraging federal, state, local, and private actors to support volunteer recruitment and recognition in 2026.
Introduced February 9, 2026 by Michael Lawler · Last progress February 9, 2026