Volunteering is an important form of social participation and civic engagement; however, less attention has been paid to why and for which social groups volunteering does not become part of civic activity. Examining this issue is particularly relevant in Hungary, where the level of participation in volunteering remains lower than in Western European countries. However, national studies indicate that refraining from volunteering cannot be attributed solely to a lack of motivation or to unfavorable attitudes toward volunteering. This underscores the need to examine the factors that hinder participation and to identify the social groups most affected by these barriers. The aim of our research was to explore the factors hindering active volunteering (volunteering in the past year) and the socio-demographic characteristics associated with these barriers, thereby contributing to a better understanding of groups excluded from volunteering and supporting the development of more effective outreach practices by volunteer organizations. The analysis was based on the nationally representative survey "Volunteering in Hungary 2023" (N=2,000), in which we examined the characteristics of non-active volunteers and the reasons for their non-participation using statistical methods. Our findings are consistent with several international and Hungarian studies, indicating that refraining from volunteering is often not the result of a principled rejection of volunteer activities, but rather it stems from mobilization barriers—particularly a lack of time. Among respondents, we identified groups that would be open to volunteering but do not participate due to a lack of suitable opportunities or personal invitations. The barriers to volunteering show different patterns across social groups, suggesting that increasing participation may require differentiated, target-group-specific communication and recruitment strategies. Our findings provide guidance for volunteer organizations to reach potential volunteers more effectively and increase their participation.

Keywords: volunteering, barriers to volunteering, volunteer participation, resource-related barriers, mobilization and informational barriers, attitudinal barriers