Community advocate vs volunteer

The differences between community advocates and volunteers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a community advocate and a volunteer. Additionally, a community advocate has an average salary of $35,900, which is higher than the $31,227 average annual salary of a volunteer.

The top three skills for a community advocate include community resources, community outreach and crisis intervention. The most important skills for a volunteer are child care, patient charts, and patient care.

Community advocate vs volunteer overview

	Community Advocate	Volunteer
Yearly salary	$35,900	$31,227
Hourly rate	$17.26	$15.01
Growth rate	12%	12%
Number of jobs	36,520	9,583
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	12	12

What does a community advocate do?

The task of a community advocate is to provide advocacy and lobby for change or development within neighborhoods. Community advocates collaborate with a certain population like battered women or the deaf affected by environmental contamination. The advocates guide and assist on the hotline to make sure that every individual gets necessary guidance, safety plans, and resources. They provide crisis intervention or management with shelter residents. Also, they ensure confidentiality and legal compliance integrity based on corporate policy.

What does a volunteer do?

Volunteers are usually unpaid individuals who render their service to a company or organization. Most of the time, volunteers are skilled in specific areas needed by the organization but prefer to provide free service. They may be employed in another organization, but they lend their time and talent to another organization or company to give back to the community. They raise funds, create awareness, and work on the ground. Volunteers usually choose a cause or advocacy close to their heart, such as teaching children, taking care of the elderly, coaching sports teams, cleaning up communities, and caring for animals.

Community advocate vs volunteer salary

Community advocates and volunteers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Community Advocate	Volunteer
Average salary	$35,900	$31,227
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $43,000	Between $23,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	-
Highest paying state	New York	-
Best paying company	Boston Medical Center	-
Best paying industry	Professional	-

Differences between community advocate and volunteer education

There are a few differences between a community advocate and a volunteer in terms of educational background:

	Community Advocate	Volunteer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common major	Psychology	Business
Most common college	SUNY at Binghamton	California State University - Fullerton

Community advocate vs volunteer demographics

Here are the differences between community advocates' and volunteers' demographics:

	Community Advocate	Volunteer
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 25.8% Female, 74.2%	Male, 36.0% Female, 64.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 24.6% Asian, 5.9% White, 49.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2%	Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 7.3% White, 52.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between community advocate and volunteer duties and responsibilities

Community advocate example responsibilities.

Manage social media communication including Facebook, Pinterest, and blog.
Provide ongoing case management and resource coordinator for individuals with special needs or developmental delays receiving DDA funding.
Provide services to WIC clients to promote establish goals and to reinforce positive results.
Assist the families with applying for Medicaid, food assistance, FIP, WIC, low income housing etc.
Authorize and monitor CCAD services to ensure that the consumer receives the services as authorized and their needs are being meet.

Volunteer example responsibilities.

Develop and manage web presence, including Facebook account and other social media business accounts!
Train staff members on managing contacts, scheduling programs, and running analytic reports with the Salesforce program.
Lead team-building exercises and facilitate group discussions on leadership topics.
Assist in achieving and maintaining DoD certification and national accreditation where applicable.
Supervise and maintain safe play for children's soccer games.
Teach GED to refugees and survivors of torture seeking to enroll in college.

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Community advocate vs volunteer skills

Common community advocate skills

Community Resources, 12%
Community Outreach, 9%
Crisis Intervention, 9%
Safety Planning, 7%
Social Work, 6%
Data Entry, 6%

Common volunteer skills

Child Care, 12%
Patient Charts, 10%
Patient Care, 10%
Front Desk, 9%
Community Outreach, 9%
Mathematics, 9%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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