May 4, 2026
In this third article of a four-part series entitled The Evolution of the CVITP – 2025 Update, I combine data from Part 1 (Results from Delivering CVITP Service to Clients) and Part 2 (Infrastructure Supporting CVITP Service Delivery) to generate figures that offer a picture of some basic productivity trends within the CVITP. There is a companion piece to this article which provides the data as well as their limitations and the assumptions that I make.
Volunteers
I use two measures to examine volunteers’ productivity: the average number of individuals assisted per volunteer and the average number of returns filed per volunteer. There is enormous variation between volunteers: some may only assist a handful of people to file their returns in one season whereas others may assist hundreds. Nevertheless, these two simple measures still provide a rudimentary insight into how efficiently volunteers are working. To put it another way: in Part 2, I noted that the number of volunteers reached a new peak in 2025, but what can be said about how well those volunteers, a limited resource, were being used by their host organizations?
In 2025, the average number of individuals assisted per volunteer was 57, down from a peak of 60 in 2023. The average number of returns filed per volunteer was 66, also down from a peak of 69 in 2023.
In the chart below, I have identified three broad trends using the average number of people assisted per volunteer. (The trends are the same for the average number of returns filed per volunteer).
1In the 2016-2019 period, the average number of people assisted per volunteer was in decline. This was at a time when the numbers of people assisted and returns filed were growing relatively slowly (see Part 1).
Then COVID hit in 2020 and the CVITP went into a tailspin.
2In the period between 2021 and 2023, volunteer productivity was growing. In fact, I expressed concern that volunteer productivity might be reaching an upper limit.
3However, after 2023, volunteer productivity has started to drop again. It is still well above the figures achieved in the 2016-2019 period.
Host organizations
I use two measures to examine host organizations’ productivity: the average number of individuals assisted per host organization and the average number of returns filed per host organization. Just as with volunteers, there is enormous variation between host organizations: some may only assist 20 to 30 people to file their returns in one season whereas others may assist thousands. Nevertheless, these two simple measures still provide a rudimentary insight into how efficiently host organizations are working. To put it another way: in Part 2 I noted that the number of host organizations reached a new peak in 2025, but what can be said about how well those host organizations were using their resources to offer CVITP services?
In 2025, the average number of individuals assisted per host organization reached a new peak of 259. Similarly, the average number of returns filed per host organization reached a new peak of 299.
In the chart below, I have identified two broad trends using the average number of people assisted per host organization. (The trends are the same for the average number of returns filed per host organization).
1In the 2016-2019 period, the average number of people assisted per host organization was in decline. This was at a time when the numbers of people assisted and returns filed were growing relatively slowly (see Part 1).
Then COVID hit in 2020 and the CVITP went into a tailspin.
2In the period between 2021 and 2025, the productivity of host organizations has grown steadily.
What does all this mean for the evolution of the CVITP in 2026? See Part 4 – Looking Head to 2026.