A new vision

Despite the leap forward, Tan said the rise in living standards has illustrated the need for a more effective voluntary sector, rather than one that simply raises and donates money and materials or provides help when required.

That need has resulted in the development of a new type of voluntary sector in the past decade, one that involves people offering services based on their personal strengths or professional skills, such as legal or auditing expertise, he said.

The greater participation of people born in the 1990s and 2000s has given fresh impetus to this new form of voluntary service. "They want to be different. They want to show their strengths and values, and ultimately realize their full potential as people," he added.

Ling Hui, secretary-general of the China Social Entrepreneur Foundation, said many NGOs have yet to develop fully, so they experience severe shortages of financial and human resources, which has created a need for greater professionalism within the voluntary sector

"Many lack experience in terms of operations, finance and information technology. Those problems can be more easily solved by 'professional' volunteers who can offer relevant services rather than monetary donations," she said.

Moreover, the rise of corporate social responsibility has seen businesses encouraging highly skilled employees to provide voluntary services based on their professional expertise, she added.

Zhai Yan, board director of the Beijing ProBono Foundation, which promotes skills-based voluntary services, said the burgeoning trend can address social problems in a highly effective way and help volunteers to realize their potential.

"The benefits could be many times higher than the old labor-intensive voluntary service model," she said.

Zhai has noticed a surge in the number of skilled volunteers in the past decade. In 2012, her organization conducted a survey of about 1,000 volunteers nationwide, which showed that only 1 percent offered skills-based services. Five years later, however, the number was about 27 percent.

"The rise is positively connected with economic developments, rising levels of education and a more open society," she said.