Decision to Volunteer

We are proud to introduce the next installment in ASAE & The Center’s powerful “Decision to” series, Decision to Volunteer: Effectively engage individuals by understanding why they give their time! The responses are in, 26,305 of them, and they will give you valuable insight into why individuals volunteer for organizations of all types. This publication is now available for purchase.

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Decision to Volunteer Video Interviews

The first segment, above, features study coauthor Beth Gazely, who highlights some of the interesting findings from the study, which gathered responses from 26,000 people.

Benchmarking Opportunities for Decision to Volunteer

Sneak Peak at the Findings

1. The first breakdown is by volunteer status for any organization. Here, respondents are categorized as either currently volunteering, previously volunteering (not in the last 12 months), or never volunteering for ANY organization.
2. The second breakdown is by relationship to the co-sponsoring organization that submitted the respondent’s name. This group is first examined by whether or not the co-sponsor identified the individual as a volunteer. Then, they are categorized as currently, previously (not in the last 12 months), or never volunteering for the co-sponsor.
3. The third breakdown is by level of volunteering for the co-sponsor within the last 12 months. They are broken down into governance volunteers, committee/ongoing volunteers, ad-hoc volunteers, and no volunteering for the co-sponsor.

Some numbers:

1. 92.2% of the respondents to the study reported that they have at some time worked as a volunteer for any organization.
2. When asked to identify the types of organizations for which they have volunteered in the last 12 months, respondents selected “Civic or community service” most frequently (47.7%) and “Public safety” least frequently (4.2%).
3. When asked to identify the types of volunteer activities they performed for any organization in the last 12 months, respondents selected “Serving on board(s) or committee(s)” most frequently (57.2%) and “Presenting or testifying on behalf of any organization to any legislative body” least frequently (5.2%).

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The Reviews Are In

Cindy Butts, RCE, CAE: "I just finished reading the newest (soon to be released) ASAE [& The Center] book, "The Decision to Volunteer" (Beth Gazley, Ph.D. and Monica Dignam), a report on why, when and how members decide to volunteer. The reason to buy it is because it's full of info and charts you can personally use within your own association to figure out how to better structure your association's volunteer opportunities, while understanding what is going to attract a wider range of volunteers to say yes to participation. The intent of the study/book is to provide practical suggestions, and it does that." Read full review.

Cecilia Sepp: “For years, we have all had anecdotal evidence about volunteers and why they participate, but now we have a reference that quantifies and qualifies serious research. "Decision to Volunteer" not only provides qualitative analysis, it includes quantitative data presented in easy to read charts and graphs.” Read full review.