Untitled

EMERGING AREAS OF
VOLUNTEERING
ARNOVA Occasional Paper Series
Volume 1, Number 2
Funded by The UPS Foundation
Jeffrey L. Brudney, Editor

University of Georgia
School of Public and International Affairs
Department of Public Administration and Policy
Athens, GA 30602-1615
© 2005 Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action
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2 Emerging Areas of Volunteering

EMERGING AREAS OF VOLUNTEERING
Table of Contents
About the Authors ................................................................................................... 4
Introduction
JeffeeyL. Brudney...................................................................................................... 7
Employee Volunteer Programs

Mary Tschirhart....................................................................................................... 13
Virtual Volunteering
VicMurrayand YvonneHarrison............................................................................. 31
Societal Changes and the Rise of the Episodic Volunteer

Nancy Macduff ....................................................................................................... 49
Cross-National Volunteering: A Developing Movement?

Justin Davis Smith, AngelaEllis,and GeorginaBrewis.............................................. 63
Board Members of Nonprofit Organizations as Volunteers

RobertD. Herman .................................................................................................. 77
Government Volunteerism in the New Millennium

SarahJane Rehnborg............................................................................................... 93
Conclusion: Toward the Future of Volunteering

Beth Gazley.......................................................................................................... 113
3
About the Authors
Georgina Brewis
Georgina Brewis is a research officer at the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR) in
London. She received her degree in History and Politics from Oxford University and
has since completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Social Research Methods at London
Metropolitan University. She has been involved in several studies addressing
volunteerism in Britain and Europe, including a cross-Europe volunteer accreditation
study. Before joining IVR, Brewis was a Residential Volunteer and staff member at
Toynbee Hall (a charity in East London), where she conducted research on street
prostitution. E-mail: instvolres@aol.com
Jeffrey L. Brudney
Jeffrey L. Brudney is professor of Public Administration and Policy, adjunct professor
of Social Work, and a member of the Nonprofit and Community Service faculty in
the School of Business at the University of Georgia. He co-directs the University of
Georgia Institute for Nonprofit Organizations, sponsored jointly by the School of
Social Work and the School of Public and International Affairs. He has published
extensively on volunteerism, service delivery, research methodology and public
management, and consults regularly with governmental and academic institutions.
Brudney has received several national and international awards for his research and
service, and is a member of the editorial board of a number of journals in public
administration and the nonprofit sector. E-mail: jbrudney@uga.edu
Angela Ellis
Angela Ellis is a senior research officer at the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR),
a specialist research agency on volunteering and voluntary action, located in London,
UK. Her work has addressed the evaluation of volunteer impacts, citizen volunteerism
in the schools, university-based volunteering, and social exclusion and volunteering.
Through IVR, Ellis has been involved in research consultancies for various volunteer-
involving organizations. Ellis received her PhD. in the department of geography at the
University ofWales, Swansea. Her thesis examined citizen participation in rural
community development initiatives. E-mail: instvolres@aol.com
Beth Gazley
Beth Gazley is assistant professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at
Indiana University-Bloomington, where she teaches public and nonprofit
management. She received her Ph.D. in public administration from the University of
Georgia in 2004, where she earned several competitive honors. Before entering
academia, Gazley served for 16 years in nonprofit management as a fundraiser and
consultant. She has conducted research on public volunteerism policy, government-
nonprofit relations and private philanthropic strategy, and has published in Nonprofit
and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Public Administration Review, E- Volunteerism,
Spectrum: The Journal of State Government, and the Book of the States 2003. E-mail:
bgazley@indiana.edu

Yvonne Harrison
Yvonne Harrison is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Public Administration at the
University ofVictoria. She has been researching information and communications
technology (ICT) use in volunteering for the past three years. She has conducted two
national research studies exploring the impacts of information and communications
technology on the management of volunteer resources. Other research interests
include the new governance environment in which voluntary organizations operate,
modernization including e-connectivity, e-government, e-business, and volunteerism.
Harrison is the author of several research reports and papers on ICT use in
volunteering and e-government management challenges. E-mail: yharriso@uvic.ca
Robert D. Herman
Robert D. Herman is professor in the Cookingham Institute of Public Affairs, H. W
Bloch School of Business and Public Administration, University of Missouri, Kansas
City. Herman's research has concentrated on the effective leadership of nonprofit,
charitable organizations, including chief executive-board relations and more recently on
nonprofit organizational effectiveness. His research has appeared in Public
Administration Review, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Nonprofit
Management and Leadership, American Review of Public Administration, Voluntas, and
Sex Roles. Dr. Herman is past president of the Association ofVoluntary Action
Scholars (now known as the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and
Voluntary Action). E-mail: HermanR@umkc.edu
Nancy Macduff
Nancy Macduff is an internationally recognized trainer and author on volunteer
management and administration. She served 15 years as executive director of a
nonprofit agency and nine years as the coordinator of a government volunteer
program. Macduff was the Senior Advisor for Education and Training at the Points of
Light Foundation in Washington, D.C. from 1998-2001. She holds teaching
positions at the Institute for Nonprofit Management at Portland State University in
Portland, Ore., and at Washington State University. She has authored six books on
volunteer management and numerous journal and magazine articles. Macduff is senior
editor of the free online newsletter, "Volunteer Today," available at http://
www.volunteertoday.com. E-mail: mba@bmi.net
Vic Murray
Vic Murray is an adjunct professor in the School of Public Administration at the
University of Victoria, and a past director of the Voluntary Sector Management
Program in the Schulich School of Business at York University, Toronto, Canada. In
the nonprofit sector, his interests focus on the areas of board governance,
organizational effectiveness, and the impact of information technology on
volunteering. He is the author of over 100 books, articles and papers in the fields of
organizational behavior and nonprofit management, and the recipient of ARNOVA's
2002 Lifetime Achievement Award. Currently he is the Director of the Voluntary
Sector Knowledge Network (www.vskn.ca), a web-based nonprofit management
resource. E-mail: vmurray@uvic.ca
About the Authors 5

Sarah Jane Rehnborg
Sarah Jane Rehnborg is a lecturer at the University ofTexas at Austin's LBJ School of
Public Affairs and a consultant with the RGK Center for Philanthropy and
Community Service. Rehnborg's professional experience includes extensive work as a
consultant and trainer in volunteerism and community engagement. She has served as
president of the Association for Volunteer Administration, established the Association's
Performance-Based Certification system, and served as a consultant with the Points of
Light Foundation, the Texas Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service,
and the State ofTexas. Her publications include the StarterKit for Mobilizing Ministry,
published by Leadership Network, and VolunteerYouth Trainingand Leadership,a
comprehensive high school curriculum in service and volunteerism. E-mail:
Rehnborg@mail.utexas.edu
Justin Davis Smith

Justin Davis Smith is Director of the Institute for Volunteering Research, located in
London. His extensive research includes two national surveys of volunteering in the
UK, a 10-nation European study of volunteering, studies on young people and older
people as volunteers, and recent commissions for the UK government and the United
Nations, including the global evaluation of the 2001 International Year of Volunteers.
Numerous publications include (as co-editor) Volunteeringand Society:Principlesand
Practice(Bedford Square Press, 1992) and An Introductionto The VoluntarySector
(Routledge, 1995). He is editor of the journal VoluntaryAction and co-founder and
Honorary Secretary of the Voluntary Action History Society. E-mail:
insrvolres@aol.com
Mary Tschirhart
Mary Tschirhart is associate professor of Public Administration at Syracuse University's
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and Senior Research Associate at the
Campbell Public Affairs Institute. Her research focuses on management and strategy
in public and nonprofit agencies. Tschirhart has published research on volunteers in
journals and edited books, and is the author of Artful Leadership:Managing
StakeholderProblemsin NonprofitArts Organizations(Indiana University Press, 1997).
Her experience includes serving as executive director of a nonprofit organization, board
member for nonprofit agencies, consultant to organizations in all sectors, and chair of
the Public and Nonprofit Division of the Academy of Management. E-mail:
mtschirh@maxwell.syr.edu
6 EmergingAreasof Volunteering
INTRODUCTION
Jeffrey L. Brudney
Welcome co the future of volunteering- or at least a good pare of char furure.

Volunteering is a highly dynamic and exciting fidd. Tcis borh responsive to
societal trends an<l a leader of those trends. Just as rhe Internet and advanced dc:ccronic
media have changed society, so, too has the world of volunteering adapted with
opportunities ro volunreer "virtually" through these means. As concerns over
homeland securiry and terrorism suddenly shoe ro rhe forefront ofU.S. public opinion
and policy stemming from the tragic events of September 11, 200 I, che federal
government launched new volunteer initiatives aimed ar community readiness and
preparation, such as Freedom Corp~ and Citizen Corps. The "shrinking" of the planer
a~ a result of progress in cransportarion and communications technology, as well as
changes in global awareness and understanding, has led to volunteering cross-narionally
becoming borh more feasible and more commonplace. The growth of societal
attitudes and behaviors embracing greater personal autonomy, choice, and
individuation has been reOected in a sharp decline in tradirionaJ, ongoing forms of
volumeer involvement and a concomitant increase in shorc-rerm, transirory-
cpisodic-volumeering.
With irs inherent capacity to give meaning and ro give back, to benefit the
perperraror and che recipient, co reward individuals as well as groups and organizarions,
volunteerism is also a leader of social trends. For example, employee-based volunreer
programs offer businesses and corporarions, nonprofit organizations and government
agencies an avenue not only co assist communities and causes bur also co recruit,
motivate, and retain paid staff. For individuals who seek a forum ro exercise rhe
strength of rheir policy convjccions, ro hone leadership skills, or co garner greater
responsibility, volunteer service on nonprofit boards of directors presents an ideal
opportunity co gain knowledge, contacts, experience, and influence.
Given the interpenetration of volunteerism with societal trends, the challenge lies
not in identifying chc many emerging areas of volunteering, but in paring a very long
lisr of imporcanc developments to manageable proportions for in-depth scrutiny and
analy~is.
In the winn11wing process, I greatly benefited from the able assistance of Katherine
M. Finley, Executive Director of rhe Association for Research on Nonprofit
Organizations and Voluntary Acrion, and Michael H. Hall, past ARNOVA Vice
Introduction 7
President of Publications. The UPS Foundation graciously funded this project, and
advanced some ideas of its own concerning appropriate coverage for a volume on
contemporary trends in volunteering. In the end, we identified six areas that constitute
the core subjects of this ARN OVA Occasional Paper. Each chapter deals with a topic
that is under-researched, yet an important emerging area of volunteering:
■ Employee-based volunteer programs

■ Virtual volunteering
■ Episodic volunteering
■ Cross-national volunteering
■ Board members as volunteers
■ Volunteering in government programs
With these topical domains as our guide, we nominated an international group of

recognized scholars as potential authors of the chapters (please see the ''About the
Authors" section in this volume). I am grateful that all of them accepted our
invitation to participate in this volume. I then requested a proposal-abstract for each
chapter, which was discussed and revised with the authors. Drafts of the chapters
eventually followed; I reviewed and edited three drafts of each chapter to completion.
Preview
In the first chapter, Mary Tschirhart analyzes employee volunteer programs.

Tschirhart explains that conceptual and terminological confusion plagues the field, and
offers a broad definition of these programs intended to cumulate research findings and
practice implications as organized efforts to provide community service by individuals
with the encouragement and support of their employers. Over the past two decades
the creation and diffusion of this mode of volunteering has accelerated rapidly,
especially in the business world. Nevertheless, based on a comprehensive review of the
literature, Tschirhart concludes that theoretical development in this area has suffered,
and that further inquiry is needed not only in this aspect but also in many others,
including the extent of employee volunteer programs; the benefits they hold for
employees, their employers, and the community; the influences on employee
volunteering; the effectiveness of recommended policies and practices in this field; and
the generalization of findings both to different types of organizations and to different
parts of the globe.
The second chapter, by Vic Murray and Yvonne Harrison, treats virtual
volunteering, which they define as the application of information and communications
technology to the process of volunteering. The authors point out that although use of
this tool is not yet substantial, it is growing, and that the prospects for widespread,
future application are significant. The chapter presents new research data on the nature
and extent of virtual volunteering in Canada, and explores the limited U.S. empirical
literature on this topic. Among the important issues addressed by Murray and
Harrison are differences between virtual and more traditional volunteers, and between
organizations that involve volunteers virtually and those that do not; the authors also
8 EmergingAreas of Volunteering
probe the satisfaction of both volunteers and managers of volunteer resources with
virtual volunteering. The chapter concludes with a summary of practical guidelines
for implementing virtual volunteer programs and the implications of these programs
for the development of social capital.
In the third chapter, Nancy Macduff discusses "Societal Changes and The Rise of
The Episodic Volunteer." Macduff identifies episodic volunteers as individuals who
choose to provide short or occasional service, as opposed to offering their time on an
ongoing, more "traditional" basis. She distinguishes short-term volunteering into three
distinct styles: temporary, interim, and occasional. The data available suggest that the
number of people preferring episodic styles of volunteering is increasing. Macduff
relates this growth to broader societal trends toward more "reflexive" forms of social
institutions and mores characterized by individuation, intensity, and short-term or
fleeting involvement. She explores the likely impact of episodic volunteering on
nonprofit organizations and the management of volunteers. Macduff concludes with
sets of questions for nonprofit organizations, managers of volunteers, and academics
designed to help smooth the transition toward blending long-term and episodic
volunteers into a single volunteer program.
Chapter Four explores an emerging area of volunteering that has received scant
attention in the research literature: volunteering across national borders. This lacuna
notwithstanding, the authors, Justin Davis Smith, Angela Ellis, and Georgina Brewis,
all of the Institute for Volunteering Research in London, show that the number of
people engaging in cross-national volunteering has increased. They find both a
movement toward more mutually beneficial forms of cross-national volunteering, as
well as growth in short-term "vacation" or "tourism" volunteering centered more on
the volunteer. The chapter examines the benefits as well as the drawbacks of cross-
national volunteering for the key stakeholders involved: the volunteers; the sending
and receiving organizations; and the host community. The authors take a critical look
at the ways in which cross-national volunteering is emerging as a powerful force in
globalized civil society, and conclude with some recommendations to guide policy and
practice.
In Chapter Five, Robert D. Herman presents a systematic analysis of "Board
Members of Nonprofit Organizations as Volunteers." Although those who contribute
their time to boards of directors and those who participate in service delivery and
organizational support functions without monetary compensation are equally
volunteers, the research literature rarely goes beyond this bland observation to point
out the similarities and differences of the two types and the potential implications.
Herman's chapter breaks this pattern. He describes the scope and extent of
volunteering to boards of directors, considers whether several recommended practices
in volunteer management apply to board volunteers (and, for those that do not,
considers why not), notes the possibility for tension between board and service
volunteers, and observes that virtually no research has been conducted on the effects of
board volunteering on board members or on the achievements of the organizations
they oversee. The chapter concludes that although board and service volunteers are
similar in several important respects (for example, in some demographics, motivations
and incentives for volunteering, and the effectiveness of certain supporting volunteer
Introduction 9
management practices), notable discontinuities exist as well. Status concerns are more
salient to the selection of individuals for boards of directors, and the view sometimes
expressed that service volunteers can be conceived as unpaid (part-time) employees for
management purposes is less applicable to board volunteers, who are the ultimate
authority in their organizations.
Chapter Six, by Sarah Jane Rehnborg, focuses on programs enlisting volunteers
housed and/or sponsored by government agencies. Rehnborg correctly points out that
volunteers are usually considered in the context of nonprofit organizations, and that
volunteerism in the public sector has received significantly less attention. Nevertheless,
her accounting demonstrates that the extent of volunteer involvement in government
agencies and programs is robust. The chapter addresses the service continuum in
government from traditional volunteerism to national service, includingAmeriCorps
and related programs. Rehnborg's examination of trends in public-sector, agency-based
programs identifies service opportunities for episodic volunteers and the growing
involvement of volunteers in fund-raising. The chapter incorporates volunteer
initiatives emerging in the wake of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, such as
the USA Freedom Corps, an amalgam of existing and new service programs designed
to engage citizens in homeland security. The chapter, thus, illustrates how government
can mold volunteerism to the concerns of a new administration.
In the final chapter, Beth Gazley presents a summary and analysis of the chapters
and the implications the volume holds for research and practice. She discusses the
commonalities among authors in their conclusions, and makes suggestions about
approaches that could address some of the gaps in research identified by the authors.
In particular, she concludes that future research should attempt to link these trends in
order to understand their joint impact on management issues. Further, she notes the
call made by several authors for greater attention to "volunteer management capacity,"
a developing concept that describes the infrastructure of volunteer management, or the
array of human and financial resources supporting volunteers.
Acknowledgments
As stated earlier, to settle on emerging areas of volunteering is a challenge. To have

the opportunity to develop a volume around these themes is a privilege.
I am grateful to The UPS Foundation for supporting this ARNOVA Occasional
Paper,and to the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary
Action for selecting me to serve as editor of EmergingAreasof Volunteering.I thank
Katherine M. Finley and Michael H. Hall for their endorsement and for important
guidance, especially during the formative stages of this volume.
I extend special thanks to Beth Gazley, Ph.D., at the School of Public and
Environmental Affairs, Indiana University-Bloomington. Beth participated both in
the review and editing of abstracts and successive chapter drafts, made numerous,
useful comments and suggestions to the authors, and handled most of the
communications with them. She took a lead role in assembling this volume and
ensuring consistent format, appearance, style, and citation. Beth's skills are evident in
the pages to follow.
Others assisted as well with EmergingAreas ofVolunteering. I thank Aldo Davila
and Tamara Nezhina, University of Georgia, for helping me to prepare the final
versions of the chapters. I thank Kerry Brock, Indiana University-Bloomington, for
exceptional work in editing the references and merging the many parts that constitute
this ARNOVA OccasionalPaperinto a single whole. I am also grateful to Melissa
Gibson, ARN OVA Communications, for her help in the final stages of manuscript
preparation.
Most of all, I am grateful to the authors of the chapters, first, for their excellent
contributions and, second, for keeping to an accelerated schedule of proposal, draft,
submission, revision, and re-submission. The authors bring to this volume significant
background, expertise, and distinction in their subject areas, and I believe that their
contributions collect in one place the best scholarly information we have on these
topics. They made my job as editor stimulating and enjoyable. Given what they have
produced for EmergingAreas of Volunteering,I am confident that their chapters will
have the same salutary effects on the reader.
JeffreyL. Brudney
Athem, Georgia
January 2005
Introduction 11
EMPLOYEE VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS
Mary Tschirhart
Employeevolunteerprograms, in which individuals provide communiry servicewith the

encouragementand support of their employers,are widelypromoted as offering benefits to
employees,employers,and the communiry. This chapter reviewsrecent researchfindings
on the extent and benefits of employeevolunteering. It revealsthat descriptivestudies are
the norm, and that there has been little attention to applying, developing,and testing
theory. Weare left with many unansweredquestionsabout influenceson and from
employeevolunteering,and the value of particular practicesand policies used in employee
volunteerprograms. Also, it is unclear how well claims about employeevolunteeringapply
acrossthe globe and to employeevolunteerprograms offeredbypublic and nonprofit sector
employers. The author callsfor rigorousresearchto improve our understanding of employee
volunteering.
Introduction
The Home Depot, The National Wildlife Federation, Proctor & Gamble, Target,
UPS, Levi Strauss, Freddie Mac, British Gas, Tucson Electric Power Company, and the
Portland Trail Blazers all have been recognized for their employee volunteer programs.
They are not alone in their encouragement and support of employee volunteering to
address community needs. The popular press, corporate newsletters and press releases,
and nonprofit and government organizations extol the virtues of volunteering through
workplaces.
Over the last 20 years, numerous organizations have been established that promote
volunteering through the workplace and offer resources for employee volunteer
programs. Table I lists some of the organizations headquartered in the United
Kingdom or the United States along with the date established and website address.
Support organizations exist in other countries as well; for example, the Netherlands has
Samenleving en Bedrijf (Business and Society) and Nederlandse Organisaties
Vrijwilligerswerk (Dutch Organizations Voluntary Work) (Meijs & Van der Voort,
2004). These organizations serve a demand for knowledge and guidance on how to
involve employees in volunteering. But why encourage volunteering by employees
through workplace programs? What makes employee volunteering worthy of our
special interest as scholars, policy-makers, and employers? Is there anything unique
Employee VolunteerPrograms 13
about attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes associated with employee volunteering versus
other types of volunteering? This chapter explores these questions and suggests areas
for further research.
TableI
Sampling of Support Organizations for Employee Volunteer Programs
Organization and Date Established Website

Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship www.be.edu/ centers/ eccl
us 1985
Points of Light Foundation US 1990 www.pointsoflight.org
Business for Social Responsibility US 1992 www.bsr.org
CityCares-Corporate Partners' ProgramUS 1992 www.citycares.org
Business Volunteers Unlimited US 1993 www.businessvolunteers.org
The Corporate Citizenship Company UK 1997 www.corporate-
citizenship.co. uk
Business in the Community- www.bitc.org.uk
Cares Program UK 1998
Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy www.corphilanthropy.org
us 1999
Chamber of Commerce- www.uschamber.com/ eccl
Center for Corporate Citizenship US 2000
Business Strengthening America US 2002 www.bsanetwork.org
Volunteering England UK 2004 www.volunteering. org. uk
Many of the organizations in Table 1 offer statistics on the scope, nature, and
benefits of employee volunteering. This chapter presents some of their and others'
recent claims and findings about employee volunteerism. As Cihlar (2004) notes in
his review of research on employee volunteer programs, there are few rigorous studies,
and most claims are based on anecdotal evidence. Many of the research reports on
employee volunteerism are purely descriptive and based on limited samples. There is a
dearth of studies using theoretical models to explain or predict the adoption, type, and
outcomes of employee volunteer programs and the attitudes and behaviors of
individuals who participate and do not participate in these programs. There is also a
strong normative tone to writings about employee volunteers with little attention to
the possibility that employee volunteer programs may have unsavory aspects, or that
some practices and policies are ineffective in achieving desirable ends. Additional
research can help in exploring the strategic, operational, and ethical challenges involved
in employee volunteer programs and aid in the development of models explaining
their existence, nature, and outcomes.
Description of Employee Volunteer Programs
Definition of an Employee Volunteer Program. An employee volunteer

program consists of the: formal and informal policies and practices that employers use
to encourage and help employees to volunteer in community service activities. The

program is sanctioned by the employing organization. It may be managed within the
organization, under a contract with an established nonprofit agency, or through an
independent organization chartered by the employer to support volunteering by
employees and retirees. Employee volunteer programs exist in nonprofit and
government organizations as well as business organizations, although almost all the
literature focuses on programs in the for-profit sector.
Employees serving their communities through an employee volunteer program do
not perform the service as part of their formal job descriptions, although there may be
an expectation by their employer, particularly for higher-level employees, that they will
participate in certain program events and serve in volunteer positions in the
community. To further business interests and for other reasons, many CEOs serve on
nonprofit boards and encourage their top executives to do the same. Some employees
believe volunteering as a representative of their employer is mandatory, and certain
programs expect volunteering from some employees (Hall, McKeown & Roberts,
2001; Walker & Pharoah, 2000; Witter, 2003). Participation and performance in
volunteer projects are sometimes included in formal performance appraisal systems
(Business Volunteers Unlimited, 2003; Meijs & Van der Voort, 2004; Witter, 2003).
Pressure to participate in employee volunteer programs and performance of
volunteer work on company time call into question the extent to which some
employee volunteer programs are involving only "volunteers" in service activities.
Meijs and Van der Voort (2004) suggest a typology for employee volunteer programs
with two dimensions. The first dimension is whether the employee or the employer
chooses the organization/ cause that is supported through the activity. The second
dimension is whether the activity is performed on the employee's own time or the
employer's time. It is an empirical as well as a conceptual question whether the
activities that have the greatest "voluntary" nature are those performed on the
employees' own time and chosen by the employee. Currently, it is not clear how
employee volunteer programs break out on these dimensions, and if distinct patterns
in attitudes, motivations, intentions, behaviors, and outcomes exist within and across
each two-dimensional category.
To be inclusive, this chapter will consider all employers that provide resource
support and encouragement to at least some of their employees wishing to serve their
communities outside of their formal job roles as having an employee volunteer
program. Within this encompassing label, there is diversity in the management
structure of the programs, the activities performed, and the incentives and supports
offered. The lack of detail in surveys of employee volunteer programs makes it
impossible to identify and describe the most common type.
The variety of terms used to discuss employee volunteer programs makes it
challenging to compare research study results (Cihlar, 2004; Meijs & Van der Voort,
2004; Rochlin & Christoffer, 2000). Employee volunteer programs may be treated as
one possible element under the corporate social responsibility, corporate philanthropy,
corporate citizenship, community relations, corporate social performance, corporate
community investment, business in society, public affairs, corporate social
responsiveness, and corporate social initiative labels. Employee volunteer programs go
by a variety of names including corporate community involvement, workplace
Employee Volunteer Programs 15

volunteering, employee involvement, employer-supported volunteering, and
community service through the workplace. In the U.K., "charity of the year
partnership" is a term used to describe a variety of approaches to the adoption of a
charity by a business. Employee volunteer projects in which the employees work
cooperatively with nonprofit or government organizations to address social ills may be
called public-private partnerships or relationships, corporate community partnerships,
new social partnerships, or intersectoral partnerships. With the diversity of terms in
use, and inadequate descriptions of research samples, it is difficult to know what
research findings to appropriately compare.
Management of Employee Volunteer Programs. Employee volunteering is

managed by employers through a variety of organizational forms. Employers differ in
who decides employee volunteer policies, practices, and activities, with some
employers encouraging wide participation of employees and others limiting decision
control to specialized staff members or top executives. Service activities undertaken by
employees within the auspices of the program may or may not be designed, initiated
or managed through the employer or employees. Employees coordinating volunteer
activity inside the organization may cooperate or collaborate with outside organizations
or work alone to create new projects and manage existing ones. An employer's
management of employee volunteer activity may be limited to asking employees to fill
out forms if they are using company time for volunteer activity and to report their
volunteer hours and activities so they can be acknowledged by the employer. Toward
the other end of the continuum of management infrastructure, the employer may have
staff that actively recruit and reward employee volunteers and coordinate specific tasks
for them to perform. There may even be trained liaisons throughout the organization
responsible for facilitating the volunteer activity of their units.
Austin (2000) offers a typology for cross-sectoral partnerships that can be adapted
to employee volunteer projects. Employee volunteer projects may fit one of three
stages of cross-sectoral partnership: philanthropic, transactional, and integrative. With
philanthropic partnerships the company gives resources to a nonprofit with little
assistance or coordination by the nonprofit. For example, the company may have a
fundraising activity and give the proceeds to a charity. The management of the project
is by the employer. With a transactional relationship, both the company and the
nonprofit invest management and financial resources in a project, but both partners are
pursuing their own interests and goals. For example, a company may send employee
teams to work on a house-building project set up by Habitat for Humanity. There is
little collective decision-making between Habitat staff and the company to design and
implement the event. It is more a matter of exchange than active collaboration.
Integrative partnerships are active collaborations in which goals and processes are highly
integrated to pursue a shared vision. Integrative partnership projects may go beyond
what each partner would envision alone and may actually transform the partners'
understanding of social problems. For example, The Nature Conservancy no longer
sees the Georgia-Pacific Corporation as an adversary. As its relationship with the
Corporation evolved, the Nature Conservancy began to see how the two could work
together to address environmental and economic concerns, and now the two jointly
manage forested wetlands in an integrative partnership (Austin, 2000).
Employee Volunteer Activities. Employees may volunteer individually, in

teams, and in organization-wide efforts. They may work with retirees, family
members, and community partners. Service activities may involve ongoing projects
such as tutoring at schools and loans of executives, or short-term special events such as
participation in a fundraising walk for a charity. Activities may be performed within
the employer's facility, for example, in the stuffing of backpacks with school supplies
for distribution to children, or off-site, through direct contact with service recipients in
nursing homes, homeless shelters, and parks.
Employers vary in how much diversity they allow in their employee volunteer
activities. Organizations with employee volunteer programs may limit encouragement
and support of employee volunteer activities to those matching specific causes or
organizations. These causes can be tied to the mission of the organization. For
example, a health insurance organization may emphasize employee volunteering for
health-related events such as blood drives, wellness training, and walks to raise money
for medical research. Some proponents of employee volunteer programs emphasize
use of the programs to help meet strategic business objectives (e.g., Austin, 1997a).
For example, the programs can help reduce mission-related costs by lowering health
insurance claims by encouraging healthier behaviors. Program activities can also be
used strategically to support employee development needs, for instance, by giving
employees experience in leadership roles. The activities can be chosen for media
interest and visibility in alignment with marketing and public relations strategic
objectives.
Some writers suggest that companies are increasingly focusing volunteer service
activities where they can best support business interests and leverage core competencies
such as accounting or software expertise (e.g., Dutton & Pratt, 1997; Hess, Rogovsky
& Dunfee, 2002; Muirhead et al., 2002). Activities also may be chosen to avoid
controversy and appeal to the widest array of employee interests. By contrast, there are
employers that place few restrictions on employee volunteering and attempt to place
all of it, no matter its nature, under the corporate umbrella. Anecdotal evidence
suggests that volunteering for religious organizations is typically excluded from
employee volunteer programs. Some companies rely on the personal preferences of
top management or staff to guide choices of employee volunteering opportunities
(Business Community Connections, 2004). Still others actively engage with
community partners in the selection of volunteer projects.
Employee Volunteer Incentives and Supports. Case studies and examples of

employee volunteer programs demonstrate a range of incentives and supports.
Employers may encourage and support employee volunteering through informal and
formal policies, practices, and structures. Examples of policies and practices include
flex time for volunteering, paid days off to volunteer, cash grants to organizations
where employees volunteer, guidelines for use of company time and resources to
support volunteering, and volunteer recognition events. Employees may help guide
and manage volunteer projects as members of advisory committees and team liaisons,
EmployeeVolunteerPrograms 17
or as staff hired to support the employee volunteer program. Employers may present
existing volunteer opportunities to employees through volunteer fairs, special
newsletters, and other mechanisms. Given the range and depth of possible incentives
and supports in an employee volunteer program, it is difficult to offer more than a
vague outline of possible practices and policies utilized in these programs.
Benefits of Employee Volunteer Programs
Despite their diversity, employee volunteer programs are widely promoted as

having numerous benefits for employees, employers, and the community. But few of
these claims are backed with rigorous empirical research. The studies the author
found, most of which are cited below, individually tend to have sampling problems
and limited generalizability, but as a whole they suggest that employee volunteer
programs are perceived to have positive benefits by employees, company leaders,
representatives from nonprofit community agencies, and the general public.
Evaluations of employee volunteering are often conducted by consultants on programs
within a single company. Findings from many of the surveys that use more than a
single company site are published by organizations with vested interest in showing
positive effects of employee volunteering. An additional concern is that studies often
report perceptions, rather than rely on hard data. Perceptions may not match reality, as
Galaskiewicz (1985) found in his study of corporate donations. Still, the relatively
consistent findings among studies of employee volunteering suggest that there are real,
or at least perceived, benefits from employee volunteer programs.
Employee-Related Outcomes. Employee volunteer programs are reputed to

have a variety of effects on employees that are positive for employers. Numerous
studies have found that employee skill development is perceived by employee
volunteers and company leaders to be an outcome of employee volunteering (e.g.,
Business Strengthening America, 2003; Business Volunteers Unlimited, 2003; The
Corporate Citizenship Company, 1998; Geroy, Wright & Jacoby, 2000; Graff, 2004;
Pancer, Baetz & Rog, 2002; Tuffrey, 2003). In her dissertation, Shaffer (1994) found
that skills valued by managers (communicating, socializing, coordinating, and agenda
skills) are perceived to be, and can be, developed through volunteer service work by
employees. Employee volunteering is found to improve employees' internal and
external networking (Business Strengthening America, 2003) and foster team-building
(Points of Light Foundation, 1998). Volunteering with employer supports may be
more likely to result in skill gain than volunteering without employer support; in one
survey, nearly-one half of employees who received volunteer support from their
employer report they gained skills applicable to their jobs (Hall, McKeown & Roberts,
2001). Less than a third of volunteers without employer support say they gained skills
they could apply to their jobs.
Employee attitudes, behaviors, and intentions appear to be affected by employee
volunteering. Higher employee morale is associated with volunteering through the
workplace (Business Strengthening America, 2003; Pancer, Baetz & Rog, 2002; Points
of Light Foundation, 1998; Tuffrey, 2003). Employee community involvement

through volunteer service positively influences employees' pride in their company
(Austin, 1997b, Business Strengthening America, 2003; Pancer, Baetz & Rog, 2002;
Tuffrey, 2003). Remarkably, employees do not have to participate in their employer's
volunteer program in order to have positive feelings about their employer (Tuffrey,
2003). Employees of companies with volunteer programs are more likely to
recommend their companies as good places to work than employees in companies that
do not support volunteerism (Walker, 2001). Those who are involved in the volunteer
program are more likely to recommend their employer to potential employees than
those who are not involved (Tuffrey, 2003).
Some studies highlight the more personal benefits that employees gain from
volunteering. These benefits include reduced stress, greater feeling of balance in life,
enhanced self-esteem and feelings of self-worth, positive feelings of having made a
difference in the lives of others, increased appreciation for what one has, and greater
respect for those in need (Pancer, Baetz & Rog, 2002). Austin (I 997b) notes the
personal fulfillment that employees find through volunteer activities. Increased self-
confidence may also result from volunteering through the workplace (Tuffrey, 2003).
Community-Related Outcomes. Some studies find that communities are

helped by employee volunteering. For example, participants in a General Mills
program felt their volunteering improved the nature and quality of community agency
services (Thomas & Christoffer, 1998). Healthier communities are perceived to be an
outcome of employee volunteering in studies by Business Strengthening America
(2003) and Business Volunteers Unlimited (2003). Pancer, Baetz, and Rog (2002)
report a range of outcomes of employee volunteering: enhanced sense of community
among volunteers, improved community environment, enhanced life for community
members, and new philanthropic contributions to community organizations.
Employee volunteers report gaining a broader understanding of social issues (Tuffrey,
2003) and their community (Thomas & Christoffer, 1999), which may be of benefit
to communities. Some business executive volunteers see their expertise and managerial
perspective as benefits to community agencies (Austin, 1997b). Also, employee
volunteer programs can give nonprofits credibility through the corporate name and
help in the attraction of additional support (Austin, 1997b; Pancer, Baetz & Rog,
2002). One study finds that community partners largely agree that business support
will become significantly more important to the nonprofit sector in the coming five to
10 years, and that developing relationships for corporate volunteers is a priority for
them (Business in the Community, 2002).
The overwhelming sentiment found in publications on employee volunteering is
that communities benefit from it. However, there may be negative effects of corporate
social responsibility initiatives on communities (Avishai, 1996; Freeman & Liedtka,
1991; Hyland, Russell & Hebb, 1990; Margolis &Walsh, 2004; Reich, 1998).
Tschirhart and St. Clair (2004) review how employee volunteer programs may
positively and negatively affect a community's access to resources, ability to solve
problems, members' sense of community, and member commitment to the
community. Avishai (I 996) and Reich (I 998) argue that corporate social initiatives
can help government neglect its responsibilities. Corporations may provide "band-

aids" that allow social problems to continue without effective protest and fundamental
change. By providing some alleviation of social problems, interest group pressures are
diminished. For example, by providing computers and school supplies to children in
impoverished school districts, employee volunteer programs can inadvertently reduce
pressure on government to provide more education funding. Corporations may be
taking on tasks that government traditionally has performed, changing expectations
and understandings about sector responsibilities. For example, by employee volunteers
acting as staff for reading and health education programs in public schools, the public
may come to see less need for paid, professionally-trained teachers in these areas in the
schools.
Wood (1991) suggests that it is important to question how much a firm's motives
affect how its resources are distributed in a community and, ultimately, the social
outcomes. Social problems addressed through corporate initiatives and the approach
used to address them may have more to do with customer or employee interests, or
marketing and public relations strategies than community needs (Benjamin, 2001;
Freeman & Liedtka, 1991; Kanter, 1999; Silver 2001). The Points of Light
Foundation found that 81 % of responding businesses used their volunteer program to
support core business functions (Points of Light Foundation, 2000). In addition to
being biased by corporate interests, corporate answers to social problems may be based
on economic efficiency approaches that do not adequately address the complexity of
the problems and do not involve key stakeholders in the development of the approach
to the problem (Freeman & Liedtka, 1991).
There is a danger that nonprofits may modify what they do in order to attract
corporate support. If they desire corporate financial or in-kind gifts, for example,
nonprofits may feel compelled to find a use for employee volunteers and to devote
precious resources to keeping the employee volunteers happy. This may lead to
mission drift, with certain activities offered primarily as an opportunity for employee
volunteer involvement, or activities developed with volunteer satisfaction as a higher
priority than service to clients. However, Logsdon, Reiner and Burke (I 990) suggest
that mutual benefits can be achieved if nonprofits use community needs assessments in
order to develop programs that are useful to the community but that will appeal to
corporate strategic interests.
A key question is whether communities gain, maintain, or lose resources with
employee volunteer programs. Meng (2002) demonstrates a way to empirically
examine this question but is unable to come to strong conclusions due to data
limitations. Another study found that employer support was associated with more
volunteer hours per person, and that employees who had support to modify work
hours contributed more volunteer hours than employee volunteers without this
particular support (Hall, McKeown & Roberts, 2001). Employees may serve their
community more or in different ways if left to their own devices. On the other hand,
employee volunteer programs may involve individuals who otherwise would not
volunteer. Price (2002) suggests that the convenience of company-organized volunteer
projects is a significant attraction for busy middle class and other professionals who
might otherwise not volunteer. Career-related incentives and peer pressure are other
reasons that employer volunteer programs may add to the volunteer pool and total
volunteer hours performed.

Employer-Related Outcomes. Advocates for employee volunteering often
connect corporate social responsibility to financial and market outcomes. But,
typically, studies do not measure employee volunteer practices or policies as part of
their measure of corporate social responsibility. Some advocates for employee
volunteer programs assume that if employee volunteering enhances corporate
reputation, and corporate reputation enhances the bottom line, then employee
volunteering enhances the bottom line. Another argument is that employee
volunteering results in cost-savings due to increased retention and lowered absenteeism.
In addition, employee volunteering improves the bottom line by enhancing
productivity and innovation through skill development and team-building. A link
between employee job motivation and employee volunteering is also sometimes
embedded in implicit models.
We know little about the costs and benefits to employers of running employee
volunteer programs. Rigorous empirical research may help to get at the actual impact
of employee volunteering, and specific volunteer program aspects, on the bottom line.
Possible mediators to include in such studies are depth and breadth of employee
participation, project type, availability of resources, and program supports and
incentives.
Some studies have found a connection between employee volunteering and
increased retention, recruitment, and lowered absenteeism, all of benefit to employers
(Business Volunteers Unlimited, 2003). Perceived community relations performance,
which may be enhanced through employee volunteering, can positively influence job
seekers (Backhaus, Stone & Heiner, 2002). However, the effect of community
relations on attractiveness of a company may be influenced by familiarity with the
company (Luce, Barber & Hillman, 2001). In addition to helping with recruitment,
employee volunteering can help develop new business, innovations, markets and
community goodwill (Austin, 19976; Rochlin & Christoffer, 2000). Community
involvement can help firms learn about trends and issues that may affect their
businesses (Logsdon, 1991). Studies by Business Strengthening America (2003) and
Business Volunteers Unlimited (2003) indicate that good customer relations and
customer satisfaction may be linked to employee volunteering. Some company leaders
report a direct correlation between employee volunteering and profitability (Points of
Light Foundation, 1998). Most of these studies reflect perceptions of respondents,
rather than hard data on the benefits to employers of employee volunteering.
Studies find a positive link between organization reputation/image and employee
volunteering (Austin, 19976; Business Community Connections, 2004; Business
Strengthening America, 2003; Pancer, Baetz & Rog, 2002; Rochlin & Christoffer,
2000). In a 1998 survey of 1,000 Americans, 37% of respondents said corporations
would impress them most by having their employees volunteer versus donating a large
sum of money or products and services (Rochlin & Christoffer, 2000). However, the
effect of employee volunteering on corporate image may not be consistent across the
globe. Meijs and Van der Voort (2004) claim that the perception of employee
volunteering is somewhat negative in the Netherlands. Rather than fulfill a public
expectation and thus help preserve the license to operate as Rochlin and Christoffer
(2000) suggest, Meijs and Van der Voort found in their study that employee
volunteering can meet with public disapproval. Negative perceptions are based on the
idea that companies are "showing off" and inappropriately controlling the private lives

of employees. Severe negative reactions from Dutch employees occur when a
company only recognizes and accepts some types of volunteer activities and not others,
and when employees who volunteer are given career advantages (Meijs & Van der
Voort, 2004).
Relevant to a discussion of benefits to employers is the still active debate on the
role of business in addressing social ills. Models of corporate social responsibility
typically treat philanthropic projects as discretionary activities that are less important
than a corporation's economic, legal, and ethical responsibilities (Wood, 1991).
Employee volunteer programs use company resources that perhaps could be put to
more direct use in maximizing shareholder wealth. Margolis and Walsh (2003),
among others, discuss arguments for and against corporate social initiatives. To touch
on this nuanced literature, the main questions relevant to employee volunteering are:
Does employee volunteering help to maximize shareholder wealth, and is the
maximization of shareholder wealth necessary in order to justify the use of employee
volunteer programs by business firms?
Employee Volunteering Numbers and Trends
Existing survey data are inadequate to determine the extent of employee volunteer
programs, or the depth and breadth of employee participation. Studies are
inconsistent in their methods and findings. Study reports are often missing detail on
the sample and methodology employed to collect data. Table 2 presents illustrative
recent studies that try to capture how much employee volunteering exists. The studies
highlighted are limited to the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, though
employee volunteer programs exist throughout the world (Rochlin, Bliss, Bruce &
Coulson, 2001).
The studies in Table 2 reflect the challenges in collecting data on employee
volunteering. Most of the studies rely on convenience samples and suffer from non-
response bias. As Cihlar (2004) notes, respondents are likely to have more
involvement in employee volunteer programs than non-respondents, biasing the
figures upward. Also, it is important to look at the population from which data are
drawn. For example, the Center for Corporate Citizenship used participants in its
seminars as subjects for its Community Involvement Index and found that 85% of the
respondents' companies have employee volunteer programs. Companies in the sample
are more likely than the average company to have an employee volunteer program
given the investment in corporate social responsibility and employee development
shown by their seminar attendance. Finally, the definition of what constitutes an
employee volunteer program, and the scope of programs, are likely to be inconsistent
across samples and organizations.

Table2
Recent Study Findings on Extent of Employee Volunteering
Study Sample Findings

2001-2002 Survey of 2,776 U.S. About 40% have an
Corporate Involvement (Guthrie, 2004) Businesses employee volunteer
program but varies by city
2001 Home Office Citizenship Survey 15,475 Welsh 4% volunteered in
(Attwood, 2003) and English employer programs in last
individuals 12 months (7% of those
employed, 21 % of those
in companies with
programs)
Community Involvement Index 2003 151 seminar 85% of respondents
(Witter, 2003) attendees have an employee
volunteer program
National Survey of Giving, 14,724 47% of volunteers who
Volunteering & Participating Canadians had an employer said
(Hall, McKeown & Roberts, 2001) age 15 and received support for
older volunteering from
employer
2003 Report to the Nation About 200 50% of employees
(Business Strengthening America BSA member participate in employee
(BSA), 2003) organizations volunteer program, 83% of
responding companies
provide volunteer
opportunities
VeraWorks Inc. Study 104 Fortune 82% have employee
(Vera Works, 2002) 500 firms volunteer programs
The Consulting Network 100 large 90% have employee
(Coy and Jenkins, 2003) compames volunteer programs
State of Corporate Citizenship in the U.S. 515 us 53% believe public expects
· (Center for Corporate Citizenship, 2004) Chamber of them to contribute time
Commerce and money to address
businesses community needs, 55%
support their employees
volunteering (27% to large
extent, 28% to moderate
extent)
Prudential Financial Company Sponsored 647 employed 54% report employer
Volunteerism Survey (Xu, Haydon, U.S. adults, encourages volunteerism,
O'Malley & Bridgeforth, 2002) random sample 42% that employer
sponsors volunteer
programs, of those with
programs 80% participate
Website Study (Cihlar, 2004) 125 Fortune 94% of Fortune 50 and
500 websites 55% of remaining Fortune
500 websites say
employees volunteer
EmployeeVolunteerPrograms23
Claims about trends suffer from the same problems as claims about the prevalence
of employee volunteer programs. Sampling and measurement weaknesses abound.
Comparability across questionnaires, even those from the same researchers, is not
always clear from research reports. In addition, without more data points, it is
difficult to know the strength and character of trend lines. To briefly review this
research: Witter (2003) found a drop in loaned executives and volunteer incentive
programs in 2002 from 2001 and 2000. Prudential studies show a drop from 1998
to 2002 in those reporting that their employer encourages volunteerism, but the
number with employers sponsoring volunteer programs was about the same (Xu,
Haydon, O'Malley & Bridgeforth, 2002). However, the number of employees
participating in employer programs increased. A 2002 Conference Board Report
suggests a growth in employee volunteering with companies replacing traditional
philanthropy with strategic service programs (Muirhead, Bennett, Berenbeim, Kao &
David, 2002). A Canadian study suggests that employer support to modify work
hours to accommodate volunteering and recognition for volunteering increased from
1997 to 2000 (Hall, McKeown & Roberts, 2001).
Employee volunteering can be found around the globe. Some multi-national
companies have programs in all or many of the locations where they do business
(Logan, 2004; Rochlin, Bliss, Bruce & Coulson, 2001). Multinationals headquartered
in the United States may be leading the way in spreading these programs around the
world (Logan, 2004). Logan argues that there is little employee volunteering in
locally-owned companies in developing and post-communist countries. Given the
lack of sound empirical data on the extent of employee volunteering in the United
States, it is not surprising that there is no thorough empirically-based comparison of
the United States with other countries on employee volunteer programs. Still, more
than one writer places the United States at the forefront of employee volunteering
(Cihlar, 2004; Logan, 2004; Meijs & Van der Voort, 2004). The United Kingdom is
also presented as a leader in employee volunteering (Cihlar, 2004).
Research on Management of Employee Volunteer Programs
A wide array of manuals and other resources are available to employers interested in
establishing or enhancing an employee volunteer program. The guidance appears to be
based on rules of thumb and adaptations of practices from general human resource
management and public relations, rather than research that specifically examines
whether particular practices and policies used for strategic leadership and operational
management of employee volunteer activities actually produce desired outcomes and
avoid unintended consequences.
Research findings on management practices for employee volunteering are not
drawn from tests of hypotheses. Most merely count types of policies or practices to
support employee volunteering, such as: paid time off for volunteering; commitment
to volunteering in annual reports; adapting work hours to accommodate volunteering;
annual recognition ceremonies; training for volunteer work; volunteer teams; volunteer
liaison positions; volunteer fairs to present opportunities; evaluation of performance as
a volunteer; strategic planning; paid professional support staff; name and logo for the

volunteer program; regular communications; employee advisory committees;
incentives such as matching grants for volunteering; use of equipment or facilities; and,
encouragement of family participation in volunteer projects (for example, Bridgeforth,
2002; Business Volunteers Unlimited, 2003; Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, 2004;
Hall, McKeown & Roberts, 2001; Thomas & Christoffer, 1999; VeraWorks, Inc.,
2002, Witter, 2003; Xu, Haydon, O'Malley & Guthrie, 2004). A5 a whole, these
studies demonstrate that no practices or policies are universally adopted.
The body of research shows that there are many possible locations for coordination
of employee volunteering. Typical locations include the CEO office, and marketing,
human resources, community relations, and public relations departments. Guthrie
(2004) finds that 28% of companies with employee-supported volunteering have a
special department dedicated to philanthropic and charitable activity. It is unclear
whether the home of the program affects goals, strategies, attitudes, behaviors, and
outcomes related to employee volunteering. Benjamin (2001) provides one of the
more comprehensive surveys of program details and identifies key challenges for
program administrators: limited amount of staff time, lack of clear policies, and
disbursed authority.
Conclusion
Employee volunteering is a research area desperately in need of theory. A deeper,

more theoretical understanding of employee volunteering can help guide policies and
practices. Descriptive studies, especially those with limitations on generalizability, can
only take us so far in our understanding. Better baselines on what companies are doing
and how many employees are volunteering can help in the identification of trends but,
standing alone, they do not help us understand why the trends are occurring. We need
empirical models and investigations that help us see the underlying dynamics behind
the establishment and implementation of employee volunteer programs as well as
employees' participation and performance in them. Research can help uncover
influences on employee volunteering at the micro and macro levels. We also need to
take a more rigorous and balanced look at outcomes, searching for unintended
consequences and long-term effects, as well as the achievement of project and program
objectives.
More research is needed to determine if employee volunteering has a
complementary, neutral or substitutive relationship on total volunteering as well as the
relative quality of employee volunteering versus other types. We know little about the
costs and benefits to nonprofit agencies of working with employee volunteers.
Non profit agencies draw volunteers from many sources. Compared to other
institutions offering volunteers such as schools and places of worship, is it worthwhile
for nonprofits to work with employee volunteer programs? What do nonprofits gain
and lose by having employers as intermediaries or silent partners for some of their
volunteers? More research is needed to gain insight on nonprofit agencies' attitudes,
behaviors, and outcomes related to employee volunteering.
We also need to examine more closely the causes that are supported by employee
volunteer programs. This may help us see if and how employee volunteer programs
EmployeeVolunteerPrograms 25
are influencing the approaches, institutions, and resources focused on particular public
problems and issues. Are controversial causes and those involving a complex array of
partners ignored? Do favorite causes have an overabundant supply of employee
volunteering resources relative to their and others' needs? Are nonprofit organizations
selecting causes and crafting projects with an eye to their attractiveness to employee
volunteer coordinators looking for short-term engagements that can involve a large
number of employees? Is this affecting the nonprofits' pursuit of other projects less
suited to employee volunteer programs? In addition, are employee volunteer programs
influencing the public's and government's agenda? Are employees taking advantage of
the convenience of employer-coordinated projects without considering where, ideally,
they would like to expend their volunteer time and effort? Are employee volunteer
programs' approaches to public problems more likely to be band-aids than government
approaches?
Given the overwhelming positive sentiment toward employee volunteering, at least
in the United States and the United Kingdom, it is likely that employer
encouragement and support of volunteering will continue, if not grow. And, if
advocates and consulting organizations have their way without a change in orientation,
there will continue to be an emphasis on making the business case for employee
volunteering. More for-profit companies may seek strategic leverage from employee
volunteering to support business interests. This is not necessarily a problem if
community partners and government are aware of how business goals may shape
services offered and effectively work to see that their own goals are not undermined
and that priority community needs are addressed.
Not all employee volunteering is through for-profit employers, however.
Government and nonprofit organizations also may encourage and support employee
volunteering. By neglecting other types of employers with employee volunteer
programs, we may give undue weight to business influence in communities.
Currently, research and practitioner publications on employee volunteering are heavily
biased by their almost exclusive focus on business settings.
We should not ignore important legal and ethical issues related to the boundaries
between work and volunteer activity. This is especially true when employees are
encouraged by employers to perform volunteer service work that is the same or similar
to their formal job tasks. For example, nurses may be asked to volunteer to give blood
pressure screenings or talks on wellness. An amorphous boundary between work and
volunteering may be more common in government and nonprofit employment
settings than in for-profit settings. However, in businesses emphasizing use of core
competencies in service activities, employees may be asked to perform the same type of
work they do in their job for their volunteer activities. Also, evaluation by employers
of employees' volunteer performance raises the question of whether the volunteer
service is job-related.
Rigorous scholarship is needed to enhance the growing, but currently, largely a-
theoretical literature on employee volunteering. Employers have an abundance of
materials and consultants to guide development of employee volunteer programs, but
these resources largely treat programs as having only positive benefits, few costs, and
are biased to for-profit employers. This chapter suggests the kind of work that has

been done - and could be done - to further our understanding and potentially
improve policy and practice.
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30 Emergi,ngAreas
of Volunteering
VIRTU1\L VOLUNTEERING
Vic Murray
Yvonne Harrison
Virtual Volunteering(VV) is the applicationof informationand commuuirotiom

technology(!CT) to the process~fuo!tmteering. Though still not in widespreadme, its
_potmtiaLas tl toolfor both manti'gersof volunteerresourcesand volunteersunable tofind
what thty want by traditional means is great. This chapterexaminesthe various
dimensionsof Wand presentsnew researchdtzttt.on the nature rmd extmt of \IV in
Canada (with re.fn-ences to the Limitl'dU.S. ernpiricaL
Literantreon the topic). ft also
looksat how virtual volunteersdijfe,'fi·ommore traditionttl uoiunteers,and differences
between vobtntmy organizationsthat make use of \IVs rmd thoSf that do not. The
q1testionof how satisfiedboth 11r,•Lunteers
and ma11agers of volunteeri-esourcesare with the
\IV experienceis alsoaddn,ssed.1'l;echaptel' concludeswith tt mmma,y ~fpractirrd
guidciines.forstartinga W prognm1anti a discussionof thepossiblej11tureof VV, especial(y
itspotential far growth and the nature of hs impart on the clevefopmelliof socialcapital.
Introduction
Virtual volunreering (henc-eforth to be known as W) is che term coined to

describe rhe use of information. and communications ced1nology (TCT) to permit
some part of che volunteering process co be carried out at a distance from the
organization. While "volunteering ar a distance" is not new, the application of
computers using the Internet and web-based technology co volunteering is quire recent.
As a result, VV has gained considerable arcenrion in volunteer management circles as a
possible "solurion" to declining rates of volunteering and an amidote to widespread
feelings of isolation and alienation among certain segments of society (Tyler 2002,
2003; Tech Soup, 2003; Camlot, 2:003).
The liceratun.: on W contains many useful guidelines on how to develop and
manage chis rype of volunteeri111g(robe discussed below), but very little research inco
the nature and extent of ir. Nor is chere much information on the influences that give
rise to it or the impttctit is having on volunteering and volunteer programs.
This chapter will explore eight aspects of virtua.l volun reering:
1. What is virtual volunteering?
2. Why is it important?
Virtual Volunteering 3 I
3. How much and what kind ofW is going on?
4. What kinds of people are engaging in W, and how do they differ from
"traditional" types of volunteers?
5. Are some kinds of nonprofit organizations more likely to use W than others?
6. How satisfied are volunteers and volunteer managers with their W experience?
7. What recommendations can be made to managers of volunteer programs who
would like to introduce or enhance information and communications technology
applications in their organizations?
8. Finally, what is the likely future of W? Here we will discuss such questions as:
What will be the likely levels of supply and demand for virtual volunteers? And does
W have the potential to impact the goal of increasing social capital-the development
of mutual trust and respect among members of civil society?
What Is Virtual Volunteering?
As noted above, virtual volunteering (VY) is the application of information and

communications technology to the process of volunteering. The volunteering process
can be viewed from the point of view of a volunteer or the manager of a volunteer
program. For an individual who volunteers, the process is one of, first, deciding to
volunteer; next, selecting the organization with which to volunteer; then, deciding on
the specific form of volunteer work; and finally, actually carrying out that work. In
"traditional" volunteering, each step in the process is usually carried out through face-
to-face interaction with those in the voluntary organization. In the case of virtual
volunteering, however, ICT can be utilized at each step in the process after the initial
decision to volunteer. It is now possible to locate potential volunteer positions on the
World Wide Web, interact with the manager of volunteers to go through the selection
process and actually carry out the work itself at a distance using ICT.
From the point of view of managers of volunteer resources, the process is similar.
They must decide on the nature of the volunteer work to be done, then locate a pool
of potential volunteers (recruitment), select those they want, put them to work, and
oversee their performance. Again, ICT can now enter the picture at each stage of this
process. By contrast, managers of volunteer resources who are not involved with W
may well use computers and various software programs in their work, but they do not
attempt to locate, select, train or supervise volunteers at a distance (i.e., in a non-face-
to-face manner) using the ICT tools of the Internet or the World Wide Web.
For the purposes of this chapter, we will be focusing on two aspects of the
volunteering process:
1. The use ofl CT in finding volunteer work by volunteers and recruitment by
volunteer managers; and
2. The use ofICT in actually carrying out volunteer work at a distance, again,
from the point of view of both the volunteer and the volunteer manager. These two
dimensions create four types of volunteers and volunteer managers as shown in
Table I.

Table I
Types of Virtual Volunteering
How volunteer work is performed: How potential volunteers are recruited:

Online searching Traditional Methods
Virtually Complete Virtual Virtual/Traditional
Volunteering Volunteering
Traditionally Traditional/Virtual Complete Traditional
Volunteering Volunteering
Type 1: The "complete" virtual volunteer or volunteer manager uses ICT to find
work (or volunteers) and uses ICT (or has ICT positions) where work can be
performed virtually in whole or in part.
Type 2: The "traditional/virtual" volunteer, or volunteer manager, uses traditional

methods to find work (or recruit volunteers) but performs it (or has it performed)
virtually.
Type 3: The "virtual/traditional" volunteer, or volunteer manager, uses ICT to

find work (or to recruit volunteers) but performs it (or has it performed) traditionally.
Type 4: The "fully traditional," or non-virtual volunteer or volunteer manager,

does not use ICT to find volunteer opportunities (or volunteers) orin the performance
of volunteer work.
Why Is Virtual Volunteering Important?
We will see in a moment that Wis not yet (as of 2004) in large-scale use and,
because of this, some may feel it is of only minor importance in the big picture of the
state of volunteerism today. However, the use of personal computers and their
Internet applications continues to grow at a tremendous rate. Currently, an estimated
49% to 51 % of the households in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2004) and 63% of the
population over the age of 18 in the U.S. have physical access to ICT (Madden &
Rainie, 2003) 1•
Given this situation, the use ofICT for locating larger pools of potential
volunteers and creating positions that make it easier to volunteer is a logical
development. Furthermore, ICT has great potential in allowing people who might
never be able to volunteer because of an inability to travel or other reasons (such as
disabilities, domestic responsibilities, etc.) to perform useful work at a distance. In
1
This said, it must be noted that a "digital divide" still exists--not all sectors of the economy or
population groups have equal access to ICT and, of those that do, not all are using it to the same degree
(Murray and Harrison, 2002; Manzo and Pitkin, 2002; Staeyean, 2002; Madden and Rainie, 2003;
Lenhart et al, 2003; Robinson, Dimaggio and Hargittai, 2003). For example, Staeyeart (2002, p. 200),
reports that ICT access is "following patterns of social stratification," including more access by the rich
than the poor, by men more than women, and by the more educated than the less educated.
Virtual Volunteering 33
general, the more ICT use permeates all levels and sectors of society, the more
important it will become as a resource for both volunteers and volunteer managers.
How Much and What Kind ofVV Is Going On?
With regard to the use ofICT in volunteer recruitment, since 2000 there has been
a steady growth in volunteer opportunity matching services at both national and local
levels. "Volunteer Match" (www.volunteermatch.org) in the U.S. and the Volunteer
Opportunities Exchange (www.voe-reb.org) in Canada are examples of services that
allow potential volunteers to find opportunities online and volunteer managers to
locate and contact possible recruits who have indicated an interest in volunteering.
Similarly, many Volunteer Centres in cities across North America have created their
own online volunteer opportunity matching services for their local areas, and more and
more individual nonprofit organizations have incorporated these features within their
websites. 2
The question remains, however, as to how much these online services are actually
being used and, once volunteers have been selected, how many are doing their work
"virtually," at a distance using ICT applications. Regrettably, there is not a lot of
information available on these questions. Brudney (2004) summarizes what little is
known. In the U.S., the Independent Sector organization has published regular reports
over the years on Givingand Volunteeringin America. Its 1999 report noted that only
1% of those sampled learned about volunteer opportunities through the Internet, but
nothing was said about how many of them subsequently engaged in virtual volunteer
work. By the time of the 2001 Report, the number who learned about volunteer
opportunities through the Internet had tripled to 3%. Among those who had Internet
access (i.e., were on the "enabled" side of the digital divide), 13% used it to find
volunteer work and, of those who did, 4% reported that they had performed that
work virtually through the Internet in the previous year.
In Canada, the authors of this chapter carried out several surveys of potential
volunteers, actual volunteers and managers of volunteer resources between 2001 and
2003 3• One group consisted of226 prospective volunteers using a local online
volunteer opportunity service operated by the Victoria (BC) Volunteer Center, to be
referred to hereafter as the "local" sample. This group was also contacted four months
later to learn what they had actually done in the way of volunteer work. Fifty-two of
them responded to this follow-up. They will be referred to hereafter as the "follow-
up" sample. Another group consisted of 1,745 prospective volunteers using the
national Volunteer Opportunity Exchange (VOE) operated by Volunteer Canada,
which we will call the "national" sample. Similarly, 282 of this group responded to a
follow-up survey four months later, and are also included in the "follow-up" sample.
2 The most complete list of online volunteer opportunities can be found at the website of Service Leader,
the main source of information on virtual volunteering: http://www.serviceleader.org/new/virrual/2003/
04/000028.php
3 Though the surveys were related in that they all dealt with ICT use, the questions were not all the same
for each sample; hence, the results to follow draw on different combinations of survey data based on
commonality of questions.
Finally, 195 people who volunteered "on-site" in Victoria BC responded to a mail
questionnaire asking about their volunteer experiences. They will be known as the
"traditional" sample.
On the other side of the coin, two groups of managers of volunteer resources
(MVRs) were surveyed about the extent to which they used ICT in their programs and
its perceived impact. One group consisted of 129 MVRs in Victoria (to be known as
the MVR 'local' sample) and the other was 365 MVRs from across Canada (the MVR
'national sample') who were on the Internet mailing list of Volunteer Canada, the
national umbrella association of volunteer centers. Note that, except for the
'traditional' volunteers and a sample oflocal MVRs, all the participants in these studies
were known users ofICT in some form; i.e., they were on the 'enabled' side of the
digital divide, so it is already a biased sample when they are used to estimate the extent
of virtual volunteering. Obviously, those with no access to computers and the Internet
would not be participating in W in any form.
Our data provided some answers to the following questions:
■ Regarding how many prospective volunteers found volunteer work using an
online search system, of the 1,745 respondents who had tried the national system, only
93 (5%) said that this led to an actual volunteer job of some kind.
■ Of those who did find work through an online system, 62% engaged in a
combination of virtual and traditional volunteer work.
■ Among the 334 users of the online systems, both nationally and locally, who
responded to our follow-up questionnaire four months after the first survey, 149
(45%) of them had made contact with an organization, 105 (31 %) had found
volunteer work, and 65 (19%) had obtained that work through online sources. Of
those who volunteered, only 14 (13%) reported that the work they found was virtual.
■ Of the 195 traditional volunteers surveyed by mail in Victoria, 11 of them
(6%) said they used the Internet to find their positions. Thirty-three of them ( 18%)
reported doing some combination of virtual and traditional work. The majority
(82%) carried out only traditional, 'on-site' kinds of volunteer work.
■ The extent of"complete virtual volunteering" (where ICT was used both to find
and perform volunteer work) in the traditional and follow-up sample groups was very
low with only 4% of traditional and 8% of follow-up volunteers engaged in this way.
■ It is also possible to look at the data from the point of view of managers of
volunteer resources (MVRs). Of the 494 MVRs surveyed, 235 (64%) of the national
sample and 71 (55%) of the local sample reported using the Internet as a way of trying
to find prospective volunteers.
■ In terms of the availability ofW jobs for these people, 124 (34%) of the
national sample and 42 (33%) of the local sample said they had some positions that
could be performed virtually. And, of those who said they had such positions, 72%
said they had made between one to five placements into them. This suggests that use
of online recruitment systems was an effective way to fill virtual volunteer positions.
■ We found that a majority of both national and local managers (64% and 55%,
respectively) were using ICT to find volunteers. However, large percentages of the
national and local samples (43% and 49%, respectively) had no openings for virtual
volunteers. Over a quarter (29% and 26%) were completely virtual, and very few
managers were of the type that had virtual openings but did not use ICT in some way
to fill them (6% and 7%). Less than a quarter (23% and 18%) were of the traditional
type who did not use ICT in any way.
In summary, it can be seen that, as of 2004, the extent of virtual volunteering was
still minimal. The U.S. data showed only 3% of volunteers using the Internet to find
positions, though the trend was growing. The Canadian data indicate that, among
users of the national online volunteer opportunity matching sites, few had found
positions through them (only 5% of the national and 12% of the local and follow-up
samples), and most of them ended up doing a combination of on-site and virtual
volunteering. In other words, "complete virtual" volunteers were still quite rare. On
the other hand, the finding that more MVRs were starting to use ICT in one way or
the other suggests that future demand for complete virtual volunteering could grow.
What Kind of Work Is Done by Virtual Volunteers?
Again, research-based information on this question is scant. Aside from our

empirical data noted above, most of it is in the form of anecdotal reports from
individual users of volunteer resources (e.g. Tyler, 2003) and recommendations of
possible VV tasks from experts on volunteering. Chief among the latter is Service
Leader, located in the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of
Texas, Austin (www.serviceleader.org), formerly headed by Jayne Cravens (who has
since gone on to direct volunteering for the United Nations (www.unv.org). But there
are also others such as Timebank U.K., a British volunteer promotion site (http://
www.timebank.co.uk/aboutgiving/virtual.htm). Below is a list of suggestions for VV
work posted on Timebank's website:
■ Researching on the web
■ Tracking relevant legislation
■ Giving specialist advice
■ Creating databases
■ Designing a website or newsletter
■ Providing translation facilities
■ Providing telephone or e-mail mentoring
■ Supervising or moderating a chat room, news group or e-mail discussion group
Turning to the kind of work that is actually being done virtually, the best source of
data is that from our samples. Respondents could choose from a list of 10
possibilities. Table 2 shows the results for the national and local samples of managers
of volunteer resources and the national sample of prospective volunteers using the
national volunteer matching service. As can be seen, the top three types of virtual
volunteer assignments reported by managers of volunteer resources were "desktop
publishing" (national 14%; regional 20%), "Website development and maintenance"
(national 12%; regional 21 %) and research (national 13; regional 18%) 4•
4 Though our respondents were asked to report only on "virtual" tasks, it should be noted that many of
them, such as desktop publishing, fundraising, etc., could have been performed on site as well. We have
no idea how many might have been doing these tasks both at home and at the organization's office.

Table 2
Types of Virtual Volunteer Work Performed
Type of Virtual Volunteering National Local National

MVRs MVRs Volunteers
(n=365) (n=l29) (n=l,745)
% % %
Desktop Publishing 14 20 9
Developing/Maintaining Websites 12 21 6
Research 13 18 6
Fundraising 8 11 3
Other 7 10 47
Direct Service Delivery 7 7 13
Developing Manuals 7 7 3
Policy Development 4 4 3
Distance Training 2 2 5
Nearly half (47%) of the national volunteer group reported that they were carrying
out some "other" type of virtual assignment than those in the 10 categories that our
previous research had suggested were the most common. Unfortunately, our online
questionnaire did not permit respondents to explain what these "other" virtual tasks
were. To get a sense of what might be included in "other," we looked for clues in how
local managers of volunteer resources and the traditional volunteer group described
their tasks when asked to elaborate on the "other" category in their surveys. For them,
"other" virtual volunteering included three cases of database entry and management;
three cases of virtual volunteer management including online recruitment, scheduling
and coordination; three cases of project management including event and community
mapping projects; and, one case each of online technology support, language
translation and accounting.
What Kinds of People Are Engaging in Virtual Volunteering?

Do They Differ From Traditional Volunteers?
Among the interesting questions here are whether the various types of virtual
volunteers are different demographically from those who do not use ICT in
volunteering. Regarding gender, more women than men were using online services in
looking for volunteer work in both the local (76%) and national groups (68%) in
Canada. 5 Regarding age differences, the national online users were significantly
younger than the local online and traditional groups. This may be due to the fact that
the local population in Victoria, B.C., is significantly older than the Canadian national
average, whereas the national sample is more reflective of the age distribution of the
country as a whole.
5
These figures are not that different from Canadian national surveys of volunteering, which show
slightly more women than men volunteering- 28% vs. 25% (www.givingandvolunteering.ca).
VirtualVolunteering 37
We found education to be a key variable. University-educated volunteers were
significantly more likely to have used some ICT to find and/or perform their work
(74%) than volunteers who had used only traditional methods (56%). This suggests
there is a digital divide between those who have high levels of education and those who
do not. For those without university education, this means that opportunities to
apply skills or to develop new ones through volunteering will likely be confined to
traditional types of volunteer work.
With respect to employment, the "e-enabled" prospective volunteers from the
national and local online groups were more likely than the traditional group to be
unemployed (local 32%; national 35% compared to 8% in traditional group). This
could be a reflection of the age differences between the groups, and the fact that
younger volunteers are also more likely to still be students. In addition, completely
virtual volunteers who used ICT both to find and perform volunteer work were more
likely to see volunteering as an activity that might lead to employment (66% of them
were motivated by this purpose, compared to 30% of those who were only partial
virtual volunteers, and 16% of the completely traditional group).
Other Differences Between Online Users and Traditional Volunteers. We

also analyzed the background characteristics of the various groups in our study. We
looked at the extent of their prior volunteering experience, their experience using ICT
in general, and their general attitudes toward ICT.
We found that users of the local and national online recruitment systems were
more likely to be new to volunteering than were the traditional volunteers (64% local;
67% national). This finding is also supported by the fact that over three-quarters
(81 %) of the national online users reported they were first-time visitors to Volunteer
Canada's website.
While online recruitment system users were more likely to be newer to
volunteering, they were, surprisingly, more likely than the traditional group to have
devoted more time to volunteering (more than five hours per week). Annualized as
260 hours a year, this is also much higher than the 162 hours the "typical" volunteer
contributed in Canada (Hall, McKeown & Roberts, 2001).
When examining other background characteristics of volunteers, we found that
having ICT skills was a significant factor in ICT usage. More specifically, the more
ICT skills our respondents said they had, the more likely they were to have reported
using online recruitment systems to look for volunteer opportunities and, once they
found them, the more likely they were to use ICT in their work.
In summary, online searchers for volunteer positions are of both sexes but younger
and more likely to possess a university education than traditional volunteers. Though
most are employed, a greater number are not when compared to the traditional group,
probably reflecting the younger population using this service, who are more likely to
still be students and perceive volunteering as good experience for future careers. These
online service users were also, on average, newer to volunteering but put in more
volunteer hours and had more prior experience with ICT.
Are Some Kinds of Nonprofit Organizations More Likely to Use
Virtual Volunteering Than Others?
Even though the demand for virtual volunteers is relatively small, we were
interested in whether certain types of voluntary organizations were more likely to be
"out front" in adopting this new form of volunteering. We looked at organizational
features such as sector (e.g., social services, the arts, health, etc.), budget size and size of
volunteer programs (represented by the number of volunteers). We also looked at the
size of volunteer program budget, how much money was allocated to information and
communications technology in the volunteer program, and the extent to which
organizations provided specialized support and had formal policies and guidelines
covering information and communications technology matters.
Interestingly, none of these organizational factors was associated at a statistically
significant level with the use ofICT in recruiting volunteers or using them virtually.
Thus, it appears that other factors must influence whether a volunteer program decides
to try virtual volunteering.
Another possible explanation for the differences in ICT usage patterns is the
background of managers of volunteer resources (MVRs). We looked at characteristics
such as their age, gender, education, prior work experience, and computer experience
and skills. We also looked at the attitudes of MVRs toward the use ofICT in general
and volunteering in particular.
Only two of these characteristics had any significant association with virtual
volunteering: the amount of prior work experience as managers of volunteer resources
and their attitudes toward virtual volunteering. Managers in the national sample with
lessthan five years' experience as MVRs tended to use more types ofICT in their
positions than did managers with more experience. In addition, managers with positive
attitudes toward virtual volunteering were significantly more likely to have adopted
ICT in their work (or, conversely, those who had had good experiences with ICT in
some other situation were more likely to develop positive attitudes toward it). When
controlling for attitudes, we found that job experience was only a significant factor
among managers with positive attitudes. These findings suggest that those who are
positive about ICT changes and relatively new to volunteer management are more
willing to experiment with new kinds of methods to carry out the work of their
volunteer program.
How Satisfied Are Volunteers and Volunteer Managers With

Their Virtual Volunteering Experience?
How Satisfied Are Potential Volunteers With Online Volunteer Opportunity

Services? The users of the online systems for finding volunteer work were relatively
satisfied with their experiences using these systems. Eighty-six percent of the national
sample (using Volunteer Canada's volunteer opportunity matching service) and 81 % of
the local sample (using Volunteer Victoria's online matching service) felt the system
they used provided them with the information that they needed. In terms of how well
these systems matched their preferences to available jobs, 62% of the national sample
and 54% of the local sample were satisfied that the system provided them with a
suitable match (rated "good" to "excellent"). In the follow-up sample, contacted four
months after the initial contact, 44% of the local group and 49% of national group
were satisfied to the extent that they said they would be likely to use online
recruitment services again.
Very few of the traditional group had used either of the online services and, of
those who had, most (82%) found them unsatisfactory. This group was also asked
about their attitudes toward ICT in general. A negative overall attitude was held by
51 % of them, which may suggest that pre-existing negative attitudes can inhibit the
development of positive attitudes toward the use ofICT in volunteering.
How Satisfied Are Volunteers With Doing Their Volunteer Work

'Virtually'? Data on this question were available only for the sample of traditional
volunteers 6 • Thirty-three percent of them had tried virtual volunteering and, of those,
68% reported that it had worked out successfully and that they would try it again.
Those who had positive attitudes toward the value ofICT in general were significantly
more likely to have used more ICT in volunteering.
How Satisfied Are Volunteers With the Way They Use ICT Tools in Their
Work? The traditional volunteers were also asked a general question about their use of
the Internet and the World Wide Web in their volunteer work. Of those who had
used it, 42% were completely satisfied with it, and 58% felt improvements could be
made. Of those who felt improvements could be made, 30% would like to use the
Internet more, and 27% would like to be able to volunteer virtually. This suggests
that the demand for W positions is likely to grow.
How Satisfied Are Managers of Volunteer Resources With Online

Recruitment Services? Only 22% of the national sample of managers of volunteer
resources and 53% oflocal managers were satisfied with the use of their respective
online recruitment services. The difference in satisfaction between the samples could
be reflective of differences between the two online recruitment systems. The national
system is a direct interactive system with no assistance provided by its sponsor,
Volunteer Canada. Volunteer Victoria, which sponsors the local system, assists MVRs
with the task of posting their volunteer opportunities online.
How Satisfied Are Managers of Volunteer Resources With Their Virtual

Volunteers? Volunteer program managers were asked to compare the dependability
and quality of work of virtual volunteers with that of on-site volunteers. Eighty
percent of them reported that they found no difference in dependability. About 10%
said that virtual volunteers were more dependable, while another 10% said they were
less dependable. Eighty percent of the MVRs reported that they found no difference in
the quality of work of the two groups, while 16% felt their work was of higher
6The reason for this was that the studies of the users of the online recruitment services focused
only on the nature and extent of their use of the service rather than their satisfaction with virtual
volunteer jobs. As it turned out very few of them actually obtained such jobs.
quality, and 4% found it to be oflower quality.
How Satisfied Are Man~ers With ICT in General? In addition to specific

questions about virtual volunteering, MVRs were asked several questions about the
overall use of information and communications technology in their volunteer
programs. Interestingly, 67% of the national and 83% oflocal samples said, "there are
improvements I would like to make." The most commonly mentioned
improvements (raised by over 50% of those responding) were: "More volunteer
management software"; "More training and technical assistance in this area''; and ''A
more interactive website."
MVRs were alsoasked what was preventing them from making the kind of
improvements they wished for. As might be expected, chief among the barriers to
ICT improvement were "time" and "money," reflecting the often frequent conditions
of strapped resources that exist in volunteer programs.
What Recommendations Can Be Made to Managers of Volunteer

Programs Who Would Like to Introduce or Enhance Information
and Communications Technology Applications
in Their Organizations?
Without doubt, the most comprehensive guide for MVRs in developing and
implementing a virtual volunteer program is that provided online by Service Leader at
the University ofTexas, Austin (Serviceleader.Org, 2000). Most of the advice available
on this website is captured in The Virtual VolunteeringGuidebookwritten by Susan
Ellis and Jayne Cravens (2000), available free online from the above site. From this
publication and our own research, the following are a few key recommendations for
managers of volunteer resources who wish to develop an effective virtual volunteering
program that will help locate volunteers who cannot be physically present in the
organization and/or allow for work to be performed at a distance through ICT:
■ Attitude is key: Check out what others are doing to learn about the potential for
Wand see its benefits as well as costs.
■ Develop a plan that shows the benefits, costs and risks of (a) online recruiting,
and (b) virtual volunteer positions 7•
■ Start small and grow the program gradually to test the value ofW for the
organization. Try a "pilot program" first to develop and test the plan, as well as to
learn and adapt to the new technological environment over time with minimal
disruption.
■ Develop position descriptions for virtual volunteer jobs. Specify what the job
responsibilities are, how they will be carried out, the kind of qualifications required for
doing them, reporting relationships, and how the work will be supervised. Again, it is
best to "think small" at first by creating "byte sized" W assignments that are not too
7
For example, because of new anti-terrorism legislation enacted in the U.S., Canada and other
countries, the VV plan should cover risk management in the same way as is required for onsite
volunteering (Carter, 2004).
complex and can be done in a short period of time. This allows the manager of
volunteer resources to assess the work and allows the volunteer to obtain (hopefully)
frequent positive feedback and recognition. Those who perform well can gradually
have their responsibilities increased (if they would like).
■ Once the W positions have been developed and the qualifications for them
have been decided, develop a recruitment plan that, in addition to careful screening,
includes a targeted search of sites where Ws are most likely to be found (e.g., online
recruitment sites, listserves, associations of fundraisers).
■ Remember that Ws need to be communicated with as much, or more, than
onsite volunteers so they will feel in the picture regarding your organization and the
value of their work. Similarly, they need recognition. Just as with onsite volunteers,
praise works best, but it must be provided at a distance via email and telephone. For
those who like to be part of a network, think about ways Ws can communicate with
others doing similar work. Try to build an "online community" in the same way good
MVRs build an onsite community with traditional volunteers.
■ Provide as much orientation and training to Ws as to traditional volunteers.
For those who cannot get to the agency, training will have to be tailored to delivery at
a distance. Depending on the type ofW position and the size of the W program, the
use of web-based e-learning technologies may be appropriate. Additional training may
be needed in online behavior or "netiquette," as well as in liability prevention.
■ Evaluate W work. Regardless of the type of VV, evaluation and monitoring of
work should be performed on a regular basis. Online surveys can be used to obtain
feedback from Ws and those they work with so that the MBR can catch and fix
problems before they become serious.
■ Make sure technical assistance is available to Ws, who may experience
difficulties because of software or communications systems (or other) problems.
The experienced manager of volunteer resources reading the above guidelines for
implementing successful W programs may be struck by the fact that these
recommendations are very similar to what is needed in implementing a traditional,
onsite, volunteer program. This is essentially true, with two critical differences. One
is the need to develop the creativity to imagine where virtual volunteering can be
utilized. To think that it is only of value in tasks that involve the application of the
Internet and the World Wide Web is unduly limiting. As elaborated in the discussion
above, there are many areas of volunteer activity that could be adapted to W.
The other difference between managing virtual and onsite volunteers is that more
conscious effort must be devoted to communicating with them. Whereas a great deal
of motivation and supervision of onsite volunteers can be provided in face-to-face
situations, this is not possible with virtual volunteers. Every communication with
them needs to be deliberately planned and thought through, at least until online
interaction becomes as easy and comfortable as working face-to-face.
Conclusion: What Is the Likely Future ofVirtual Volunteering?
What Will Be the Future Demand for Virtual Volunteers? As of 2004, it

cannot be denied that, despite considerable publicity, virtual volunteering had not
become all that prevalent in the U.S. or Canada. Does this mean it has no future?
Not at all. Indeed, although the numbers of volunteers taking on virtual volunteering
positions have been comparatively small to date, our research shows that a large
number of potential volunteers were looking for such positions through the online
volunteer opportunity matching sites, but not finding them. This suggests that the
problem may not be so much one of supply as it is of demand. This lack of demand
could exist for several reasons:
1. A lack of capacity (funds, skills) for developing W positions and recruitment
and management systems.
2. Negative attitudes toward this new technology that lead some MVRs to reject
W without trying it.
3. A genuine shortage of volunteer work that lends itself to being adapted to being
carried out virtually.
4. Fear because W may put charitable and nonprofit organizations at risk because
of new demands from anti-terrorism legislation (Carter, 2004).
No doubt all four scenarios are at work, though future research is needed to
determine which are the most prevalent. Whatever might be the case, it is likely that
they are interlinked so that one place to start increasing demand is for MVRs to
appreciate the potential for W (i.e., develop positive attitudes), which might spur
them to creatively examine existing and potential volunteer activities in terms of how
they might be performed virtually. They would also be motivated to learn about ways
of recruiting volunteers using the Internet. Armed with a plan for developing W
capacity in this way, they would then be able to approach the leaders of the
organization to persuade them to approve implementation.
What About the Future Supply of Virtual Volunteers? It must be remembered

that the "digital divide" still exists. A number of segments of the population do not
have convenient access to ICT or adequate skills to utilize it. Typical of those on the
"non-enabled" side of the digital divide are the poor, those with low levels ofliteracy
and numeracy, and those whose language or culture create barriers to use. Clearly, if
virtual volunteering expands, it will be slow to reach these people. As a result,
organizations that are interested in involving them in their volunteer programs should
not focus on W - though they may wish to contribute to efforts to help the non-
enabled gain access to ICT and to train basic "computer literacy."
Even though the demand for virtual volunteers may not be large at present, it is
likely to grow in the future. What do we now know about how to build the supply
of potential virtual volunteers? Regarding recruiting at a distance, the potential of
national online volunteer opportunity matching systems appears not to have been
reached as yet. Further research is needed into why these systems have not been more
successful in placing volunteers. From our research, it appears that one problem may
be the reluctance of managers of volunteer resources to proactively search the lists of
potential volunteer profiles contained in them. This could be in part because the
present systems do not automatically produce a list of appropriately matched potential
volunteers when an organization inputs its requirements in the way of positions and
qualifications needed to fill them.
Another reason for the comparatively low use of online volunteer recruitment
systems may be that some managers of volunteer resources fear that it will become too
successful and want to avoid dealing with an onslaught of prospective volunteers.
Obviously, further research is needed to test this kind of speculation. In any case,
skilled volunteer management is needed to ensure that prospective volunteers seeking
these kinds of volunteer opportunities have satisfactory experiences when looking for
them (Cravens, 2000).
Aside from the major national online recruitment systems, there may be greater
potential for building the supply of recruits in the use oflocal volunteer opportunity
sites operated either through a volunteer center or as part of an organization's website.
These are especially useful when one is trying to attract volunteers willing to do
"traditional," on-site work but who like to look for opportunities online. (Though, if
explicit virtual volunteer positions are posted online, and the site is publicized beyond
the local area, perhaps, through national associations, these locally-based online
recruitment sites might also attract "complete virtual volunteers" as defined in Table 1).
With respect to the supply of people willing and able to fill specifically virtual
volunteer positions, it might be best to look first among current volunteers. We were
surprised to discover how many of our 'traditional' volunteers were doing some work
"virtually" in addition to on-site work, and how many of those using the national
online recruitment systems also reported doing locally-based virtual volunteering. The
best general source for complete virtual volunteers, however, is probably among
individuals posting their availability on national online volunteer opportunity
matching systems since most will have already committed themselves to the possibility
of working at a distance through ICT tools.
Once potential recruits for virtual work have been found by whatever means, they
need to be carefully, screened, selected, and trained. It is also important to
communicate with them and provide recognition of their contribution as actively as
one would any other volunteer. The difference is that all this will require the
imaginative use of information and communications technology tools since it will
have to be carried out at a distance (see Gilbert, 2003, for an excellent resource on how
to get the most from e-mail).
The Future Role of Virtual Volunteering in Increasing Social Capital. It has

long been recognized that volunteering has many benefits and impacts beyond the
obvious one of helping others. From the point of view of the volunteers, it provides
many potential benefits, from improving their career-related skills to building valued
relationships. From the point of view of society as a whole, it is a major means for
building social capital - the mutual trust and respect that citizens have for one
another that forms one of the basic values of civil society (Coleman, 1990). As
Putnam (2000) has argued, if social capital diminishes, the very roots of a healthy
democracy are threatened.
According to Putnam (2000), there has been a steady decline in social capital since
the 1970s. People have become less involved with community-based activities. This
contention has been disputed by some (e.g., Costa & Kahn, 2003), and others have
sought to qualify the broad generalization in terms of its applicability to all
geographical areas and all sectors of society (e.g., Keisler & Kraut, 1999). It is our
position, however, that there is certainly some truth to Putnam's general thesis so it is
important to consider the extent to which the use of computers and the Internet in
volunteering might increase or decrease social capital.
Putnam himself (2000) and others (Kraut et al., 1998) say that working at a
computer alone at home may increase feelings of isolation and alienation because it
reduces time spent in face-to-face interaction. Others point out the opposite, that
time online can enhance civic engagement if structured properly because it can lead to
an increase in contacts with others and the building of social networks (Hampton,
2003; Wellman et al., 2001; Shaw, Kwak & Holbert, 2001; Pierce & Lovrich, 2003).
Shah et al. (2002), when examining the impact ofICT use on social capital, concluded
that "time spent online has a positive relationship with attendance at public gatherings
and civic volunteerism" (p. 964). In addition, as our own research revealed, there are
very few "complete" Ws. Most of those surveyed provide a mix - they find positions
online but work onsite, or vice versa.
This phenomenon is not dissimilar to the situation pertaining to the involvement
of people in religious activities. Contrary to the fears of some church leaders that the
availability of online prayer sites and other sites for interaction on matters of faith
would reduce normal church attendance, it appears that those using these sites are more
involved in their local churches than traditional church members (Hoover, Clark &
Rainie, 2004).
It is our contention, therefore, that, should various types of virtual volunteering
continue to grow, they will tend to build social capital, not further erode it, especially
if those managing virtual volunteer programs "do it right" in the sense of ensuring that
Ws learn about and contact those they are working with and serving. This brings us
back to the point made earlier about the importance of managers of virtual volunteers
having to more consciously plan their program and communications strategies with
Ws.
In general, "doing it right" requires learning how to manage the new kinds of
volunteer relationships that have been made possible through ICT. Most volunteer
managers who make use ofICT do so in addition to using traditional methods to find
and oversee volunteers.
To be effective users ofICT, managers of volunteer resources must manage their
programs within both traditional and "e-business" models. Of course, it is a challenge
to develop the capacity to implement innovations such as W. However, as we have
noted above, it is one well worth undertaking for the benefit of society in general,
those receiving service, the organization needing volunteer help, and the individual
volunteer.
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SOCIETAL CHANGES AND THE RISE OF THE
EPISODIC VOLUNTEER
Nancy Macduff
Episodicvolunteers,thoseproviding short and occasionalservice,are increasingin number

accordingto reportsof Independent Sector. Not all such short-term volunteeringis the
same, but ratherfalls into threes't)lles:temporary,interim, and occasional. Examples of
such volunteeringare describedin this chapter,along with current research,which sheds
light on the motivations and demographiccharacteristicsof the short-term or episodic
volunteer. The author exploresthe societalshifts driving the move toward short duration
serviceand its potential impact on nonprofitsand management of volunteers. She also
gazesinto thefoture and asksquestionsof nonprofit organizations,managersof volunteers,
and academicsdesignedto help smooth the transition toward blending long-term and
episodicvolunteersinto a single volunteerprogram.
Introduction
Beginning in the late 1980s, this author started writing about the changes in the
way people were volunteering in westernized countries. This interest stemmed from
reports by managers of volunteer programs that more volunteers were declining long-
term positions in favor of shorter assignments. Hard numbers soon augmented the
unscientific reports of this change in the way people volunteered. In a 1989 study of
volunteering by the National Volunteer Center (now part of the Points of Light
Foundation), there was high interest in volunteer work of shorter duration. Fully
79% of those not volunteering said they would volunteer if given a short duration task
(National Volunteer Center, 1989).
Fast forward to the 2001 Independent Sector Survey in which 44% of adults in
the United States over the age of 21 said they gave time to an organization or cause in
the past year (Tappe, Kirsch, & Michel, 2002). More than two-thirds (69%) were
"periodic" volunteers, meaning they volunteered at a scheduled time that recurred at
regular intervals (for example, daily, weekly, or monthly). According to Weber (2003,
p. 2), "the other 31 % were episodic volunteers who contributed their time
sporadically, only during special times of the year, or considered it a one-time event."
The Independent Sector data from 2001 suggest that the respondents to the 1989
survey who asked for short-term volunteer assignments eventually got their wish. For
Societal Changesand the Rise of the Episodic Volunteer 49

millions of volunteers in the United States, volunteering is of short duration.
When did the idea of volunteering episodically or short-term begin? Not in 1989!
Short-duration or single event volunteering is as old as volunteering itself. The 19th
century had the wealthy elite sponsoring masked balls for charities like Hull House,
the 1950s had mothers serving as activity leaders for week-long Cub Scout day camps,
and farmers have been building barns for their neighbors for centuries. No doubt,
indigenous populations in the "New World" had their episodic volunteers as well.
Definitions
"Short-term" is an inaccurate term for the myriad ways in which individuals give
volunteer service that is not long-term or continuous. A more accurate description of
this "style of volunteering" (Hustinix, 2004, p. 5) comes from the term "episodic."
The dictionary defines episodic as (Ehrlich, Flexner, Carruth & Hawkins, 1980):
made up of separate, especially loosely connected episodes; of or limited in duration or
significance to a particular episode, that is, temporary; occurring, appearing, or
changing at usual irregular intervals, that is, occasionally.
Ep-i-sod-ic/,ep e-'sad-ik; 1: made up of separate, especially loosely connected episodes 2: of

or limited in duration or significance to a particular episode, TEMPORARY 3: occurring,
appearing, or changing at usual irregular intervals, OCCASIONALLY
Because not all volunteers who provide short-term service disappear at the end of
their duties, the author created a classification for volunteer positions to more
accurately distinguish between styles of episodic volunteering. One class was based on
"duration" of service required for the positions, including three types of episodic
volunteers (Macduff, 2004). The first episodic class is temporary. A temporary
episodic volunteer gives service that is short in duration, usually for a few hours or a
day at most. These are people who help pass out water to runners in a marathon, cook
hamburgers at a party for homeless children, or arrive at a beach to clean refuse. They
do not return and are not otherwise engaged in the organization, and are rarely
members.
Corporations and businesses are increasingly offering temporary volunteer
opportunities for employees. Examples include:
■ Building a playground for a child care center
■ Working on a house-building project for low-income people
■ Raising money through a fun-run or golf tournament
The second form of episodic volunteering is the interim volunteer. This is
someone who gives service on a regular basis for less than six months. A student who
in terns at a social service agency for a semester to gain experience in her or his chosen
profession is an interim episodic volunteer. A task force working on a special project
for three months is also interim. By contrast, someone serving on a committee that
meets once per month all year long is not an episodic volunteer. This service is
continuous.

The third class is the occasionalepisodic volunteer, one providing service at regular
intervals for short periods of time. This is someone who works every year on the
annual wine-tasting event to raise money for an animal shelter or symphony orchestra,
but only on the one event. Her or his service might be a month or two in duration or
just the evening of the event. But the manager of volunteers can count on this person
returning year after year. Examples include:
■ Work at the registration table at a statewide Special Olympics track and field
event year after year
■ Periodic service as auctioneer for a gala fundraising dinner for a symphony
orchestra
■ Coordinate annual cookie sales for the local Girl Scout Council
To develop effective strategies to recruit and sustain volunteers, it is essential to
understand what episodic volunteering is and how it differs from long-term volunteer
service - which for many decades has been the norm for most organizations. A chart
developed by Hustinix (2001, p. 65) shown as Table 1 below highlights the difference
between "classic volunteerism" and the newer forms of giving service. In terms of time
commitment, these categories--temporary, interim, and occasional--seem akin to those
of the Macduff (2004) taxonomy.
Table I
Classic Volunteerism vs. New Volunteerism*
Culture
norms
Choice of organization Based on: Personal Interest
Traditional cultural Weak ties
identifies Decentralized structure
Great loyalty Loose networks
Delegated leadership
Solid structure
Choice of field of action Based on: Perception of new
Traditional cultural biographical similarities
identities Taste for topical issues
Inclusion and Dialogue between global
exclusion and local
Choice of activity Based on: Balance between
Traditional cultural personal preference and
identities organization's needs
Needs of the Cost/benefit analysis
organization Pragmatic
Idealism
(continued)
SocietalChangesand the Rise of the EpisodicVolunteer 51

Table 1 (continued)
Classic Volunteerism vs. New Volunteerism~
Classic Volunteerism New Volum:eerism

Length a.nd intensity of Long rerm (1mlimircd Shorr rerm (clearly
commitment in time) limited in rime)
Regular Irregular or erraric
Uncondi cional Conditional
Rclarionship wich chc Unilateral, 'alrruistit', Reciprocal
beneficiary 'selfless'
• Titble1 Reprintrd with Permissiono/Yolumary Action
Temporary, interim, and occasional volunteers are familiar to most managers of

volunteer programs. Informally, most programs accommodate individuals who wish
coserve in shore-term assignments. Most organizations have a range of volunteer
posicions--some long-term, continuous (usually filled by the organizers and leaders of
rhe project or program) and some episodic. By contrast, the stated mission of some
organizations is to recruit only those interested in episodic assignment. These
organizations act as brokering agencies, placing people in community organizations for
episodic service. The various "City Cares" organ izacions began wich this focus,
although they currencly provide informacion to subscribers on both long-rerm and
episodic volunteering opporcunitie$ (Nunn, 2000).
In a 1999 study of volunteers at the Phoenix, Ariz., "Make a Difference" program.
53% of chose surveyed were serving in the occasional category of episodic
volunteering, 22% were temporary, and 18% interim (Dietz, 1999, p. 67). Of rhe
respondrnts, 79% were female, with an average age of 35, although overall ages ranged
from 18 to 7 I.
Dietz applied the six motivational factors on the Yolumeer Function fnventory
(Clary & Snyder, 1991) to rwo studies oflong-term volunteers and a rest sample of
episodic (i.e., shorr-rerm) volunceers to determine the differences. In both cases,
"values" were the driving motivational factor for che majority ofboch long-term and
episodic volunteers. fn che srudies of rhe long-term volunteers, "esteem'' was second,
followed by "undersranding." The episodic volunteers reversed those two categories in
terms of importance (Dietz, 1999, p. 54-55). Dietz's study supports the idea that
episocuc volunteering may be driven by self-interest, but is no less "compassion"-
morivated (Hustinix & Lammerryn, 2003, p. l 74).
A 2000 study of 652 Flemish Red Cross volunreers sheds additional light on the
frequency of episodic volunteering. Of the sample, 21.3% were episodic volunteers.
Of chat group, 94.2% served once or several rimes a year, 78.8% gave four hours or
less of service, and 21 % gave five to 12 hours of service. In the episodic category, 17.9
% report giving service for O co 2 years: with 23% reporting ten years of service
(Hustinix, 2004, p. 39). The author of the Red Cross study does not distinguish
episocuc volunteers as temporary, interim or occasional, although it would seem that
the Flemish Red Cross has all three rypes of episodic volunreers, with a substantial
proportion being occasional and serving year after year (Hustinix, 2004, p. 18).
52 EmergingAreas of Volu11teeri11g
Traditionally, most volunteer programs have been organized around the long-term,
continuous-service volunteer. & McCurley and Ellis (2003, p.2) observe,
"Organizations viewed volunteers as unpaid staff." Recruiting, screening, supervision
and recognition activities were designed around the volunteer who continues to serve
the organization for a long time on regular schedule. The episodic volunteer was
welcome, but had to fit into the existing systems. It was the "regular volunteer" or
"member" who was the focus of most attention and recruiting and managerial efforts.
The prevailing attitude was that short-term volunteers were somehow not as valuable.
Whence Cometh the Episodic Volunteer?

Collective and Reflexive Volunteering
Currently, both episodic and long-term volunteers exist in most volunteer
programs. Hustinix (2004, p. 5) refers to the choice a volunteer makes as a "style of
volunteering or SOV." She asserts that these styles are coexisting, and that one is not
currently replacing the other. It is true, however, that the systemic shift in the nature
of volunteering toward episodic is in part an indicator of a larger societal movement
that includes volunteering as well as other social institutions (Hustinix & Lammertyn,
2003). The more traditional social institutions and mores are referred to as
"collective." By contrast, "reflexive" is the term used to describe social institutions and
mores that are characterized by individuation, intensity, and short-term or fleeting
involvement. These terms refer to the larger social context in which volunteering
occurs.
Collective volunteering began with the advent of the modern era in organizations
with a clear "chain of command" or hierarchy, with divisions oflabor depending on
the position in the organization. Democracy prevailed, with elected leaders
representing the members. There was "social or ideological continuity" in these
organizations (Hustinix & Lammertyn, 2003, p. 175). From a purely social
standpoint, the rules were known and adhered to. There was a collective way ofliving
with clear delineation of what constituted "family" (nuclear), sex roles, and rules
governing marriage (Beck, 1994, p. 3).
In this environment, the volunteer operates in an organization with activities
deeply rooted in community, tradition, a sense of duty, or obligation. Sometimes
religious belief or ideology dictated altruistic behavior. The highest goal of the group
was a "dedication to the common good" (Hustinix & Lammertyn, 2003, p. 174).
The Elks or Knights of Columbus reflect this type of organization.
Volunteers in the collective organization carry out tasks or services that have been
decided by others, and are usually supervised by others in the group. The individual
need not write her or his own "volunteer script", but rather do what is good for the
organizational community. Often these groups are characterized by community and
class homogeneity (Beck, 1994; Hustinix & Lammertyn, 2003). This collective
organizational infrastructure provided a "home" or place to belong, and does to this
day. "There are rules for belonging--kinships, class, ethnicity, gender" (Hustinix &
Lammertyn, 2003, p. 171). Codes of conduct, written and unwritten are the norm,
with a focus on "community."
SocietalChangesand the Riseof the EpisodicVolunteer 53

Men's clubs of the 1950s are one of the best examples of this type of volunteering.
These community-based organizations were a source of professional pride.
Membership, and certainly leadership, was to be aspired to as these activities displayed
publicly a man's reliability, community commitment, and power. This type of
volunteering often became a stepping-stone for those on a particular career path or
with hopes of status enhancement (Beck, 1994; Giddens, 1994; Lash, 1994).
While men were joining Rotary, Elks, and Lions, many women were playing out
their roles in high-powered organizations devoted to community betterment. From
garden clubs to hospital volunteer associations, women defined themselves as
something more than housewife, achieving similar benefits as their dub-joining mates
(Hustinix & Lammertyn, 2003).
Reflexive Volunteering
Some social historians suggest that westernized countries are in the midst of a
move to a new state of social evolution. The shift in behavior is often referred to as
reflexive (Beck, 1994; Hustinix & Lammertyn, 2003). Several authors suggest that
this move from collective to reflexive behavior began in the 1960s (Beck, 1994).
Unlike its predecessor - social change characterized by revolutionary outbursts -
the post-modern era has crept in on "cats-paws" (Beck, 1994, p. 3). This "silent"
revolution has not been borne in upheaval and agony, but rather by such things as the
growth in wealth, employment security, loss of rivals, change in the nature of the
problems faced by individuals, and the speed of technification (Giddens, 1994;
Hustinix & Lammertyn, 2003). The change in gender roles for women is likely the
most dramatic illustration of this quiet but dramatic revolution.
Collective styles of volunteering occur in organizations characterized by a member-
based structure, with strong institutional ties. Reflexive volunteering is usually
program-based and, most often, self-organized (Hustinix & Lammertyn, 2003). Beck
(1994, p. 2) maintains that these shifts are about the "dissolving of the contours of the
industrial society." The contour change seems also to be changing democratic decision-
making institutions (parliaments, congresses, legislatures, senates, etc.) and, perhaps,
the tenor and substance of political debate (Beck, 1994).
The shift Beck refers to is illustrated by the volunteer behavior that characterized
the U.S. Presidential primary campaign of Howard Dean in 2003-'04. Instead of the
highly "top-down" organizational structure typically seen in political campaigns, Dean's
campaign introduced a "secret call" to draw in the formerly apolitical (Shapiro, 2003,
p. 58). Those who went to Vermont to help elect Dean were largely young, but also
comprised "senior citizens in RVs, and middle managers from Microsoft" (p. 58).
The structure of the Dean campaign for national office was described as having a
"thin veneer of Official Adults," with hundreds, if not thousands of younger, reflexive
volunteers doing what needed to be done (Shapiro, 2003, p. 58). For those unable to
go to Vermont, 900 unofficial Dean groups sprang up around the country. Volunteers
appointed themselves the leaders and undertook all the activities of traditional
campaigns, such as leafleting, knocking on doors, attending local Democratic party
meetings, and the like.

According to some theories, this shift in the behavior of volunteers occurs because
the individual in the 21 s' Century is left to cobble together his or her own biography,
often providing the staging, including multi-level, multi-form, and multi-dimensional
types of volunteer activities (Hustinix & Lammertyn, 2003, p. 170). Reflexive
(episodic) volunteering comes about because the individual in the postmodern era is a
"reflection" of the change in institutional conditions. For example, workers in the
United States and other countries have a much larger range in the way they work than
in the past: part-time, flextime, contract, consultation, job-sharing, and traditional
full-time work. This all relates to the duration of time served, also an important
component of classifying volunteer positions (Macduff, 2004).
The post-modern era is characterized by ambiguity and precariousness in life.
People who thought they would work for the same company for life are laid off and,
in some cases, lose pension benefits. Children do not join the same groups to which
their parents and grandparents belonged, and often move thousands of miles from the
home of their birth to create a new life biography. The 21 st century has the individual
as the solo artist, creating his or her own experiences, and this performance includes the
selection of the style of volunteering.
Fish or Cut Bait: Must It Be One or the Other?
Although most of the authors writing on this shift in the institutions of society
agree chat reflexive volunteer behavior is here to stay, by no means do they indicate chat
collective or member-based volunteering is dead. It is not a "fish-or-cut-bait" question.
There is not a rigid division between the styles of volunteering, one better than
another, but rather a continuum that reflects the traditional collective categories at one
end and the more reflexive forms at the opposite.
Currently, a mixture of volunteering styles exists within many organizations. For
example, most hospitals have a flexible volunteer program allowing for episodic or
short-term volunteer positions as well as long-term positions. This program exists
alongside the traditional hospital "auxiliary'' with lifelong members and a traditional
hierarchy. Still, the episodic form of volunteering seems to be gaining ground in terms
of numbers - if the concerns of managers of volunteer programs are an accurate
barometer of the change.
Individuals are concocting "volunteer cocktails" which include a blend of collective
and reflexive forms of volunteering. Often, the individuals oscillate between styles of
volunteering (Huscinix & Lammertyn, 2003, p. 170). The cause of chis unwillingness
to "fish or cut bait" on the part of some volunteers is due to the tension in their lives
between the "heceronymous [subject to external laws of growth] and autonomous life
biography" (Huscinix & Lammertyn, 2003, p. 170). They may feel secure in work,
but know char all work in the post-modern era comes with inherent precariousness.
Hence, their choices about volunteering have distinct social roots. On the one hand,
they might posit, "Ifl am unsure about my career and work choice, I might choose a
volunteer opportunity that provides a place of purported stability." On the other
hand, though, they may choose a reflexive style of volunteer position becauselife is
SocietalChangesand the Riseof the EpisodicVolunteer 55

uncertain. While no one can be certain of the particular choices, volunteer program
managers must be aware of them.
The Impact of Reflexive Volunteering:

Nonprofits, Volunteers, and Civil Society
The changes in volunteering have created the need for more reflexive types of
positions, hence a new type of thinking by managers of volunteer programs. Episodic
volunteer positions, described earlier, provide the opportunity to recruit people not
attracted to more traditional volunteer positions. In fact, the reflexive volunteer might
want to develop his or her own position description in consultation with the manager
of volunteer programs. Projects can be short in duration or on an ad hoc basis. They
can be limited in time and commitment (Hustinix & Lammertyn, 2003; Macduff,
2003). Personal motivations dictate the types of activities in which the individual
might want to volunteer. And the organization matches these motivations to the
mission and its needs for assistance.
The growth of"virtual volunteering," providing volunteer service through the
Internet, is an example of the global nature that reflexive volunteering can take. Just as
students are earning college degrees via the Internet, so people in India can volunteer
for organizations in Denver. There is a growing connection in the reflexive world of
local action and global concerns (Hustinix & Lammertyn, 2003; Giddens, 1994).
The collective organization is finding that the commitment of individuals to
something that is centralized and market-driven is often reduced to a vicarious
commitment. People pay their dues, but limit their participation to short-term
projects (Macduff, Hanson, Anderson & Pirtle, 2000). Some nonprofits are
dependent on paid-staff involvement, with roles for volunteers very narrow. This is
because previously, in collective volunteering, the involvement of the person was seen
as work done by an amateur, albeit one with good intentions. The do-gooder has been
marginalized by the growth of trained professional staff. Paid workers do the heavy
lifting, while volunteers are relegated to positions on the fringe (Hustinix &
Larnmertyn, 2003).
It is important to remember that despite the blending of types of volunteering,
there are negative impacts as well. One is the potential demise of the local
community. It is not the disappearance of "place," but rather the disappearance of
tradition. For example, the St. Patrick's Day Parade is held, but with transgender
groups or gay and lesbian groups marching. This can appear to some as the flouting of
tradition. Tradition does not go away, but can be replaced by fundamentalism. These
are the "formulaic truths," without regard to the consequences (Giddens, 1994, p.
101). In volunteer programs, someone says, "Since 1973, we have been training
volunteers for 40 hours before letting them see a client. It works, so why would we
change now?"
The good news is that reflexive forms of organizing nonprofits and volunteer
programs have some benefits. By challenging the "old order" and concepts of what
makes a good citizen, there are more choices for people to engage with their
community (Ellison, 1997, p. 713). The door is open to a vast array of people getting

involved at the grassroots level not only in traditional causes but also in contemporary
ones, for example opposing construction of freeways through wetlands, questioning
the safety of chemical plants or mining operations, or suing to halt logging in a fragile
ecosystem (Beck,1994; Hustinix & Lammertyn, 2003). While some managers of
volunteer programs see the future as grim, it appears that it will only be different from
the past.
Organizational Change and Survival
We live in a world of risks, both global and personal, in which cell phones, the
Internet, and satellite communication have put people in possession of expanded
education, mobility, and the ability to operate independently (Beck, 1994). The new
social order means daily encounters with changes in political and economic
environments, which lead to questioning and revisions in thinking, identity, and
loyalty (Ellison, 1997, p. 698).
This systemic change in the culture means that there are likely to be shifts in the
relationship between volunteers and their organizations. One indicator of this change is
the growing appeal of "brokering" organizations. Brokering organizations are
characterized by being structured to stand between the volunteer and the organization
for which the volunteer service is being rendered. Hence, the reflexive volunteer need
have little or no contact with the "parent" organization. Service can be given without
the risk of joining a collective organization with dues, membership expectations, or
leadership from on high. Corporate volunteer programs are likely the largest brokering
organizations for episodic volunteer opportunities. Corporations such as AT&T,
United Parcel Service (UPS), Washington Mutual, and hosts of others provide
employee volunteers to build houses, construct playgrounds, work at athletic
fundraising events, or donate foodstuffs to homeless shelters. Usually, the volunteers
continue to receive their salary while engaging in these activities. The employee
volunteer signs up through work, never seeing the manager of volunteers from the
organization for which the service is being rendered. The individual avoids the
screening process and membership requirements of the host organizations. And,
usually, there are a variety of choices of kinds of volunteer organizations and/or
programs to choose from. This allows the individual to write his or her own volunteer
life script or biography.
To survive, nonprofit organizations need to adapt structurally and in the ways in
which volunteers are organized and managed. There is a need for greater flexibility and
acceptance of the episodic forms of volunteering described above. Those who
volunteer episodically are tolerated in most nonprofit organizations, but the "real
work" is done by volunteers who serve in the collective manner of long-term,
continuous service (Macduff, 2003). New ways and systems for managing volunteers
must be attuned to the reflexive social environment. "Reflexive volunteers demand a
considerable amount of flexibility and mobility to allow them to shift between
activities and organizations according to biographical whims" (Hustinix &
Lammertyn, 2003, p. 174).
Some researchers expect the line between volunteers and paid staff to blur. The

demands on today's nonprofit for services is so great that the organization may require
volunteers to do things currently done exclusively by staff. Volunteers possessing high
levels of skills will likely be needed at the same time that the way in which they are
contributing their time to organizations is changing (Beck, 1994; Hustinix &
Lammertyn, 2003; Macduff, 2003).
The ChallengeAhead
This "silent" shift in the nature of volunteering raises questions for nonprofit
organizations, managers of volunteer programs, and for researchers in the academy.
Answers to any or all of these questions have the potential to ease the transition to
inclusion of new forms of volunteering, such as episodic, along with more traditional
styles of volunteering in host organizations.
Questions for Nonprofit Organizations:
■ What might be the impact of volunteering in a nonprofit organization if senior

managers (including boards) conceptualized volunteers as solvers of organizational
problems rather than fillers oflow-level, fuzzy, and indefinite long-term jobs?
■ Does the current nonprofit governance structure provide a comfortable "fit" for
managing the reflexive social institution, where the workers (paid and unpaid) will ebb
and flow?
■ What about the hierarchical structure that flows from executive director to staff
to volunteer? What if staff did the routine work and volunteers wrestled with policy
decisions?
■ Are boards engaging their own members in short-term strategic discussions and
work rather than the traditional roles of governance?
Questions for Managers of Volunteer Programs:
■ Count separately the episodic volunteers and the continuous service volunteers
and the hours donated by each group. Where are you spending your volunteer program
budget?
■ What if a consortium of organizations in a given community allowed volunteers
to sign up once, with one application form for all of them? Then, once a month the
volunteers would receive information on available volunteer tasks or positions at all the
participating organizations.
■ There has been a dramatic increase in brokering organizations. Could this mean
that reflexive volunteers want a barrier between the volunteer services they give and a
direct connection to the organization for whom they are giving the service?
■ What benefits and detriments might arise from allowing volunteers to write
their own position descriptions?
■ Should managers introduce a reward system with certain benefits that could
only be earned by those giving episodic service?
Questions for Researchers:
■ Is research underway on organizations that want to rebuild collective forms of

volunteerism? What do organizations need to do to build community and foster
collective goals? If collective and reflexive volunteers are to coexist in the same
volunteer program, how can the collective organization reorganize for greater
organizational health?
■ "Research on volunteers usually takes on a monolithic approach, using 'catch all'
phrases or reducing it to one of its multiple dimensions. As a result, the volunteer
picture remains fragmented" (Hustinix & Lammertyn, 2003, p. 171). Is research
available on styles of volunteering? Do both episodic and traditional long-term
volunteering receive attention in the literature?
■ What kind of research can be done to help organizations that wish to change
from a collective model to a reflexive? For example, what is the likely fate of fraternal
organizations? Fraternal organizations and, in particular, their long-term volunteers,
have demonstrated stubborn resistance to change. They are heavily invested in
traditional roles and the organizational structures that sustain them. They are aging
and, in many cases, literally dying. Is there any way to keep fraternal organizations
from dying? Should they be allowed to fade, clearing the way for new forms of
organization to emerge?
Conclusion
Social organizations and institutions that refuse to address changes in the

relationship between the individual and the conventional method of operating will
likely face negative consequences. Gidden ( 1994, p. 105) describes four ways in which
institutions address change in the post-modern era:
1) There is an embedding of traditions
2) The two sides attempt disengagement
3) There is an attempt at discourse
4) There is coercion
These four options to hang on to old ways can be seen in a variety of institutions,
such as religious, political and kinship. Volunteer programs are simply another societal
entity where the notion of systemic change is sometimes not welcome. Some
volunteer programs have reached out aggressively to make a place for the episodic
volunteer (for example, City Cares, employee volunteer programs). Others, however,
are so entrenched in the past it is hard for them to see today, let alone the future.
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Societal Changes and the Rise of the Episodic Volunteer 61

62 EmergingAreas.of Volunteering
CROSS-NATIONAL VOLUNTEERING:
A DEVELOPING MOVEMENT?
Justin Davis Smith
Angela Ellis
Georgina Brewis
This chapter reviewsthe extent and nature of cross-nationalvolunteeringand takes a

criticallook at waysin which it is emergingas a poweiful force in globalizedcivil society.
It arguesthat there has been an absoluteincreasein the number of people volunteering
outside their own national boundariesand tangible changesin the nature of this activity,
with a move to more mutually beneficialforms of cross-nationalengagement,alongsidea
somewhatcontradictorygrowth in short-term, 'vacation'or 'tourism'volunteering. The
chapterlooksat both the benefitsand drawbacksof cross-nationalvolunteeringfor the key
stakeholdinggroups- the volunteers;the sendingand receivingorganizations;and, the
host community - and concludeswith some recommendationsfor policy and practice.
Introduction
The technological and communications revolutions of the past decade have

enabled more and more people to engage with social and environmental issues on a
global scale. As people have become less constrained by national boundaries, their
interest in global issues has increased, and this, combined with a worldwide upsurge of
interest in volunteering, has led to a rapid growth in cross-national forms of voluntary
action (Sherraden, 2001; lriye, 2002).
The movement of volunteers from one country to another is not a new
phenomenon. Its roots can be traced back at least as far as the mid-nineteenth century
when the Red Cross first started sending volunteers overseas (Beigbeder, 1991 ). It has
become closely associated in recent years with such well-known sending organizations
as the Peace Corps, United Nations Volunteers and Voluntary Service Overseas. What
is new, however, is the recent dramatic increase in the scale of cross-national
volunteering, and the form such activity has taken.
This chapter reviews the extent and nature of cross-national volunteering and takes
a critical look at ways in which it is emerging as a powerful force in globalized civil
society. It argues that there has been an absolute increase in the number of people
Cross-NationalVolunteering:A DevelopingMovement? 63
volunteering outside their own national boundaries and tangible changes in the nature
of this activity, with a move to more mutually beneficial forms of cross-border
engagement, alongside a somewhat contradictory growth in short-term, 'vacation' or
'tourism' volunteering. The chapter concludes with some recommendations for policy
and practice.
What is Cross-National Volunteering?
Simply defined, cross-national volunteering is any form of volunteering that

involves people traveling from one country to another to volunteer. Cross-national
volunteering can be classified according to a number of characteristics, which help to
define the phenomenon more precisely. These dimensions include: geographical scale;
function; direction; level of government involvement; and, time scale.
Geographical Scale. The first classifier is geographical scale - the level at which
the volunteering is operating and the scale at which it is organized geographically.
Cross-national volunteering can usefully be divided into two main types: trans-national
and international volunteering. The two types can be distinguished by the degree of
exchange and cooperation that takes place across national boundaries. McBride,
Benitez and Sherraden (2003, p. 10), for example, draw a distinction between
international service programs which "send people from the home country to other
countries," and trans-national programs which involve exchange "between two or more
countries," and "where the servers are expected to spend service time in a host country
as well as their country of origin." "Cross-national volunteering" is much wider in
scope than "cross-national service," and includes shorter-term, more informal forms of
participation, but the same distinctions can be drawn.
Function. The second classifier is function. Cross-national volunteering can be

seen to operate on a development continuum from emergency relief work (e.g.
building shelters for victims of natural disasters or refugees), through filling skill
shortages in the host country on a short-term basis (e.g. teaching science), to
sustainable development and conservation work (e.g. training science teachers and
conservation officers).
McBride, Benitez and Sherraden (2003) found that the most common areas of
service among trans-national programs were human and social services (91 %),
followed by education (86%), personal development (86%) and cultural integration
(86%). Within international service programs, the most common forms of service
were education (85%), human and social services (80%), and community
development (75%).
Direction. Closely connected to the above, the third classifier of cross-national

volunteering is direction -whether volunteers are moving North to North; North to
South; South to South; or South to North 8 - a characteristic which often reflects the
8
We are using the terms North and South to refer broadly to the industrialized nations of the North
and the developing nations of the South.
underlying ethos or development aims of the program. The shift in the direction of
cross-national volunteering, away from the traditional North to South model toward a
South to South and even a South to North model, is one of the most significant
developments in this area in recent years. We return to this issue below.
Level of Government Involvement. Fourthly, cross-national volunteering

activities can be classified by the degree to which national governments are involved,
on both the sending and receiving ends. Schemes range from those that are totally
government-led to those that are led solely by the voluntary sector (Davis Smith,
2002). Some governments have launched their own programs (sometimes as
alternatives to military service); others provide funding to voluntary sector programs;
while others see their role primarily in terms of developing a supportive legislative
framework to facilitate such activity. Some governments, of course, have shown no
interest in cross-national volunteering or, indeed, any other sort of volunteering.
Evidence suggests that government involvement may be less significant in cross-
national volunteering than in other forms of volunteering. In their study of210 civic
service programs from around the world, McBride, Benitez and Sherraden (2003)
found that 95% of the trans-national programs, and 92% of the international service
programs, were administered by voluntary agencies, whereas 52% of national service
programs were administered by government agencies.
The motivations for governments to get involved in cross-national volunteering
are mixed. They include a desire to provide an alternative to compulsory military
service (Davis Smith, 2002) and to maintain a national presence abroad, for example,
by using volunteers to improve people's image of the sending nation. Jedlicka (1990)
argues that the latter was especially pertinent during the Cold War, when Peace Corps
volunteers were seen as a non-military means to wage an ideological battle. Cross-
national volunteering is also seen as a way of helping governments to deliver on
broader policy agendas, such as increasing levels of active citizenship and/or enhancing
youth development (Daftary & McBride, 2004).
Duration. The fifth classifying feature is time scale - whether the cross-national
volunteering takes place on a short-term basis (for example, for one day or one week)
or a long-term basis (for example, for one or two years). The evidence suggests that
most activity is likely to be between about four and seven months. McBride, Benitez
and Sherraden (2003), for example, found that 91 % of international service programs
had an average duration of 6.6 months, while the average for 71 % of the trans-
national programs was slightly shorter at 4.4 months. However, given the rise in
vacation volunteering opportunities in recent years, which we discuss below, it is likely
that the average duration of cross-national volunteering overall is likely to be slightly
shorter.
Developments in Cross-National Volunteering
Cross-national volunteering has been shaped by wider societal changes taking place
within both sending and recipient countries over the past several decades. These
Cross-National Volunteering:A Developing Movement? 65

include changes in development paradigms, with greater emphasis on long-term
sustainability in place of short-term relief; a rapid increase in the number of
professional development workers and agencies operating in developing countries; and
significant improvements in communications technology and transport (see for
example, United Nations Volunteers, 1989; Salamon, 1995; Iriye, 2002).
Three key developments can be identified in cross-national volunteering in recent
years. First, a rapid expansion has occurred in the number of volunteering programs
operating across national boundaries, with a parallel increase in the number of people
taking part in such programs. Second, a shift in the pattern and direction of cross-
national programs has taken place, in particular a move away from the traditional
North to South model toward an alternative South to South model and a South to
North model. Third, and intrinsically linked to this shift in direction, is a rethinking
and reformulation of the underlying ethos of cross-national volunteering.
Growth in Numbers Engaging in Cross-National Volunteering. Although

there is little hard evidence available on the true extent of cross-national volunteering
worldwide, most estimates point to an absolute increase in the number of people
taking part, an increase which has taken place during three identifiable 'waves' in recent
history.
Cross-national volunteering has a long history. As Tarrow ( 1998) argues, long
before the development of modern communications technology, we saw the diffusion
of a number of volunteer movements across national borders (see also Kekk &
Sikkink, 1998). Arguably, cross-national volunteering started with religious
missionaries in the late 18th century (Daftary & McBride, 2004). By 1900, for
example, British voluntary societies supported 10,000 missionaries overseas (Porter,
1999).
It was not until the early years of the twentieth century, however, that cross-
national volunteering developed into a sizeable movement. Beigbeder ( 1991)
pinpoints the First World War as the catalyst to such activity- the voluntary response
to devastation caused by World War I saw a significant increase in the number of
people going beyond their own national boundaries to volunteer their services. The
1920s saw the establishment of several programs to develop cross-national
volunteering, for example, Service Civil International (SCI), which was set up to
promote volunteering as an alternative to military service and to organize trans-national
workcamps across Europe and India.
Cross-national volunteering grew steadily from this initial burst of activity in the
1920s, until the late 1950s and early 1960s when a number of factors (notably war,
improvements in transport and communication, and de-colonization) combined to
produce another 'explosion' in scale (CapelingAleckija, quoted in United Nations
Volunteers, 2001). The 1960s saw the formation of several long-term overseas
programs, including, most significantly, the US Peace Corps in 1961. Meanwhile, the
Cold War stimulated thousands of volunteers from both sides of the Iron Curtain to
work together in camps and on projects in an attempt to increase international
solidarity (Gillette, 1968). The 1960s (at least, in the United Kingdom) also saw for
the first time significant numbers of people taking 'years out' from full-time education
(Jones, 2004). In 1965, the Overseas Development Institute estimated there were
about 17,000 international volunteers working on about 160 programs (Moyes,
1966). By 1968, it was estimated that the figure had grown to 20,000 long-term
volunteers, operating out of 200 organizations in 12 countries and located in over 100
developing countries and territories (Gillette, 1968). Since the terrorist attacks on the
United States on 11 September 2001 applications for the Peace Corps have reportedly
doubled.
Up-to-date figures are hard to come by, but evidence suggests that a third dramatic
increase in cross-national volunteering has taken place in the past decade, fueled by
such factors as the decline in compulsory military service and a growing interest in
volunteering per se throughout the world (Davis Smith, 2002). The United Nations
International Year ofVolunteers in 2001, for example, was celebrated in over 130
countries (Institute for Volunteering Research, 2002). In 1990, United Nations
Volunteers estimated that there were some 33,000 international volunteers working on
a global basis, 90% of whom were from Organization for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) countries (Beigbeder, 1991). Between 1999 and 2000,
Voluntary Services Overseas reported an increase in applications of 59% over the
previous two years, and an increase in the number of volunteers sent overseas of 17%
(Thomas, 2001). In 2003 United Nations Volunteers reported a record year for
overseas volunteers. Research on 'Gap Year' activities 9 found that in the UK alone in
2004, there were 800 organizations offering overseas volunteering placements in 200
countries. Together, these offered around 350,000 placements each year (Jones, 2004).
Reflecting the increase in the number of cross-national volunteers, there has been
an increase in the number of countries engaging in cross-national volunteering. In the
1950s and '60s, it was predominantly former colonial powers and the most
economically developed countries which sent international volunteers. In recent years,
however, a wider variety of countries, including Korea, China, Philippines, Kenya and
India, have established programs, with varying degrees of state involvement (see for
example, Voluntary Service Overseas, undated).
Patterns of Movement. A second significant development in cross-national

volunteering in recent years has been the change in the direction of movement of
volunteers between countries. Traditionally, the flow of cross-national volunteers was
from countries in the North to those in the South. Recently, however, there has also
been an increase in the numbers of people from countries in the South volunteering
either in other countries in the South or in countries in the North. Although United
Nations Volunteers established the Domestic Development Service as early as 1976 to
encourage South to South volunteering, and 70% of their 5,635 volunteers in 2003
were from the South, it is only within the past decade that other programs have begun
to follow suit (seeAndrionasolo and Leigh in United Nations Volunteers, 2001;
United Nations Volunteers, 2004). In 1999, Voluntary Service Overseas introduced a
9
Jones, A. (2004) defines 'Gap Years' as "any period of time between three and 24 months which
an individual takes 'out' of formal education, training or the workplace, and where the time out sits
in the context of a larger career trajectory" (p.8).
Cross-National Volunteering: A Developing Movement? 67

South to South volunteering program, which is now operating in Kenya, India and the
Philippines (Voluntary Service Overseas, 2001).
A linked development has been the growth in trans-national volunteering, whereby
volunteers from one country are increasingly taking part in exchanges with people
from other countries and volunteering side-by-side with people of other nationalities.
The North American Community Service program (NACS), for example, was first
piloted in 2002 as an initiative to place young people from Mexico, the U.S. and
Canada together in community service programs in each of the three countries, with
the aim of fostering the development of North American cooperation and awareness.
Similarly, the U.S.-Russia Volunteer Initiative (USRVI) was launched in 2004 with the
aim of engaging both Russian and American citizens, organizations, and businesses in
cooperative volunteer activities through short-term (approximately six-week) bilateral
exchanges.
The Changing Ethos of Cross-National Volunteering. The above changes in

patterns of cross-national volunteering reflect broader changes in the ethos of the
volunteering movement, away from a view of volunteering as a 'gift relationship'
toward an emphasis on volunteering as a form of 'exchange.' In recent years, there has
been a growing awareness that the volunteer and host community relationship is not
one of active 'giver' and passive 'receiver', but one of mutually beneficial exchange in
which the volunteer receives as much (if not more) than they give (Daftary &
McBride, 2004).
Reflecting this change in ethos, the 1960s model of cross-national volunteering, as
advocated by writers such as Gillette (1968), in which relatively unskilled young
people from the North were promoted as a solution to the perceived 'middle-level
manpower gap' in the South, has also been challenged. There has been a move on the
part of sending organizations to recruit people with specific skills to volunteer in
'strategy driven' roles reflecting a new commitment to long-term goals of sustainable
development (Daftary & McBride, 2004).
At the same time, however, there have also been a number of contradictory
developments. In particular, these more positive changes within cross-national
volunteering have to some extent been undermined by the growth of'volunteer
tourism' or 'volunteer vacations' and the mass-market approach to packaging cross-
national volunteering as an integral part of gap years. Such developments apply
particularly to young people who are increasingly taking a year 'out' of education, but
also include older people who may be looking for a career change or a career break or
who have reached retirement.
Cross-national volunteering is increasingly being seen as a cheap way to travel, as a
quick and 'easy' way to immerse oneself in another culture, as a career break, or as a
form of career development. At this writing, some organizations readily admit that
their programs are more geared toward providing experience, travel opportunities and
skills building for the volunteers than they are toward providing benefits for the host
communities.
A plethora of organizations now offer short-term volunteering opportunities for
people with one to four weeks to spare and often demand that volunteers essentially
cover all the costs themselves, as with a vacation or holiday. For example, since 1982
Conservation Volunteers Australia has been sending international volunteers (now
around 1,200 annually) on conservation holiday experiences. Their short-term
program sends Australian volunteers to places such as California, Montana, Mexico,
Costa Rica and New Zealand on two- to four-week packages (Davies, 2002).
Implicit within this growth of volunteer tourism and mass-market, cross-national
volunteering has been a change in people's motivations for engagement. As Brown
(2003) argues, "In five years the gap year has metamorphosed from a radical activity of
a rebellious student generation into an obligation that must be fulfilled by ambitious
future professionals. It had spawned in the process a lucrative commercial market
providing tourist-style trips." The ethos behind individual cross-national volunteering
schemes and people's motivations to get involved are likely to influence significantly
the nature and outcomes of such programs in the future.
Key Issues Within Cross-National Volunteering
Two key issues face the cross-national volunteering movement. The resolution of
these issues will to some extent determine whether or not the movement continues to
thrive and develop over the next decade. The first is the thorny issue of who is the
principal beneficiary- the volunteer or the host community- which returns us to
some of the underlying philosophical and ethical issues regarding such programs. The
second concerns the issue of access and whether or not cross-national volunteering can
be seen as an open, democratic movement, or the preserve of an educated elite from
the developed world.
Who Benefits and How? One of the major issues facing the cross-national
volunteering movement is the impact of participation -who (if anyone) is benefiting
from cross-national volunteering, and in what ways? As Daftary and McBride (2004)
argue, "While there may be positive effects ofinternational service, there are
undoubtedly potential negative effects as well, marked by elitism, state interests and
imperialism" (p. 3).
Individual volunteers.The evidence suggests that it may be the volunteers
themselves who gain the most from cross-national volunteering (McBride, Benitez &
Sherraden, 2003). Certainly cross-national volunteers can derive many benefits from
their experience, from hard and soft skills, to personal development, cultural awareness
and increasing appreciation of the importance of active citizenship (Thomas, 2001;
Davis Smith, 2002). However, several factors are serving to limit these potentially
positive impacts. Research on returned volunteers by Thomas (2001), for example,
found that while cross-national volunteering can increase an individual's skills, once
they had returned home these skills went largely unrecognized by employers: "The
majority of volunteers did not feel they were able or had the opportunity to exploit
the volunteering experience in the work place" (p. 43).
In addition to being unable to realize the full benefit of their new skills, Thomas
(2001) found that for many volunteers, the process of"returning to the U.K. had not
been easy" (p. 42). Indeed, the difficulties that volunteers face when returning home
Cross-NationalVolunteering:A DevelopingMovement? 69
have led to the establishment in the U.K. of an association called Returned Volunteer
Action, which seeks to ease the process of return by encouraging returned volunteers to
reflect on their experiences and by persuading sending organizations to provide greater
support for them when they arrive home.
Receiving and sending organizations. Organizations involved in cross-national
volunteering, at both the sending and receiving ends, report benefits from engagement
in such programs. Evaluations of the European Voluntary Service Program (Structure
of Operational Support for the European Voluntary Service, 1999, 2000), a European
trans-national volunteering program for young people established by the European
Commission in 1998, draw attention to the multiple benefits accruing to participating
agencies. Those involved in recruiting and sending volunteers overseas saw the
program as a learning experience, and an opportunity for intercultural learning, for
finding new partners, and for sharing information and expertise. Those involved in
hosting or receiving the volunteers drew attention to the enhanced human resource
capacity and the opportunities for partnership that work developed.
However, both sets of agencies also identified drawbacks from involvement. Both
criticized excessive bureaucracy and 'form-filling' and delays in payment, which often
resulted in the agencies being out-of-pocket. Receiving agencies, especially small ones,
were particularly critical of shortfalls in funding with two-thirds saying that they were
unable to raise complementary funds to cover the costs of board and lodging for
volunteers. Sending agencies expressed concerns about the quality of some of the host
organizations to which volunteers had been dispatched and the lack of sufficient
quality control mechanisms. For their part, receiving agencies complained about a
conflict of aims between those who saw the main focus of the program on the young
people and those who saw it as on the help the young people can give.
Host communities. A similar issue of the balance between positive and negative
impacts is also evident with regard to host communities. An evaluation of Voluntary
Service Overseas' English Language Program in China pointed to considerable
achievements for the local community in terms of the development of human capital
through the acquisition of English language skills and new styles of teaching (Lusk &
Rogers, 2001). Similarly, an evaluation of the North American Community Service
(NACS) pilot found the program had been successful in forging closer links between
participating countries by challenging negative perceptions volunteers might hold
about other countries (Sherraden & Benitez, 2003).
However, while cross-national volunteering can act as a positive force for change in
host communities, there is a body of opinion that suggests that in some instances it
may do more harm than good. In particular, more traditional forms of international
volunteering, whereby volunteers from the North deliver 'development' to the South,
can serve to reinforce a sense of dependency between the 'receiving' and 'giving' nations
(Returned Volunteer Action, 1991 ). Rather than challenging the status quo, cross-
national volunteering may simply be serving to reinforce it: " ... the transfer of skills
and resources which volunteer practice embodies also carriers with it a tendency to
further embed economically dependent countries into the current status quo of
international relations" (Returned Volunteer Action, 1991, Preface).
In addition, the way in which cross-national volunteering is promoted by

organizations to potential new volunteers, and the principles on which it is sometimes
based, serve to reinforce these notions of dependency. As Simpson (2004) points out,
the gap-year industry roots the legitimacy of their programs in an over-simplistic
concept of the 'third world' where there is a 'need' to be met by young unskilled
international labor. Thomas (2001) argues that these issues are heightened by a general
lack of knowledge and understanding on behalf of the volunteers: " ... specific
knowledge about developing countries and international volunteering programmes is
often vague and sometimes wrapped up in imagery of a colonial past" (p. 25). This
problem is intensified as often the volunteers receive allowances much higher than local
wages, live in far better accommodations than local people and may employ servants to
perform domestic chores (Roberts, 1995).
Sending volunteers overseas can also serve to create or reinforce inequalities and
rivalries between communities within a host country, for example, if one district or
village receives more volunteers or foreign aid than another (Sherraden & Benitez,
2003). Too great a dependence on foreign volunteers can also make a country
vulnerable if the sudden withdrawal of international volunteers is demanded by the
outbreak of, say, war or terrorist attacks. For instance, the Nigerian civil war in 1967
necessitated the withdrawal of all 170 Voluntary Service Overseas volunteers from the
country, the vast majority of whom were teaching in state schools and represented a
substantial element within Nigerian education (Adams, 1968, p. 215).
Accessibility. A second issue relates to the accessibility of international

volunteering opportunities and the extent to which opportunities for engagement are
open to people from different countries and different population groups within
countries. As has been noted above, recent developments have led to more and more
countries getting involved in cross-national volunteering. Thomas (2001) argues that
international volunteering can now rightly be seen as a global phenomenon. This
claim is backed up by evidence from the United Nations, which found that of the
5,635 mid-career professionals who served with United Nations Volunteers in 2003,
70% were from developing countries (United Nations Volunteers, 2004). Other
commentators, however, argue that such developments have been slow to take off, and
that cross-national volunteering opportunities are still very much the preserve of
citizens of the developed world (see, for example, McBride, Benitez & Sherraden,
2003).
Attempts to widen access have been hampered by variations between countries in
the legal status of volunteers, and differential systems in place for national insurance,
which have served to disadvantage volunteers from some countries. The European
Voluntary Service program, for example, has been bedevilled by problems caused by
the fact that in some countries volunteers are covered by social security regulations, but
in others they are excluded (Davis Smith, 2002).
On an individual level, in countries in both the North and South, access to cross-
national volunteering tends to be restricted to people from higher socioeconomic
groups. Many cross-national volunteering programs have selection criteria that work
against more inclusive schemes. McBride, Benitez & Sherraden (2003), for example,
found that 91 % of trans-national and 73% of international programs had age criteria
Cross-NationalVolunteering:
A DevelopingMovement? 71
for inclusion, while a significant number also had skills and language criteria. Cross-
national volunteering is also prohibitively expensive for many people, restricting
participation to the more affluent. Jones (2004) found that a typical fee for overseas
volunteering placements from U.K. organizations was between £500 to £2000.
Evidence suggests that these criteria, and other factors, are restricting the diversity of
participants. Braham (1999), for example, describes international volunteers as
primarily middle-class. Similarly, Jones (2004) found that participants on Gap Years
in the U.K. were predominantly white, females and from relatively affluent, middle-
class backgrounds.
Steps have been taken to ensure that cross-national volunteering becomes more
open to all. For example, schemes such as those provided by Raleigh International, a
U.K.-based youth development organization that places volunteers around the world,
offer subsidized places to volunteers from the host countries. Yet, however well-
intentioned such schemes may be, different treatment of volunteers on the same
program may cause problems and reinforce dependent relationships. For example, the
American volunteers taking part on the NACS pilot received $100 dollars a week
more than the Mexican and Canadian volunteers, leading to resentment amongst many
participants (Sherraden & Benitez, 2003).
Conclusion
Although not new in itself, cross-national volunteering has emerged in recent years
as an increasingly significant form of volunteerism - both in terms of scale and
impact. Fueled by a worldwide interest in volunteering, changing development
paradigms, and the move in a number of countries to replace compulsory military
service with a voluntary, community-based alternative, the number of cross-national
volunteering programs and the range of different countries offering such programs
have risen significantly.
Alongside the expansion of such programs, the past couple of decades have also
witnessed a fundamental shift in the ethos and philosophy of cross-national
volunteering, away from a focus on emergency relief toward a model more in tune
with the sustainable aims of contemporary development practice. Symptomatic of
this shift has been the move away from the traditional North to South model of
engagement toward an alternative South to South, South to North and trans-national
model. However, accompanying these more positive developments has been a trend
toward the expansion of mass market, volunteer tourism, which has threatened to
reinforce some of the power imbalances of the past. In addition, despite the best
efforts of a number of sending organizations to open up access to cross-national
volunteering to a broader constituency, it remains the case that most volunteers
engaged abroad (particularly from the developed world) are drawn from more
economically developed and better-educated segments of the community.
What of the implications for policy and practice? Intergovernmental agencies such
as the United Nations and the Council of Europe can do more to encourage the take-
up of cross-national volunteering by a wider range of countries, particularly from less
economically developed regions of the world. National governments, similarly, can do

more to stimulate the development of such programs, either by establishing them
themselves or by funding the voluntary sector to deliver them. Governments also have
an important role to play in providing a supportive legislative framework in which
volunteering can flourish, and in looking for ways to better harmonize social security
and national insurance regulations to ensure that volunteers from certain countries are
not disadvantaged economically when traveling overseas.
Sending organizations, meanwhile, need to reflect on ways of widening
participation in such programs and on providing more effective support to volunteers,
both whilst abroad and upon returning home, to ensure the benefits of engagement are
maximized for all stakeholders - the volunteers, the host community and the sending
and receiving agencies.
Finally, there is a need for more research in this field, particularly into the impact
of cross-national volunteering on the various stakeholders - the volunteers, the
sending organizations and the host community- and on the relationship between
program design, and underlying ethos, and the realization of these benefits. Only then
will we be fully able to evaluate the extent, effects, and implications of cross-national
volunteering.
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76 EmergirtgAreas
of Vblurtte.ering
BOARD MEMBERS OF NONPROFIT
ORGANIZA'.TIONS AS VOLUNTEERS
Robert 0. Herman
The purposesof this chapterare to: (I) review wk)' charitableboard membersin the US.
itte unpaid volunteers:(2) describethe scopeand extent of board volunteering;
(3) consida whetherseveralrecommendedpracticesin 1;olnmeermanagement apply to
board volunteersand, for those that do not, to considerwhy not; (4) note the possibilityfor
tensionbetween board and servicevolunteers;and. (5) observethat virtuaL/,yno research
has been conductedon the ejfect:rof volunteering011 board membersor the achievementsof
the organizationsthey oversee. The chapter concludesthat there are severalcontinuities
between boardand servicevolunteers;they share demographicsimilarities, the same mix
of motives and incentivesfai-volunteering,and they often are helped by similar supporting
managementpntctices. However.notable discontinuitiesexist as well. Status concernsare
more important,particular/,yin elite organizations,in the selectionof hoard volunteers.
And, since'board volunteersare the ultimate authority in their organizations,the
''employee model"of volunteermanagement is lessapplicableto them.
Introduction
On reviewing even a fairly limited sample of the research on vol.unreers and

nonprofit organization management and governance, asrudenr new ro the field might
be surprised t0 discover one research tradition rh:1t focuses almosr exclusively on
volunteers who provide services and another that focuses on volunteers who govern the
charitable nonprofit organizations chat organize and deliver services. Though not
legally required, in the United States (and apparently in many orher countries)
members of boards of directors (or boards of trustees) of charitable nonprofit:
organizations are almost universally unrem.unerated volunteers (i.e., they receive no
compensation for rheir work). Members of nonprofit boards, thus, would seem ro
have much in common wich service volunteers. Yei;,little research has been conducted
chat attemprs to assess whether the two categories of volunteers are different or similar
and, if so, in what ways. Resea.rch on volunteering using ve1y large nationwide samples
has included some board volw11teersas well as service volunteers, but comparing the
categories has not been of interest (see, e.g., Wilson & Musick, 1997).
Bot1rd}//embersof NonprofitOrganizationsas Volunteers 77

My purpose in this chapter is to offer an initial effort to understand board
volunteers in much the same terms as other volunteers. More specifically, I will:
(1) review why charitable nonprofit board members in the U.S. are almost always
volunteers; (2) describe what is known about the scope and extent of board
volunteering; (3) consider whether several recommended practices in volunteer
management apply to board volunteers and, for those that do not, why not; (4) note
the possibilities for tension between board and service volunteers; and, (5) observe that
almost no research has been conducted on how or the extent to which board
volunteering affects the achievements of the organizations they oversee or the board
volunteers personally. I conclude by suggesting some reasons why research on board
and service volunteers has been distinct.
_:whyAre Board Members Volunteers?
Though not prohibited by U.S. law, few charitable nonprofit board members are
compensated for their work on nonprofit boards. According to a 1999 survey of U.S.
nonprofit chief executives (n= 1,347), only 2% of the nonprofit organizations they
headed compensate board members in any way (National Center for Nonprofit
Boards, 2000). Unfortunately, no additional detail is available about the characteristics
of those organizations that do compensate board members. It is possible that the
survey included responses from CEOs heading other types of nonprofit organizations,
such as trade associations (National Center for Nonprofit Boards, 2000).
Few charitable nonprofit board members are paid and, thus, they meet a common
definition of"volunteer." Of course, as Cnaan, Handy &Wadsworth (1996) have
demonstrated, volunteering is best conceived as a range of behaviors. In their analysis
of various definitions of volunteering, they show that four dimensions capture the
variety in definitions of volunteering. Those dimensions are: (1) free choice,where
those who choose to provide uncompensated service are more purely volunteering than
those who, for example, have been required by a school or university to do so;
(2) remuneration, where those who receive no compensation are more purely
volunteering than those whose expenses are reimbursed or who receive some stipend/
low pay; (3) structure, those who serve in formal organizations are more purely
volunteers than those who help their communities informally; and, (4) intended
beneficiaries,where benefiting strangers is more purely volunteering than benefiting
friends or relatives or oneself.
Nonprofit board members qualify as volunteers along all of these dimensions.
Probably most board volunteers choose to be board members, although some business
corporations strongly encourage those in their executive ranks to volunteer. As the
survey evidence reviewed earlier suggests, nearly all board volunteers are
uncompensated, and probably a very small percentage are reimbursed for expenses. By
definition board volunteers serve in formal organizations. Some board work may
benefit friends or relatives, but in most charitable organizations the clientele is much
larger and more diverse (i.e., strangers benefit).
The question of why members of charitable boards are volunteers can (and should)
be answered at two levels: the societal and individual levels, though the two are

connected. At the societal level, that board members are volunteers is crucial to
creating and maintaining trust in such organizations (Handy, 1995). Fundraising
consultants commonly emphasize that volunteer board members should not only give
their time but also their money to the organizations on whose board they serve and, in
doing so, that they demonstrate to other potential donors the worth of their
organizations. For example, foundations, major givers and other institutional donors
are interested in the extent to which the board members of an applicant organization
give to the organization.
In an economic analysis of the role of board volunteers, Handy (1995) argues that
board members help to legitimize the trust others (donors and volunteers) place in
nonprofit charitable organizations. They do this by providing nonprofit organizations
with (varying) access to wealth and reputation. Those board volunteers with high
social reputations put their reputations at risk by joining a nonprofit board (i.e., the
organization may engage in unethical behavior or malfeasance, thus damaging the
reputation of those on the board). Of course, many individuals without high social
prestige are also attracted to boards that include the highly prestigious. Being part of
such a board enhances their reputation and puts them in a social network that allows
them to move to membership on higher prestige boards. Thus, by enhancing the trust
in and legitimacy of nonprofit charitable organizations, board members are also
benefiting themselves through enhancing their individual reputation.
As the number of U.S. charitable nonprofit organizations continues to increase,
many nonprofit boards are composed of people without elite prestige. As Hall (2003,
p. 22) observes, the expansion of the numbers and purposes of nonprofit organizations
has led to a pool of board members with no previous board experience and with "ideas
about organizational and community leadership that differed significantly from those
of the Protestant elites that had historically dominated nonprofit governance."
While some may be attracted to membership on less prestigious nonprofit
organization boards by the possibility of enhancing their social reputations, Widmer's
(1985) research suggests that board members are motivated by a complex range of
incentives, including material, social, developmental and service. When employers
encourage service on a nonprofit board, employees may be materially rewarded by
gaining skills or experience from board participation and by an advance in their present
job. Social incentives occur when board membership allows respondents to work with
their friends and provides them an opportunity to make new friends. Developmental
incentives offer opportunities to learn new things and develop more fully as a person.
Service incentives include belief in the work of the organization and a more general
belief in civic or community obligation. Widmer ( 1985) found that most board
members in her sample (n = 98, from ten different human service agencies) had
multiple motives for participating.
A series of surveys of volunteers that has asked about their reasons for volunteering
reveals fairly similar motives on the part of service volunteers (Brudney, 2004). The
reasons provided in the surveys include alternatives that would be classified in all the
categories Widmer used. For example, reasons cited by high percentages of
respondents include helping others and doing something useful. Smaller percentages
of respondents indicated they or a friend or relative had received services or that
BoardMembersof Nonprofit Organiza.tions

as Volunteers 79
volunteering was a learning experience.
Volunteering is not just a matter of motives or incentives. Researchers have long
been interested in the economic and social characteristics that affect who volunteers
and the extent of volunteering (for a review, see Smith, 1994). Wilson and Musick
( 1997) conceptualized a model of volunteer work determined by the extent of human
capital (includes education, family income, functional health and chronic illness), social
capital (number of children in household and extent of informal social interaction),
cultural capital (values helping and religious behaviors), as well as such background
variables as age, gender and race. Using a very large (n = 2,867) multistage stratified
area probability sample of U.S. adults 25 years and older they confirm that those with
more human, social and cultural capital volunteer more. This research suggests that
board volunteers, particularly those serving on moderate to high prestige boards, are
likely to have high levels of human and social capital (and probably cultural capital if it
were conceptualized more broadly than in this specific study; see Ostrower, 1995 and
2002, for in-depth studies of the motivations and capacities that affect elite
participation in certain nonprofit organizations).
This review suggests two conclusions. First, what motivates service volunteers
probably also motivates board volunteers, and what enables service volunteering also
enables board volunteering. Second, those volunteering for prestigious boards are
likely to gain in social reputation and prestige from such work.
Scope and Extent of Board Volunteering
Estimating the number of board volunteers in the U.S. must be strictly an

informed guess. No exact count of the number of nonprofit organizations is available.
While the number of organizations that are included in the Internal Revenue Service's
Exempt Organization Master File can be determined, that number is known to under-
represent the true size of the voluntary sector by a substantial amount (Gr0nbjerg &
Paarlberg, 2002; Smith, 1997). Smaller organizations (those with revenues ofless than
$5,000) are not required to register with the IRS. Religious congregations also are
exempt from registering, though some do. According to the Independent Sector's
Nonprofit Almanac in Brief,734,000 501-c-3 charitable nonprofit organizations were
registered, in 1998, as well as 140,000 501-c-4 nonprofit organizations (typically
thought to be mostly advocacy organizations) and an estimated 354,000 religious
congregations (Independent Sector, 20016). Religious congregations are often
considered part of the nonprofit sector as membership organizations that often provide
charitable services and may also advocate for various public policies and social causes.
The above figures suggest that the number of nonprofit charitable organizations is at a
minimum 734,000 and, if we expand the conception of the relevant nonprofit
organizational set to include others pursuing social cause missions, 1,228,000 or more
at a maximum.
In addition to not having firm figures on the number of nonprofit organizations,
we also lack figures on the number of board members. In the 1999 survey of the
National Center for Nonprofit Boards, the median size of boards was 17 and the
mean size was 19 (according to responding chief executives). Straightforward

calculations suggest that the probable minimum number of charitable organization
board members in the U.S. is on the order of 4,000,000 (multiply 734,000 by 17
board members to get 12,478,000, then multiply that figure by .33 in recognition of
the potentially substantial number ofinactive/defunct charitable organizations [from
Salamon, 1999] to get 4,117,740). The likely minimum number of board volunteers
for "social cause" nonprofit organizations would be correspondingly higher
(somewhere on the order of about 6.9 million, substituting 1,228,000 for 734,000 in
the above calculations). Given that many smaller and affiliated organizations are not
counted, the total number of nonprofit board members is likely much greater than
these estimates, perhaps multiples greater. Note, however, that this calculation
estimates available positions rather than individuals, and that many citizens volunteer
on more than one board.
The substantial expansion in the numbers of nonprofit charitable organizations
that began in the 1960s not only has led to very large numbers of people serving as
board volunteers, it has also led to increasing diversity among board volunteers. A
group of researchers collected data on the characteristics of members of boards of
directors (or trustees) of 15 specific nonprofit organizations in six cities at three points
in time for the Yale University Program on NonProfit Organizations' Project on the
Changing Dimensions ofTrusteeship (Abzug, 1996). The specific nonprofit
organizations included: the largest secular hospital, Protestant hospital, Catholic
hospital, Jewish hospital, art museum, symphony orchestra, United Way, institution of
higher education, Junior League, community foundation, YMCA, YWCA, secular
family services, Catholic family services, and Jewish family services in the cities of
Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Philadelphia. The
years for which data on board members were collected were 1931, 1961, and 1991.
Though missing data on some characteristics of board members is substantial for
certain characteristics (e.g., the religion of only about 39% of all trustees is known, the
education of about 55%, and the race of 63%, while the occupation of78% and
gender of 99% are known; Abzug & Galaskiewicz, 2001), even for this set of
nonprofit charitable organizations, the trend is toward increased, if still rather limited,
diversity. Of special interest here, Abzug (I 996) reports that the percentage of board
volunteers who were included in the SocialRegisterwas about 46% in 1931, 26% in
1961 and 5% in 1991. The percentages of board volunteers in Whos Who in America,
however, showed less change, with 20% in 1931, 27% in 1961, and 15% in 1991
(Abzug, 1996). Abzug and Galaskiewicz (2001) report that the percentage of board
volunteers in professional occupations was very consistent across the years--at 27% in
1931, 24% in 1961, and 25% in 1991--although the percentage with managerial
occupations increased, from 49% in 1931 to 55% in 1961 to 58% in 1991. The set
of nonprofit organizations included in this study is clearly much more likely (being old
and large) to attract a city's more elite citizens compared to most newer and smaller
organizations. No doubt the diversity among board volunteers is now greater than it
was in this sample.
In their thorough review of the research literature on nonprofit charity boards,
Ostrower and Stone (2005) conclude that a large majority of board members are
white, that more are men than women, and that board members are recruited
BoardMembersof Nonprofit Organizationsas Volunteers 81

disproportionately from the upper-middle and upper classes. They also conclude that
boards are becoming more diverse as well, although they observe that boards may
become (as some have) more diverse in terms of gender and race, but not in relation to
class.
Research on the consequences of increasing board diversity is quite limited. Gittell
and Covington (1994) found that the boards of neighborhood development
organizations with more than 50% women are significantly more likely to adopt
programs and policies responsive to the needs of women. Siciliano ( 1996) found
gender diversity on YMCA boards (higher proportions of women) positively related to
headquarter's judgments of mission fulfillment, negatively related to fundraising
success, and unrelated to operating efficiency. Bradshaw, Murray and Wolpin ( 1996)
found, in Canadian nonprofit organizations, some operational differences related to
the proportion of women on the board, but with no relation to organizational
effectiveness. Since these studies are cross-sectional, it is impossible to know whether
gender diversity affected the organizational characteristics studied, or whether the
differences between organizations on those characteristics affected the gender
composition of boards. No longitudinal research on changing board composition and
its consequences has been conducted. The Yale Project on the Changing Dimensions
ofTrusteeship did not include efforts to measure processes or effectiveness and, thus,
does not include any data on the consequences of changing board composition.
Ostrower and Stone (2005) report almost no research on the consequences of
increased racial and ethnic diversity on nonprofit boards, emphasizing that the little
available data suggest no apparent effect. While the dominance of nonprofit boards by
those of upper-middle and especially upper class origins has received much theoretical
attention (mostly arguing that elite dominance of nonprofit boards both helps to
preserve the status quo and legitimate it), yet again almost no research has been done to
examine the impact ofincreased class diversity on board functioning.
The available data and research support three conclusions. First, the number of
board volunteers is substantial, though of course much smaller than the overall
number of service volunteers, given the much more numerous opportunities for service
volunteering. The likely minimum of board volunteers in "social cause" nonprofit
organizations is somewhere on the order of four to seven million people, compared to
84 million adult service volunteers (Independent Sector, 2001 a). Second, the available
evidence indicates increasing demographic diversity (principally in relation to gender,
race and religious identification) among board volunteers and increasing percentages of
board volunteers from the non-elite ranks. Third, the few studies that have been done
relating diversity to board and organizational characteristics suggests gender may have
some effects on board processes, but nothing more definitive than that conclusion can
be supported.
Volunteer Management Practices in Relation to Board Volunteers
That nonprofit boards often have difficulty in fulfilling their prescribed roles and
responsibilities is widely recognized (see Ostrower and Stone, 2005, for the most
extensive review). In consequence, many people have suggested a wide variety of

practices that boards might adopt to help them more effectively meet their
responsibilities. Herman, Renz and Heimovics ( 1997) reviewed the board practices
literature and identified some 20 frequently recommended practices. 10
The volunteer management literature has also been concerned with identifying
appropriate and effective practices. Many volunteer management practices have been
proposed as desirable (for a thorough review of practices related to volunteer program
design, volunteer recruitment and retention and volunteer training, see Brudney, 2004,
McCurley, 2004, and Macduff, 2004). Though no national random samples of
nonprofit charities have been conducted to study the extent to which boards use
various widely recommended practices, fortunately a recent survey concerning the use
of volunteer management recommended practices is based on a random sample ofIRS
registered charities (Hager & Brudney, 2004). This survey presented nine volunteer
management practices to respondents and asked them to indicate the extent to which
their organizations have adopted the practices. More than 1,700 organizations
responded to the survey, including 1,354 that use volunteers in their programs and that
are not volunteer centers. I use the nine practices in the Hager and Brudney (2004)
survey to organize, compare, and contrast available data on similar board practices.
Regular Supervision and Communication With Volunteers. The Hager and

Brudney survey found 67% of the responding organizations used this volunteer
management practice to a large degree and 30% to some degree, and that it was the
most frequently adopted practice. The application of this practice with board
volunteers is problematic. Since boards are at the hierarchical apex of the organization,
who should "supervise" them? In effect, board members are expected to supervise
themselves. However, research by Herman and Heimovics (1991, 2004) indicates that
what differentiates nonprofit chief executives considered especially effective from those
not so considered is that the former provide much more facilitative leadership for their
boards. Especially effective nonprofit CEOs do not supervise their boards but rather
encourage them to meet their responsibilities and facilitate their doing so, including by
engaging in frequent communication with them, individually and collectively.
Though there is no survey evidence about the extent to which chief executives (and
others employed by a nonprofit charity) communicate with board members, it is
inconceivable that such communication would ever be missing.
Liability Coverage or Insurance Protection for Volunteers. The Hager and

Brudney survey showed that 46% of respondents had adopted this practice to a large
degree and 26% to some degree. In the 1999 National Center for Nonprofit Boards
(2000) survey, 89% of those responding indicated that their organization provided
Directors' and Officers' (D&O) liability insurance for board members, though smaller
organizations were less likely to do so, and smaller nonprofits are under-represented in
10
These practices probably should not be called "best practices" as none meets the criteria
specified by Keehley et al. ( 1997) to identify a best practice, which are: success over time;
quantifiable gains; innovation; recognition for positive results (if quantifiable results are limited);
replicability; relevance to the adopting organization; and, generalizability or no links to unique
organizational characteristics.
Board Members of Nonprofit Organizations as Volunteers 83

the NCNB survey. No doubt organizational size is related to financial capacity (and
ability to afford D&O insurance), but it is also undoubtedly true that larger
organizations are likely to have more affluent and elite board members who expect the
organization to have such insurance.
Regular Collection of Information on Volunteer Numbers and Hours. The

Hager and Brudney survey responses indicated that 45% of respondents had adopted
this practice to a large degree and 32% to a small degree. Application of this practice
to board volunteers is also problematic. Although most chief executives probably
know how much time board members spend at full board meetings, and they may
know how much time various committees meet (either because the CEOs themselves
provide staff support or other managers do), it is doubtful that CEOs attempt to
collect information on the time board members spend individually on board work.
Because board members often miss board and/or committee meetings, one widely
recommended board practice has been that written policies about attendance and
participation be developed. In a study conducted in 1993-1994 of 64 community-
based nonprofit organizations in the Kansas City area, Herman, Renz and Heimovics
( 1997) found 89% of those organizations had a written policy regarding attendance of
board members at meetings. Of those organizations that had such a written policy,
91 % had included a statement about dismissal from the board on account of
absenteeism However, only about 50% reported enforcing the absenteeism dismissal
policy. In a follow-up study in 1999-2000, Herman and Renz (2000) found that
89% again had a written policy regarding attendance at meetings However, only 77%
of those with such a policy (a drop from the previous level of 91 %) reported a written
statement about dismissal for absenteeism, though all (100%) with a dismissal policy
reported enforcing it. Apparently some nonprofits have decided against explicit
policies about dismissal since they were not abiding by them, but those who have
them say they uphold them. Of course, the written policies may include generous
provision for "excused" absences.
Screening Procedures to Identify Suitable Volunteers. Hager and Brudney

found that of respondents to their survey, 45% had adopted this practice to a large
degree and 42% to some degree. Given the importance of boards and the gap between
the expected performance of nonprofit boards and the actuality, several widely
recommended board practices focus on attracting, screening and orienting board
members. In their 1993-1994 study, Herman, Renz and Heimovics (1997) asked
whether boards used: (1) a nominating or board development committee, usually
responsible in part for identifying potential board members, interviewing and assessing
them, and recommending members to the full board; (2) a board profile: a template
indicating the various characteristics, skills and abilities desired on the board and how
current board members fit the overall requirements, thus indicating what specific
characteristics, skills and abilities new members should ideally bring; (3) a personal
interview with potential board members conducted by a committee of the board or
the full board; (4) written selection criteria in identifying and including (or excluding)
new members; and (5) a new member orientation process to familiarize them with
other board members, staff, facilities, programs and policies and procedures. Herman
and Renz (2000) asked about the same practices again during the 1999-2000 period of
the study.
The results indicate that of the boards studied, most use nominating or board
development committees (about 91 % in the 1993-1994 period and 96% in the 1999-
2000 period). Fewer organizations report using board profiles (57% in both periods).
Interviews were common, with 65% using them in the first period and 73% in the
second. Both times, a slight majority (58% and 55%) employed written selection
criteria. Orientations were nearly universal during the first period, used by 94%,
though they became less so in the second period, with 82% using them. The National
Center for Nonprofit Board's (2000) survey of board members indicated that only
40% reported receiving a formal orientation.
Hager and Brudney (2004) also included analysis of the relation between using the
nine volunteer management practices and retention of volunteers. Their analysis
showed that screening and matching were positively related to volunteer retention (that
is, the percentage of volunteers retained from one year to the next), controlling for the
other practices. Whether board recruitment and selection practices have consequences
for the board or the organization is unknown. It is certainly conceivable that what is
consequential (for community connections, for fundraising, for access to key political
decision-makers) is not having the right practices, but rather having the "right" board
members, and that the right board members are attracted by the prestige of the board
(that is, who else is on it), rather than by how the board carries out selection and
recruitment. These and other issues call for more research, particularly research using
random samples of charities, on the use of the whole set of board recruitment and
selection practices and their consequences.
Written Policies and Job Descriptions for Volunteer Involvement. This

practice has also been adopted fairly widely in volunteer management, according to the
recent Hager and Brudney survey, with 44% using it to a large degree and 37% to
some degree. Although not asked about an equivalent board practice, 93% of the
organizations in the first round of the Herman, Renz and Heimovics ( 1997) study
reported using a board manual, a compilation of various documents including written
policies about organizational and board policies, board duties and board committee
duties. In the second round of the study, 89% reported using a board manual.
One of the most common "duties" of board members is fundraising, even though
chief executives often feel boards could improve performance in this area. In the
1993-1994 data collection, Herman, Renz and Heimovics found that 39% of the
organizations studied had a written policy describing the expectations of board
members in relation to giving money themselves and soliciting donations from others.
The percentage in 1999-2000 was 46%. According to the National Center for
Nonprofit Board's (2000) survey, 48% of responding organizations required board
members to contribute, though whether this expectation was in writing is not
specified. Additionally, that survey found that 52% of organizations require board
members to identify donors or solicit funds, and 49% require board volunteers to
attend fundraising events.
BoardMembersof Nonprofit Organizatiomas Volunteers 85

Recognition Activities. The Hager and Brudney survey found recognition
activities for volunteers to be widespread: 35% reported carrying out recognition
activities to a large degree and 47% to some degree. Recognition for board members
also is likely to be common. The Herman, Renz and Heimovics ( 1997) study found
that 88% of organizations engaged in board recognition for retiring board members,
with 93% reporting such practice in 1999-2000.
Annual Measurement of the Impacts of Volunteers. Hager and Brudney

found that 30% of organizations engage in this practice to a large degree and 32% to
some degree, apparently indicating that a majority of charities is investing resources in
trying to assess what difference and how much difference the work of their volunteers
is making.
Few charities seem to be doing much to assess the impacts of their boards. The
Herman, Renz and Heimovics study asked if boards undertook self-evaluations: 30%
did so in both rounds of data collection (1993-1994, 1999-2000). When asked if the
board did evaluations of individual board members, only 5% did so in the first round
and 11% in the second round. The National Center for Nonprofit Board's (2000)
survey found 38% did board self-evaluation. Board evaluations can take a wide variety
of formats and vary greatly on the extent to which they may provide evidence of
impact - especially impact on programs, clients, and the wider community. Probably
most board evaluations focus more narrowly on board members' assessments of how
they did in fundraising, in attending meetings, in working together and so on. Even
board evaluations that collect board member (or others') perceptions of the extent to
which and in what way the board affected program quality or program outcomes
would not provide strong evidence about impact.
Training and Professional Development Opportunities for Volunteers. The

Hager and Brudney survey showed that 25% of charities provided such opportunities
to a large degree and 49% to some degree. For board volunteers, it could be argued
that board work itself is a training and development opportunity, that board members
can improve as well as demonstrate their skills and abilities, both as board members
and more generally as effective planners and decision-makers, through their board
activities. Certainly, people join boards both to improve potential job skills and to
enhance their visibility and network of contacts. Many boards provide more specific
training opportunities in such areas as fundraising, group dynamics, public speaking
and similar skills related to their board duties, though no data on how many boards
provide such training opportunities are available. Widmer's ( 1985) research showed
that many board members participate for these benefits.
Training for Paid Staff in Working With Volunteers. Hager and Brudney's
survey showed this is the least common (in terms of adoption to a large degree)
volunteer management practice, adopted to a large degree by 19% and to some degree
by 46% of responding organizations. No research is available that assesses the
availability of training for chief executives and other paid staff in working with board
volunteers.

In summary, both the literatures on board volunteers and service volunteers have
emphasized the benefits of various practices. More is known about the use and
consequences of certain management practices for service volunteers. Of the nine
volunteer management practices studied by Hager and Brudney (2004), six could be
classified as "supporting" practices, that is, as practices that provide direct assistance to
volunteers or staff as they try to help volunteers do useful work. Three practices,
however, are less about supporting or enabling volunteers and more about "top-down
management" of volunteers; those practices are "regular supervision and
communication," "regular collection of information on volunteer numbers and hours,"
and "measurement ofimpacts." These three practices represent what might be called
an "employee model" of volunteer management - that volunteers can and should be
managed in much the same way as employees. The "employee model" does not apply
to board volunteers. Though nonprofit boards do not own "their" organizations, since
the board is legally responsible for the conduct of the organization, all personnel
(board volunteers, staff and service volunteers) are likely to feel that "the board is the
boss" and that the board cannot or should not be supervised by employees.
The supporting practices all apply well or fairly well to board volunteers, since
those practices do not infringe on their positional authority. Indeed, the available
evidence (recognizing that the evidence for board volunteers is much more narrowly
based than that for service volunteers) suggests that three supporting practices -
provision of insurance protection, screening of volunteers and recognition of
volunteers- may be more frequently performed for board volunteers than for service
volunteers. Of the other supporting practices, those of having written policies and job
descriptions for volunteers and of providing training and development opportunities
for board volunteers apply only fairly well. Board members are likely to resist written
policies and descriptions about their jobs unless they (or their predecessors) have been
thoroughly involved in developing and approving those policies and descriptions.
Although it is likely that service volunteer involvement in developing and approving
policies and descriptions of their jobs will result in more appropriate and more
acceptable policies (Brudney, 2004; McCurley, 2004), service volunteers are more
likely than board volunteers to accept staff developed polices and descriptions.
Similarly, board members are seemingly much more likely to participate in training
and development opportunities where they have decided that such were needed.
Service volunteers are more likely to participate in "required" training.
The three volunteer management practices studied by Hager and Brudney (2004)
that do not apply well to board volunteers all put board volunteers in a subordinate
role to staff (or would generally be perceived as doing so). Thus, it is not surprising
that no research exists on (1) how well board volunteers are supervised, (2) how
thorough the collection of data on number of hours worked by board volunteers is,
and (3) what the impact of the board's work has been (board volunteers seem likely to
consider that the impact of the board must be reflected in the good work of the
organization and all its employees and volunteers). These are not practices that boards
are likely to want implemented in the organization for them.

The Relation Between Board and Service Volunteers
In some nonprofit organizations, board volunteers may be unaware of and

disinterested in service volunteers. Ellis (1999), for example, tells of a hospital board
involved in creating a written strategic plan of 80 pages that nowhere contained the
word "volunteer," even though the hospital had 600 volunteers. Brudney (2001) gives
four reasons for the common inattention of boards to the volunteer program. First, in
many cases, a board's desire to avoid micromanaging, of intruding into matters
thought to be the province of the chief executive, will lead a board to slight the service
volunteer program. Second, the discomfort syndrome, the reluctance to possibly open
up feelings on the part of service volunteers that they are less valued and in a different
hierarchical position than board volunteers, though they too are volunteers, leads some
boards to pay little attention to the volunteer program. Third, sometimes the
"overgratitude" syndrome occurs. Overgratitude happens when the board volunteers
feel having volunteers in itself is a substantial achievement and one to be grateful
about. Placing expectations on those volunteers and requiring volunteer management
practices are seen as demonstrating a lack of gratitude. Fourth, the devaluation
syndrome occurs when boards feel that the volunteer program is not important
enough, relative to other concerns, for their sustained attention. Both Ellis (1999) and
Brudney (2001) make a strong case for the importance of board involvement in the
volunteer program, and both provide detailed and useful suggestions about how board
volunteers can be more strategic in their involvement.
Stories of tensions between board volunteers and service volunteers often describe
the feelings of service volunteers that board volunteers think they are "better than'' they
are, or that board volunteers "really don't understand" what the needs of the
organization or the clients are because they "don't get their hands dirty." Widmer
(1996) analyzes the role conflict that frequently occurs when board members also carry
out service volunteer roles, noting that staff feel uncomfortable evaluating or
attempting to correct a board member acting in a service volunteer capacity. Such dual
roles further muddy the difficult enough distinction between policy-making and
policy implementation. While there are likely to be clear benefits from board
volunteers doing a short stint as a service volunteer (Ellis, 1999), most organizations
would prefer to avoid the extent of role conflict Widmer (1996) describes when board
members are also service volunteers.
Consequences of Board Volunteering
There is some evidence that boards can and sometimes do affect organizational
performance, and that more effective organizations are governed by more effective
boards. However, most of the research supporting this conclusion is cross-sectional
and, thus, it may be that the correlation between the two is due to a common cause
(see Herman & Renz, 2004, for a review of relevant studies). For example, it is
plausible that a very well-managed organization with effective programs will attract
additional financial resources, increasing its chances to maintain and increase its
effectiveness and also increasing its chances (since it is not risky) to attract experienced
and effective board members. The causal sequence runs from high managerial skills to
increasing financial resources to increasing organizational effectiveness and increasing
board effectiveness.
Apparently, no research on the consequences of board volunteering on the board
volunteers themselves has been conducted. What research that is available emphasizes
that, particularly in relation to more prestigious and elite boards, board membership
provides some members with an affirmation of their membership in the area's social
elite (Galaskiewicz, 1985; Ostrower, 1995, 2002). Obviously, this feeling of being
part of an exclusive group is important as members of elite boards often contribute
large sums of money as well as time to achieve it. Other than such findings, research
in this area is especially slim.
Conclusion
This chapter demonstrates that there are many continuities between board
volunteers and volunteering and service volunteers and volunteering. Certainly, given
the large number of board volunteers, many are no doubt demographically similar to
service volunteers, serve for the same mix of motives and incentives, are enabled to do
so by similar levels of human, social and cultural capital, and may benefit in the
performance of their volunteer duties from some fairly equivalent supportive volunteer
management practices.
There are also discontinuities. Anyone with the appropriate skills, ability and
motivation would likely be able to find a service volunteer position with the most elite
nonprofit organizations. However, those interested in board volunteering with the
most elite organizations will need more than skill, ability and motivation. Family
background, professional or occupational position, connection to other elites, and
personal wealth are likely to affect selection, especially since peer-to-peer fundraising is
expected of directors on many boards. Such an emphasis on status selectivity for board
volunteers likely reaches into nonprofit boards with less prestige.
More generally, board volunteers occupy positions of ultimate hierarchical
authority. Such positions lead them and others to regard board volunteers as, in one
important respect, different than service volunteers. While service volunteers can be
managed much as employees are managed, board volunteers are the ultimate managers
- though they may not be the owners, they are responsible for what happens in and to
the organization. Thus, some management practices appropriate for service volunteers
do not square with our understandings of the rights and privileges of the ultimate
bosses.
The literatures on board and service volunteers have developed separately, I
conclude, for three principal reasons. First, the hierarchical difference means that board
volunteers are, at least "in theory," responsible for designing their own roles and work
and the roles and work of all others (including service volunteers) who come to be part
of the organization. The board volunteer role is, thus, regarded as a bigger, more
challenging role, not subject to being "managed" by paid staff. Second, since much of
the research on boards has paid more attention to high prestige and elite boards than to
the much larger number of boards below those rarefied social levels, the differences in

the concern for and social consequences of status relative to board and service
volunteers have been emphasized. Third, both the prescriptive and descriptive
literatures on board and service volunteers have adopted the basic practical concerns
held by board members and chief executives on the one hand, and service volunteers
and volunteer program managers on the other. For the former, concerns about why
boards do not meet their positional duties, and about making boards more effective
have been paramount. For the latter, more varied concerns, including attracting and
retaining quality volunteers, and designing rewarding and interesting volunteer roles for
them, have been paramount.
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BoardMembers of Nonprofit Organizationsas Volunteers 91

92 Emer:gi~g.Areas
o.f'Vnlunteer,,ing
GOVERNMENT VOLUNTEERISM IN
THE NEW MILLENNIUM
SarahJane Rehnborg, Ph.D.
'i,VideLy
consideredthe backboneof the nonprofit sector,volimteerismhas received
considerab(ylessattention in thepublic sector. This chapteraddressesthe service
continuumfrom traditional volunteerismto nationalservicein government. An overview
of serviceinitiatives at the focal,state and federal Levels~·e_fiects
the directserviceactivities
of volunteers,yet rare!Jaccountrfor the roleof volunteersin policy and leadership
positions. An examination of trendsin public-secto1~ agency-based programsidentifies
serviceopportunitiesfor episodicvolunteersand the growing involvement of volunteersin
fimdraising. Emergingin the wake of the eventsof September 1 I, 2001, the USA
FreedomCorpsrepresentsa conglomerationofexi.stingand new serviceinitiatives designed
to engagecitizens in homelandsecurity. The chapterconcludeswith an anttlysisof this
latestpresidentialinitiative and its attempt to brand ser11ice to the concernsof 11 new
ttdministration.
Introduction
Although widelyregardedas the foundation of the nonprofit sector,volunteers

play an important, though frequently less ce.lebrated role, in government. While che
deeds of volunteer fire fighrers are as significant as they are legendary, few stop co
realize the role volunteers play, for example, in monitorrng our wetlands, performing
archeological digs for state historical societies, removing litter from our highways,
sustaining ow· public parks and reci-eacion lands, reviewing grants, leading rwdve--step
programs in our prisons, directing traffic, repairing audio cassettes for Iibra1y materials
for rhe blind, selecting special issue postage scamps, or engaging in che hose of other
acrivicies rhat occur through volunceer participation in the public sector at the local,
scare or federal levels (Brudney, 1990; Ellis & Noyes, 1990; Rehnborg, Fallon &
Hinerfeld, 2002).
Despite its lack of widespread recognition, govern men tvolunteering provides an
enormous reservoir of talent, skill, leadership, dedication, and energy and cost
avoidance to che public sector. While the seccor clearly benefits from the largess of its
citizens, direct service represents only one dimension of the public secror role in rhe
Government VoLunteerismin the New Millennium 93

theatre of volunteerism. In preparation for the United Nations International Year of
Volunteers in 2001, The Roundtable on Volunteerism and Social Development noted
that whether volunteering was understood as self-help, civic participation or
philanthropy, it has an enormous capacity to improve society and must "be recognized
as a strategic resource which can be positively influenced by public policy" (Capeling-
Alakija & Pennekamp, 2000). As the year of celebration and commemoration drew to
a close, country after country spoke to the need for governments to develop strategies
to promote and facilitate volunteer efforts: "Governments can create enabling
conditions for volunteering by promoting volunteerism and establishing a solid legal
framework. Through dialogue with their volunteer organizations, governments can
successfully encourage a friendly environment for volunteering which grows out of the
local culture and conditions" (United Nations Volunteers, 2001, p. 18).
Government policy that promotes volunteerism takes many forms. Kennedy's call
to international service through the Peace Corps, Clinton's AmeriCorps and, more
recently, the USA Freedom Corps initiatives of President G. W Bush attest to the
ability of government to spur service initiatives. From environmental clean-ups to
homeland security, volunteering in the public sector is facing careful scrutiny at the
same time that it is taking on a new look. Uniquely positioned to facilitate or thwart
action, these public sector initiatives will be the primary focus of this chapter.
Specifically, this chapter will explore the dimensions of public sector volunteerism,
examine available data and consider the impact of current Presidential initiatives on
national service and volunteerism.
Defining Volunteerism in the Public Sector
The touchstone for virtually every discussion on the definition of volunteerism is

the work of Cnaan et al. (1996). Following their extensive literature review, Cnaan
and colleagues identified the dimensions of free choice, remuneration, structure, and
intended beneficiaries as the key domains in defining the term volunteer. Each
conceptual dimension represents a continuum. For example, within free choice, a
volunteer may serve at his/her own free will, under relatively uncoerced conditions, or
may be obligated to serve. The remuneration received ranges from none, to stipended
or low-pay opportunities; structure varies between informal service opportunities to
opportunities within organizational or structured situations; and, beneficiaries range
from helping others or strangers, to service that directly benefits the volunteer.
In their analysis of civic service, Perry and Thomson (2004) further parse these
dimensions and distinguish between the realms of volunteerism and national service.
They suggest that the nature of the public problem and the particular institutional
niche in which the service is performed differentiates civic service from traditional
volunteerism. For them, civic service is frequent and long-term (i.e. not less than four
hours per day or 20 hours per week for an extended period of time). Other defining
· characteristics of civic service include probable below-market-value remuneration, as
well as opportunities situated in formalized institutional structures designed to address
a need not served through either the market or the public sector. Finally, according to
Perry and Thomson (2004), civic service focuses on "more difficult problems" than

traditional voluntary service, with the balance of effort directed more toward
alleviating the problem than benefiting the provider.
To better understand volunteer programs in the public sector, Brudney (1999)
suggests an alternative profile. Seven characteristics define his conceptual framework.
Those characteristics require that the initiative be: (1) sponsored by or housed within a
government organization; (2) conducted within a formal organizational context;
(3 & 4) non-remunerated, although expense reimbursement is permissible; and,
(5) intended to primarily benefit the agency client, though the volunteer may reap
nonmaterial benefits as well. The last two characteristics of the framework apply to
the volunteer and the nature of the position: (6) the volunteer's time should be freely
given and not coerced or mandated; and, (7) the volunteer opportunity should involve
ongoing delivery or service support to an agency or project.
Based on research from the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community
Service (2004), considerable commonality can still be seen in the management
practices of national service and community-based volunteer programs. With the
active participation of representatives from AmeriCorps, AmeriCorps VISTA,
SeniorCorps, Learn & Serve and volunteer management practitioners, the RGK Center
developed and tested an organizational self-assessment tool. With the exception of the
Learn & Serve program, which lacked a sufficient sample size for analysis, reliability
and validity testing revealed high levels of similarity between effectively managed
programs and the concerns of these groups.
A compelling reason to bring these domains together, however, relates to policy.
Volunteerism, in all its permutations, "promotes social participation and active
citizenship, and strengthens civil society. It can also help to maintain society's stability
and cohesion ... it is a plus for society, for it is a conduit for universal value in terms of
human rights, democracy, combating racism, solidarity and sustainable development"
(United Nations Volunteers, 2001, p. 10). Similarly, Perry and Thomson (2004)
"envision a future civic service that is pluralistic, voluntary, and funded by subsidies
from a variety of governments ... for developing pragmatic joint action that involves
individual citizens and the social, economic, and political institutions they create, to
more adequately meet the demands of the twenty-first century" (p. 145).
Nonetheless, divisions exist between the advocates of national service and the
advocates of traditional volunteerism. Supporters of national service programs such as
AmeriCorps, Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA), and the Peace Corps have
worked tirelessly in their attempts to strengthen and sustain these initiatives through
legislation. Yet, proponents of traditional volunteerism continue to square off against
the national service contingent. Noting the nation's long history of voluntary action,
traditionalists have tended to stand firm in their opposition to legislative initiatives
designed to sustain or support national service. Bridgeland and Nunn (2004),
directing their comments to this ideological warfare in the nation's Capital, assert that
it is time for the supporters of national service initiatives and those devoted to
traditional volunteerism to work together. Service, they argue, regardless of its
permutations, is what defines us as Americans (Bridgeland & Nunn, 2004, p. 2).
Government Volunteerism in the New Millennium 95

The Extent and Scope ofVolunteering in the Public Sector
The extent of volunteering in the United States is determined largely through

surveys and, to a lesser extent, through studies focused on service within a particular
area or field. The 2002 Current Population Survey (CPS) conducted by the Bureau of
the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, found that 27.4% of Americans engaged
in volunteer action and served a median of 52 hours per year. While the median
number of hours remained relatively unchanged, the volunteering rate for 2003 rose by
1.4 percentage points to 28.8% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2002, 2003). Although
the CPS does not specifically address volunteering in the public domain, the results
distinguish the percentage of volunteers by service area.
Table 1 summarizes volunteering by service area for 2002 and 2003. This table
shows that volunteers are most likely to serve religious or educational and youth-
serving agencies. A large portion of service within the educational arena occurs in the
public sector. However, surprisingly few volunteers work in public safety. Moreover,
although the numbers are admittedly small, the largest relative negative change noted
by the survey, September 11 notwithstanding, occurred in public safety.
Table1
Relative Changes in Volunteer Involvement
Relative
Change
Organization 2002 2003 Change (Change/2002)
Religious 33.9 34.6 0.7 0.02
Educational or youth service 27.2 27.4 0.2 0.01
Social or community service 12.1 11.8 -0.3 -0.02
Hospital or other health 8.6 8.2 -0.4 -0.05
Civic, political, professional, or international 6.1 6.4 0.3 0.05
Sport, hobby, cultural, or arts 4.0 4.1 0.1 0.02
Environmental or animal care 1.6 1.7 0.1 0.06
Public safety 1.4 1.2 -0.2 -0.14
Not determined 1.6 1.5 -0.1 -0.06
Other 3.4 3.1 -0.3 -0.09
Note: The data in column I are ftom the Current Population Survey, September 2002:
Volunteer Supplement. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2003. The data in column 2 are ftom
the Current Population Survey, September 2003: Volunteer Supplement. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 2004.
Brudney and Gazley (2004) note similar declines in public sector volunteerism
based on their analysis of a series of biennial Gallup Organization Surveys conducted in
collaboration with the Independent Sector (200 I). According to the Independent
Sector surveys, public sector volunteerism declined 6.3% between 1988 and 1999.
Despite these declines, the volunteer service contribution to the U.S. was valued at $37
billion in 1999.
Although the factors that may have contributed to the decline in volunteer
participation in government services are not clear, it is interesting to examine the
parallel issue of government service outsourcing. From 1985 to 2002, federal civilian
employment decreased from 2.3 million to 1.8 million workers, representing a
decrease of 19%. Many of these jobs were transferred to other parts of the economy
through contracts, grants, and mandates. In 1996, an estimated 13 million people
were employed through these outsourcing methods (Light, 1999). Government
outsourcing is likely to continue as a result of the Federal Workforce Restructuring Act
of 1994 (Congressional Budget Office, 2001).
Based on data collected in the Current Population Survey (2002), Table 2
identifies the percentage of volunteers by the sector of their employment. Nearly half
of those who work in the nonprofit sector volunteer, compared to just one-quarter of
those working in the private, for-profit sector. Additionally, persons working at all
levels of the public sector (i.e. local, state or federal) are more likely to volunteer than
are persons working in the private sector. From both a volunteer "generation"
perspective as well as a volunteer "utilization" perspective, any outsourcing activity that
positions services within the private sector could reasonably be assumed to retard both
the utilization of volunteers as well as the development of a volunteer base.
Table2
Employment Sector of Volunteers
Distribution of Volunteers Percent

Employment Sector 2002 2003 Change
Government
Federal 34.59 37.37 2.78
State 42.15 42.76 · 0.61
Local 45.47 46.65 1.18
Private
For profit 26.75 27.76 1.01
Non profit 48.06 48.95 0.89
Self-employed 39.00 41.21 2.21
All sectors 31.76 33.05 1.29
Note: The data in column I are from the Current Population Survey, September 2002:
Volunteer Supplement. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2003. The data in column 2 are
from the Current Population Survey, September 2003: Volunteer Supplement.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2004.
Local, State and Federal Agency Volunteerism
Since 1982, the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) has

tracked the use of alternative service delivery approaches across 67 services commonly
delivered by city and county governments (Warner & Hefetz, 2004). Although
volunteers, subsidies and franchises remain the least common approaches to the
delivery oflocal government services, volunteers are engaged in museums (31 %),
cultural and arts programs (27%), programs for the elderly (17%) and in the delivery
of public safety. Local governments engage volunteers in fire prevention and
suppression (13%), ambulance services (11 %) and emergency medical services (10%).
Government Volunteerismin the New Millennium 97

The survey also found volunteer involvement in homeless shelters, recreation facilities,
libraries, animal shelters, and other human service and beautification programs.
Although this study and others clearly delineate the role of volunteers in the
public sector, academic and practice literature generally fails to enumerate volunteer
involvement in state or federal government agencies (Arkansas Department of Human
Services, Division ofVolunteerism, 2001, 2002, 2004; Brudney, 1999; Brudney &
Kellough, 2000; Ellis & Noyes, 1990; Rehnborg, Fallon & Hinerfeld, 2002; Senate
Research Center, 1993). Furthermore, few state or federal agency websites reference
volunteer opportunities, and fewer still describe or document the services contributed
by volunteers to those agencies.
One nationwide survey, however, estimated that a third or more of all state
agencies engage volunteers in the delivery of needed services (Brudney & Kellough,
2000). The study noted that larger state agencies, that is, those with greater numbers
of staff and larger budgets, benefited most from volunteers. A subsequent analysis of
volunteers in Texas State government corroborated these findings, identifying more
than 100 different tasks performed by the more than 200,000 volunteers serving in 18
of the state's bureaucracies in 2001 (Rehnborg et al., 2002). These studies and others
(Allen et al., 1989) found that volunteers were involved most often in health care and
hospitals, natural resources, parks and recreation, environmental protection, public
welfare, criminal justice, and tourism.
In addition to direct service within state agencies, the Texas study (Rehnborg et al.,
2002) noted two service trends of particular significance. Although not formally
constructed as a response to the notion of episodic volunteering, the data reveal that
"adopt-a-programs," in which groups of persons take on short-term, focused
commitments, appear to be growing in popularity. Originated in 1987 by the Texas
Department ofTransportation, the Adopt-a-Highway program provides public name
recognition to groups that commit to periodic roadside litter removal (Senate Research
Center, 1993). Now replicated in 47 other states, Texas has expanded its "adoption"
opportunities. In addition to the national adopt-a-schools program, Texans can adopt
caseworkers, cemeteries, trails, wetlands, beaches, historical markers, nursing homes
and maps in need of preservation (Rehnborg et al., 2002).
A second significant trend is the formation of nonprofit organizations operating
either in collaboration with, or under the auspices of, state government agencies.
Although the purpose for these volunteer-driven nonprofits vary, most focus a
significant portion of their work on fund development activities. Several organizations
are designated as "Friends of" the parent agency, while others operate to generate an
endowment to preserve an environmental or cultural resource (Rehnborg et al., 2002).
Arkansas leads the nation in capturing the economic impact of volunteers within
the public and voluntary sector. Each year since 1983, the Division ofVolunteerism
within the Arkansas Department of Human Services collaborates with the Institute of
Economic Advancement at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to survey the
volunteer involvement within 1,500 city, county, and state entities. Over the years,
the survey expanded to include volunteer involvement in senior citizen organizations,
public, private and parochial schools, youth organizations, civic clubs/volunteer
organizations, national service groups, veterans groups, and community chest

organizations. In 2003, the survey found that 390,117 Arkansas volunteers served 22
million hours for an estimated dollar value of more than $400 million (Arkansas
Department of Human Services, Division ofVolunteerism, 2003).
Surveys by the Independent Sector and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics
notwithstanding, no federal- or national-level mechanism comparable to the Arkansas
economic impact analysis appears to exist that systematically captures the extent and
depth of volunteer participation across public sector organizations at any level of
government. Occasionally, however, groups and organizations collect and maintain
their own membership and participation records. For example, in 2002 the National
Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reported that 74% of the nation's 1,108,250 fire
fighters serve as volunteers. More than half of the 816,600 volunteers serve in rural
departments protecting communities of2,500 or fewer people. The NFPA survey
documented growth in the number of volunteer fire fighters from 2001 to 2002,
while career fire fighters decreased slightly over the same period (Karter, 2003). Given
the dearth of centrally collected information, Table 3 reflects data on federal
government volunteerism captured by Brudney ( 1999) and compares these figures
with currently available findings.
For more than 100 years, volunteers have been the backbone of the US
Department of Agriculture (USDA) 4-H program, sponsored by the Cooperative
Extension Service (CES). This complex partnership between county, state, and federal
government entities, in collaboration with institutions of higher education and local
community groups, boasts of 562,923 volunteers who work with professional staff to
lead youth development initiatives. The contribution of volunteers in terms of time
and out-of-pocket expenses is estimated to exceed $2 billion dollars, an amount five
times the total organizational budget (National 4-H Headquarters, 2003). However,
these figures would appear to represent a significant decline in the organization's
volunteer resources from the 1984 CES study's estimated 2.9 million volunteers
(University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Continuing and Vocational
Education, 1984). In addition to the decline noted by CES, the Small Business
Administration's Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) shows a 20% decline
in volunteer person-power over the past decade (Service Corps of Retired Executives,
2004).
Such declines, however, should be regarded as speculative at best. Lapses and
changes in data collection and management systems in volunteer programs are legion
(Brudney, 1990). Record-keeping systems frequently vary from year to year, from
program to program within a given agency, and from agency to agency (Rehnborg et
al., 2002). With respect to the CES, researchers for this article strove to secure data
comparable to the 1990-1991 data with no assurances of success. Therefore, while
numbers may suggest trends, gross differences are as likely to be as suggestive of
changes or inconsistencies in data collection practices, and/or leadership and policy
changes (e.g., declines in volunteer recruitment or support activities), as they are actual
participation and service trends.
In contrast to the declines noted with CES and SCORE, a substantial growth in
the volunteer workforce has been reported by other U.S. government organizations.
Initiated in 1981, Earth Team is a conservation initiative of the Natural Resources

Conservation Service, situated within the US Department of Agriculture. The
program engaged 327 volunteers in 1982, a year after Congress passed legislation
allowing the organization to use volunteers. By 2003, nearly 44,000 volunteers were
engaged in the conservation work of the agency. Collectively, these volunteers donated
over a million hours of service valued in excess of $16 million (Eginoire, 2003). The
Department ofVeteransAffairs and the National Park Service's Volunteers-In-Parks
Program (VIP) demonstrate significant growth in volunteer involvement. Authorized
by Public Law 91-357 in 1970, the VIP program has grown to 125,000 volunteers
who contribute 4.5 million hours annually to the U.S. national park system (National
Park Service, 2003).
The volunteerism initiatives of the Department ofVeteran Affairs also evidenced
considerable growth with a 66% increase in participation (Delgado, 2004). The
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) engages volunteers in the maintenance of the
health, diversity and productivity of public lands. Although not reporting the actual
number of persons involved, the Bureau notes that 1.2 million volunteer hours were
served in programs ranging from biological resources to support services. In addition
to traditional volunteers, the Bureau sponsors a Hosted Workers program in which
individuals are paid by another organization but serve the BLM. Hosted workers
accounted for 16% of the hours logged in 2002 (Bureau of Land Management, 2003).
Although complete data on volunteer participation at any level of government are
not available, considerable evidence suggests that volunteers are critical to ongoing
service delivery. Yet, this information captures only the tip of the citizen-involvement
iceberg. Elected officials in the vast majority of American municipalities serve without
salary, as do the boards and commissions that make policy and oversee programmatic
initiatives from schools to zoning commissions to health care districts. Their countless
hours of contributed service are neither collected nor aggregated. Myopic vision that
defines and limits volunteer engagement only to direct service initiatives dramatically
under-values and diminishes the significance of volunteer citizen participation. This
cycle of under-valuation contributes to the inattention given to securing the level of
expertise necessary to effectively manage volunteers noted by the Urban Institute
(2004) and others; the inconsistent and highly variable record-keeping and data
collection practices employed; and, the general lack of credit given to the profession of
volunteer administration (Association for Volunteer Administration, 1999).
Citizen participation is more than an alternative delivery system for public services.
It is one of the key resources of a democracy. Public officials would do well to expand
their vision and recognize the complexity, range, and importance of volunteer citizen
participation to the health and well-being of U.S. civil society.

Table 3
Volunteer Involvement in Federal Agencies: A Comparative Review
Estimated Number of Volunteers

Federal Agency 1990-1991 2002-2003
Cooperative Extension Service 2,900,000 562,923
Department of Agriculture
Earth Team 43,834
Department of Agriculture
National Park Service 53,600 125,000
Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management 23,000 $20 million• 1.2 millionh
Department of the Interior
Service Corps of Retired Executives 13,000 10,500
(SCORE)
US Small Business Administration
Long Term Care Ombudsman 10,800
US Department of Health and
Human Services
Department of Veterans Affairs 87,000 131,651
Note: Dashesindicate unavailable information. a Value of service.bHours of service.Adapted
from "The Effective Useof Volunteers:Best Practicesin the Public Sector,"J L. Brudney,
1999, Law and Contemporary Problems, 62 p. 235.
Volunteerism, National Service and the USA Freedom Corps
Recent U.S. Presidents have forwarded service initiatives to encourage citizen

participation and national service. As a cornerstone of his "New Frontier" initiative
and a rallying cry of his campaign, President Kennedy created the Peace Corps in 1961.
President Johnson followed suit with the creation of "Volunteers in Service to
America" (VISTA), a War on Poverty service initiative of the Economic Opportunity
Act of 1964. Other service-oriented programs geared toward senior adults followed
and, in 1973, these initiatives found their home in ACTION, a federal agency created
with the passage of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (Ellis & Noyes,
1990).
The National and Community Service Act of 1990, signed by President G. H. W.
Bush, authorized grants to schools to support service-learning, demonstration grants
for national service programs, as well as the White House Office of National Service,
the Points of Light Foundation (a private, nonprofit organization), and the
Commission for National and Community Service. Shortly thereafter, in 1993,
President Clinton signed the National and Community Service Trust Act creating the
Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). This legislation
eventually combined the work, resources and experience of ACTION, the White
House Office of National Service, the National Civilian Conservation Corps
(NCCC), and the Commission for National and Community Service. The collective
national service and volunteer initiatives were subsequently organized into three
"streams" of service: AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Learn & Serve America.

This propensity by the Executive Branch to embrace service and volunteerism,
combined with the extraordinary events of September 11, 2001, led President G. W
Bush to unveil the "USA Freedom Corps" in his State of the Union address in January
2002. Designed "to inspire and enable all Americans to find ways to serve their
community, their country, or the world," the mission of the USA Freedom Corps asks
every American to donate 4,000 hours of service across his or her life span (U.S.
Department of Homeland Security, 2003, p. 4). Unprecedented in scope and
complexity, the USA Freedom Corps is the organizational umbrella designated by
President Bush to encompass the initiatives of the Corporation for National and
Community Service, the Peace Corps, and a series of both new and existing initiatives
called "Citizen Corps" (USA Freedom Corps, 2003). Table 4 explores the full range of
agencies and programs incorporated under USA Freedom Corps.
President Bush's signature volunteer program is Citizen Corps. Coordinated by
the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its Office of Domestic
Preparedness, "the Citizen Corps initiative encourages Americans to better prepare their
families, neighborhoods, and communities - and to consider offering assistance to first
responders involved in fire, rescue, emergency medical services (EMS), and law
enforcement" (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency
Management Agency, U.S. Fire Administration, 2003). The Citizens Corps effort is
coordinated on a state and local level through Citizen Corps Councils. The Councils
are to create cooperative, efficient and effective working relationships among all
branches of government, first responders and local volunteers to leverage resources that
will make communities safer "from the threats of terrorism, crimes, and disasters of all
kinds." In addition to the Councils, the Citizen Corps effort includes four federal
programs: the Neighborhood Watch Program; the Federal Emergency Management
Agency's (FEMA) Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program;
Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS); and, the Medical Reserve Corps of the
Department of Health and Human Services (U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
2003). As of August 2004, 1,306 Citizen Corps Councils had been created from
every state and territory in the U.S., representing more than 144 million people or half
the total U.S. population (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2004). These
programs are described briefly below.
Neighborhood Watch. With its 30-year history of helping neighbors help and
care for each other, Neighborhood Watch Programs are funded by the U. S.
Department ofJustice and administered by the National Sheriffs' Association. More
than 19,000 programs are currently registered with the Neighborhood Watch offices
(Scrocca, 2004).
Community Emergency Response Team. The Community Emergency

Response Teams (CERT) program is designed to prepare community members in
disaster preparedness and response. Patterned after a similar program in Japan, a team
of Los Angeles city officials concerned about earthquake preparedness brought the
CERT concept to the U.S. in 1985. FEMA made the program available to
· communities across the U.S. in 1994 when its Emergency Management Institute

collaborated with the Los Angeles Fire Department to expand the program to cover a
comprehensive range of emergencies (Scrocca, 2004). As a part of the Citizen Corps
initiative, the 20-hour CERT training prepares citizens to handle emergency situations
while awaiting professional assistance.
Volunteer in Police Service. Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) trains citizens to

help with administrative and other duties to free law enforcement personnel for
professional tasks. Like Neighborhood Watch programs, VIPS is funded by the
Department ofJustice; however, the International Association of Police Chiefs
administers the program. As ofJ anuary 2004, 730 volunteer law enforcement
programs serving all 50 states and engaging more than 40,000 volunteers were
registered with the VIPS program office. The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) engages
both practicing and retired health care professionals to augment first responders in
emergency situations. Administered by the Office of the Surgeon General, the
program is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (Scrocca, 2004).
Fire Corps. The newest member of the USA Freedom Corps--the Fire Corps
program--is a collaborative of the National Volunteer Fire Council, the International
Association of Fire Chiefs/Volunteer Combination Officers Section and the
International Association of Fire Fighters. Although not yet operational, the goal of
the Fire Corps "is to support and supplement resource-constrained fire departments
through the use of civilian volunteers for non-fire suppression related activities"
(National Volunteer Fire Council, 2004). Proposed activities for Fire Corps members
include tasks as divergent as 'adopting' fire hydrants, restocking ambulances,
developing websites, bookkeeping, and vehicle maintenance.
Table 4
USA Freedom Corps•,c
Program Agency Description

President's Council White House Created in January 2003 by President
on Service and Bush "to promote and recognize
Participationc outstanding volunteer service and raise
awareness of the many ways in which
Americans can continue to help meet
the vital needs of their communities
through civic engagement and service."
USA Freedom Corps CNCS Clearinghouse of volunteer

Volunteer Networkc opportunities operates as a collaborative
of online and community organizations,
local nonprofit and federal initiatives.
Through web resources, more than
340,000 persons completed searches for
volunteer opportunities in 2003.

Table 4 (continued)
USA Freedom Corpsa,c

International Service Initiatives
Peace Corpse.cl Peace Corps Established in March 1961 by
$308k President Kennedy to promote world
peace and friendship, the Peace Corps
promotes mutual international
understanding through engaging
trained men and women in service.
Since its inception, 170,000 people
have served. Today, applications are at
an all-time high. New Peace Corps
initiatives as a result of the activities of
the USA Freedom Corps include
Building Bridges: A Peace Corps
Classroom Guide to Cross-Cultural
Understanding; Digital Freedom
Initiative; work with the Center for
Disease Control; and, programs in new
countries including Mexico. In 2003,
7,533 members served abroad.
Volunteers for Prosperity' US Agency for Volunteers for Prosperity works in

International collaboration with the Peace Corps and
Development more than 100 corporations and
private, voluntary health organizations
to place volunteers into U.S.-sponsored
health programs such as the President's
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and
other initiatives.
Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)

AmeriCorps c CNCS A network of national domestic service
$441 (2004)i program, more than 250,000 men and
women have participated as AmeriCorps
Members since 1994. The program is
designed to meet critical needs in
education, public safety, health and the
environment. AmeriCorps is made
up of three programs: AmeriCorps*State
and National, AmeriCorps*VISTA and
AmeriCorps*NCCC (National Civilian
Community Corps). Members
generally serve full time for one year,
receive a stipend for their services and
an award of $4,725 towards educational
expenses. Participation is open to lawful
U.S. residents age 17 or older.
I 04 EmergingAreasof Volunteering
SeniorCorps e.f CNCS Designed to utilize the skills, experience
$224 (2004)i and talents of older Americans, Senior
Corps is a network of three programs:
RSVP (the Retired and Senior
Volunteer Program), Foster
Grandparents, and Senior Companions.
Open to people 55 and over, RSVP
volunteers receive insurance coverage,
pre-service orientation and in-service
training. Members serve on average four
hours per week and work through an
estimated 65,000 local organizations
including projects related to Homeland
Security. The Foster Grandparents
Program (FGP) is open to limited
income people age 60 and older.
Service is directed towards at-risk
children and youth. Volunteers serve 20
hours per week and receive $2.65 an
hour (tax free), reimbursement for
transportation and meals while serving,
an annual physical, and accident and
liability insurance while serving. With
comparable benefits and eligibility
requirements, Senior Companions serve
one-on-one with frail elderly and other
homebound persons.
Learn & Serve America• CNCS Learn & Serve America provides funds
$89 (2004)i to state education agencies, state
commissions, institutions of higher
education, Indian tribes and U.S.
Territories for the purpose of engaging
students in service-learning experiences
designed to improve their academic
skills and teach habits of good
citizenship.
Citizen Corpsb
Citizen Corps CounciJsc,h Department of Citizen Corps Councils (CCC) are the
$40 ($35 designated to Homeland organization structure for the
states) Security, Office Community Emergency Response
$144 in matching funds for Domestic Teams (CERT), the Medical Reserve
(2003) by the Federal Preparedness Corps, Neighborhood Watch, and
Emergency Management Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS).
Agencyi CCCs are organized on a national, state
and local level and bring together
leaders from fire, emergency and law
enforcement agencies, elected officials,

Table 4 (continued)
USA Freedom Corpsa,c

Citizen Corpsb (continued)
local volunteer organizations and private
sector groups to identify ways to engage
citizens in homeland security efforts.
Volunteers in Police International Volunteers in Police Service is a program

Service (VlPS)c Association of designed to facilitate the utilization of
$3 (2003) i Chiefs of Police volunteers by state and local law
& Department enforcement agencies. Volunteers
of Justice perform roles such as school safety
patrols, administrative support and
crisis counseling.
Medical Reserve Corpse Surgeon General Medical Reserve Corps are organizations
$10(2003)i & Department of volunteers from the medical and
of Health and health care community willing to
Human Services contribute their skills and expertise
during times of community needs, such
as natural disasters, chemical spills,
epidemics and other emergencies that
threaten public health.
Neighborhood Watchc,h National Sheriffs' Although incorporated in 1988

$6 for expanded program Association & program, Neighborhood Watch is now
(2003) i Department of part of the Citizen Corps umbrella of
Justice services. Neighborhood watch
encourages residents to assume
responsibility for the safety and security
of their communities and incorporates
terrorism awareness and education into
the program.
Community Emergency Federal Emergency CERT teams support local emergency

Response Teams (CERT)< Management responders following disaster situations.
$61 (2003)i Agency Team members receive 20 hours of
training on disaster preparedness, basic
disaster operations, basic first aid, fire
safety, and light search and rescue
duties.
Notes: Funding levels, by millions, of organization placed underneath the organization, when
available. Funding year in parenthesis.
a Created by President G. W Bush "to encourage more Americans to serve and to foster a
culture of service, citizenship, and responsibility."March 2004. Funding for staff and office is
$2. 6 million in 2003. See note j.
b A vital component of the President's USA Freedom Corps initiative, Citizen Corps helps
I 06 EmergingAreas of Volunteering
coordinatevolunteer activities design,edto make communities safer,strongerand better able to
respondto any emergencysituation. These data arefrom:
' "USA Freedom Corps2003 Annual Report: Building a Culture of Service," USA Freedom
Corps, 2004. RetrievedJuly 30, 2004, from http://www.usafreedomcorps.govlcontentl
about_usafc/newsroomlpublications.asp
d "PeaceCorps,"Peace Corps. RetrievedJuly 30, 2004, from http://www.peacecorps.gov/
index.cfm
' "AmeriCorps:Who We Are," AmeriCorps. RetrievedJuly 30, 2004,
from http://www.americorps.org\whoweare.html
f 'Joining Senior Corps:Finding the Right Senior Corps Program," SeniorCorps.
Retrieved July 30, 2004, from http://www.seniorcorps.org/joining/finding_nssc.html

g ''Learn & Serve [A]merica:About Learn & Serve America, "Learn & Serve.
RetrievedJuly 30, 2004, from http:llwww.learnandserve.org/aboutlindex.html

h "USA Freedom Corps:National Service Programs:Citizen Corps," USA Freedom Corps.
Retrieved July 30, 2004, from http://www.usafreedomcorps.govlcontentlprogramslcitizencorpsl

index.asp
; ''FY 2005 Budget RequestedSummary," Corporationfor National and Community Service.
Retrieved August 6, 2004, from http://www.nationalservice.org/about!budget.html
j "USA Freedom CorpsPolicy Book," White House. RetrievedAugust 10, 2004, from
http://www.usafreedomcorps.gov/contentlabout_usafc/newsroomlpublications.asp
k ''FastFacts." Peace Corps. Retrieved August 15, 2004, from http://www.peacecorps.gov/
index.cfm?shell=learn.whatispc.fasifacts
Strengthening National Service
Freedom Corps and Citizen Corps represent new approaches to addressing public
safety and welfare through citizen volunteerism. Brudney and Gazley (2002) surveyed
state emergency management officials to assess the issues encountered in the early stages
of Citizen Corps implementation. Several of their findings are pertinent to this
discussion. The authors noted the importance of sufficient funding, not only for
program development purposes, but also for infrastructure development and program
continuity; misplaced assumptions about the requirements and expectations associated
with working effectively with volunteers; and the complexity of communication and
coordination among and between various agencies involved in implementing volunteer
policy.
Sufficient funding, to include the resources necessary for infrastructure
development and program continuity, is essential for the success of any policy initiative
(Brudney & Gazley, 2002). An analysis of Table 4 documents the patchwork nature
of funding allocated to USA Freedom Corps activities. This patchwork is nowhere
more evident than in the complex web of resources and administrative entities
facilitating the work of the Citizen Corps family of programs. One might expect that
a State of the Union signature policy initiative might enjoy greater budgetary authority
than is evidenced by both the amount and complexity of this fiscal picture. In addition
to complex funding streams, the uses of the available resources are restrictive.
Guidelines for Part C of the Citizen Corps grant program divides a total of $35
million among the states and territories in part based on population. Funds may be
used for planning, public education, training/equipment and volunteer program

expenses; however, the cumulative management and administrative allocations is
limited to 3%. Given that each state has 60 days from the receipt of funds to
disseminate 80% of its resources to the local level, basic grants management likely
absorbs most, if not all of this allocation (U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
Office for Domestic Preparedness, 2003).
Limited and restricted funding constrain the development ofinfrastructure and
hamper the establishment of operating systems critical to the success and continuity of
any programmatic initiative, but particularly those initiatives dependent on volunteer
resources. Studies repeatedly demonstrate that the most successful volunteer efforts are
those with trained personnel dedicated to volunteer mobilization, management and
oversight (Brudney 1999; Ellis, 1996; Rehnborg et al., 2002; UPS Foundation, 2002;
Urban Institute, 2004). Compounding this problem is the difficulty inherent in raising
administrative dollars to address this shortfall. Few foundations are eager to support
government programs given their taxing authority, and fewer still are willing to cover
the operating expenses of any entity. One would hardly expect the human resources
office of a major city, or public safety program to function without salaried
management - or to raise the funds themselves to staff such an office - yet that
funding arrangement would appear to be the expectation of this volunteer initiative.
Communication and coordination presents an equally complex picture. Early
problems included: the imposition of a top-down hierarchical program on the
bottom-up systems of first-responders; minimal coordination; and, insufficient
attention to the role of the state in programs with strong local-level implementation
strategies (Brudney & Gazley, 2002). Although the role of the states has become more
clear, issues of coordination remain. For example, partners in the USA Freedom
Corps-the Points of Light Foundation and the Corporation for National and
Community Service-annually co-host the National Community Service Conference.
Attended by literally thousands of salaried and non-salaried leaders in volunteerism and
national service, this meeting provides ample training and networking opportunities.
Folding the conferences and training of the various Citizen Corps initiatives into this
event would facilitate the partnerships touted by the USA Freedom Corps and create
synergies for growth and development. Yet, this is not happening. Instead, a new
sequence of expensive and time-consuming conferences and national meetings is
emergmg.
Likewise, the argument could well be made for collaboration between the USA
Freedom Corps and the work of the other federal agency volunteerism programs. The
102-year history, the phenomenal network of interagency relationships and the trust
established in local communities by the Cooperative Extension and 4-H networks of
the Department of Agriculture represent a wealth of knowledge and a depth of
connections coveted by many service programs. One can only speculate on the ease and
speed of disseminating CERT training into local communities working through this
system. Furthermore, the extensive knowledge of the requirements and skills essential
to effective volunteer management in Freedom Corps are apparently available in the
volunteer programs of the Department ofVeterans Affairs and other federal agencies.
These federal resources could strengthen the efforts of Freedom Corps projects
designed to "help coordinate volunteer activities that will make our communities safer,
I 08 EmergingAreasof Volunteering
stronger, and better prepared to respond to any emergency situation'' (U.S.
Department of Homeland Security, 2003, p. 1).
Conclusion
New programs and policy initiatives require time to evolve and develop. Yet, a
serious effort to engage volunteers requires a commitment of fiscal as well as human
resources, a recognition of the knowledge base underpinning citizen engagement and
volunteer action, and sustained attention to infrastructure development. As noted by
the United Nations (2001, p. 10), "it is the task of governments to draw up strategies
and programs to promote volunteer work" and it is the task ofleadership to show the
way. Although volunteer engagement is not the only answer to the problems facing
our nation, it is a defining feature of our culture and a critical aspect of any meaningful
response. Real progress will only be made when we take seriously the commitment of
fiscal and human resources essential to effective community engagement; when we
recognize the knowledge base that does exist and is critical to the success of these
efforts; and, when we attend to building functional partnerships that facilitate the
service of volunteers as we work together for a common and greater good.
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CONCLUSION: TOWARD THE FUTURE
OF VOLUNTEERING
Beth Gaz.ley
Each of the new directionsin volunteeringdiscussedin this book offersa possiblemeans of

broadeningcivic engagement.Ina also challengesnonprofit managersto after the way they
approachtheirjobs. The chargefor scholarsisforemost to imdmtand the linkagesamong
thesetrends in order to better assesstheir impact on civic engagement.Second,a 1nore
even examination of both the potential,benefitsand challengesof thesetrends will help
identify the specificmanagerial needs these trends create.Finally, volunteer management
capacitywarrants moreprominence as a distinct quality that can supportand sus:tainthe
desirablertspectsof these trends.
Introduction
This volume began with a "welcome to the future of volunteering - or at lease a

good part of that furure." It is only appropriate that it close with a discussion of the
future elaborated in the foregoing chapters.
True co che rheme of ErnergingAreas ofVolunteering,each of the six chapters
presented in chis volume addresses an evolving or new direction in volumeerism and
civic engagement. In most instances, as the aurhors note, these trends seem ro offer
citizens new or better means of connecting to the organizations they support and of
defining the terms of their voluntary activity in ways that can serve contemporary
individual or organizational interests. However, the authors at times temper their
optimism with concerns regarding the impact of chese trends on volunteerism in
general or, more specific.1lly,on our ability co understand and manage civic
engagement. In some cases, they suggest chat certain practices raise legal or erhical
issues that are, as yet. unaddressed by scholars, practitioners and policymakers. They
note, in particular, the need for a greater effort co collect and analyze data on these
trends in order co understand their scope and implications. An additional
recommendation chat surfaces at various poincs in this volume, and char will likely
sound familiar to many 1·eaders, is cbe need co build organizational infrastructure or
capaciry co support these emerging programs, and co more effectively recruit, involve,
retain and evaluate che volunteers they atcracc.
Conclusion:Towardthe Future of Volunteering113

This final chapter summarizes the arguments and recommendations presented by
each author both consecutively and thematically. Useful themes include the
frameworks offered through which to understand each form of volunteerism, the state
of empirical analysis regarding these emerging areas of volunteering, the impact these
trends might have on the "ethos of volunteering" (to borrow the words of Smith, Ellis
and Brewis), and the impact they might have on volunteer management capacity. This
chapter concludes with a discussion of the potential empirical and managerial demands
of these trends, and a set of overarching recommendations regarding future research.
Emerging Areas of Volunteering
Employee Volunteer Programs. In the first chapter in this volume, Tschirhart

offers the most comprehensive analysis to date of workplace volunteering. These
programs have taken advantage of the internal management structures oflarger
corporations, nonprofit and government agencies to deploy vast numbers of employee
volunteers on service projects. As a result, these workplace programs offer recipient
(usually nonprofit) organizations a particularly attractive and ready means of involving
volunteers who are often both highly skilled and motivated. Evaluation of these
programs suggests that the organizational and individual benefits are largely positive,
and include reinforcement of corporate goals, along with higher workplace morale and
skill development for volunteers. Their overall impact on rates of volunteerism in the
U.S. seems positive, if marginal, as reflected in a higher net number of volunteers who,
over time, have cited employer recruitment as the means by which they entered civic
service (Weitzman et al., 2002).
However, less thoroughly examined is whether these programs, when they disturb
traditional patterns of civic engagement, result in a net gain or loss of volunteers within
communities. A:, Tschirhart notes, while these workplace programs certainly involve
some individuals who otherwise would not volunteer, scholars do not yet understand
whether employees would serve their community more or in different ways ifleft to
their own devices. This question might benefit from economic analyses oflocal civic
engagement employing the "crowding out" hypotheses that have proven useful in
explaining nonprofit resource distribution in other arenas (see for example, Brooks,
2004).
Noting in particular the array of organizations that have sprung up in the U.S.,
U.K. and the Netherlands to promote and support employee volunteer programs,
Tschirhart also argues that this support infrastructure has organized itself without
devoting sufficient resources to impact evaluation, or even a basic empirical
understanding of the scope of employee volunteerism. Tschirhart notes, for example,
the business-focused tone of much of the existing literature. Thus, of particular
concern is the emphasis that researchers have placed on positive outcomes without
addressing in their research models the potential negative repercussions of employee
volunteer programs on volunteers, communities or recipient organizations. For
example, although Tschirhart touches only briefly on the possible negative
repercussions for individual volunteers, research on pro bono volunteering suggests that
employees can feel undue pressure to volunteer when their employer makes the ask

(Brudney, 2005). Other areas of concern could include mission drift within recipient
organizations when they succumb to pressures to shape programs that attract corporate
employee support, and a marginalization of those organizations considered by local
businesses to have missions misaligned with their corporate interests. Tschirhart
suggests that the managers of these corporate volunteer programs can avoid the latter
problem in part by using existing community needs assessments to select recipient
organizations.
Virtual Volunteering. In this chapter, Murray and Harrison assess virtual

volunteering, a phenomenon that has been hailed by nonprofit managers as a valuable
new means of involving individuals who might not otherwise volunteer due to
geographic or physical limitations. This chapter makes two major contributions to
our understanding of this emerging trend by reporting on its frequency and nature via
comparative data and the only large-scale study of virtual volunteering yet conducted,
and by offering a helpful framework in which to understand its connections to more
traditional forms of volunteering.
Murray and Harrison describe virtual volunteering as the application of
information and communications technology (ICT) to volunteerism. Two
dimensions are introduced to describe how ICT impacts volunteering: information
and communications technology can determine both the means by which volunteers
are recruited and managed, and the work they perform. The authors apply the terms
"virtual" and "traditional" to distinguish the extent to which ICT is used in
recruitment, management and task performance; the distinction appears to rest on
whether a task is carried out face-to-face or at a distance via the Internet - that is, on
whether the volunteer is "onsite" or "online."
The assignment of the label "traditional" to all forms of"face-to-face" volunteering
is not a perfect fit. Given the ubiquity of email, electronic newsletters, websites and
other increasingly common forms of electronic communication, distinctions in
managerial approaches regarding the use ofICT are possibly too variegated and finely
tuned to fit into the framework offered here. The extent to which ICT is used in
managerial approaches may be more usefully viewed as a continuum or set of
gradations than a dichotomy.
However, the distinction between onsite and offsite volunteer work has greater
relevance to volunteer management. The applicability of this distinction pertains to
the potential challenges faced by volunteer managers in supervising or coordinating
offsite volunteer activity. The extent to which organizations rely on virtual
volunteering is likely to define the tasks and necessary skills of the volunteer manager.
Indeed, it is also likely to shape the technical expectations placed on the organization:
i.e., that they will develop and offer volunteers a certain level of technical support.
Regarding the frequency of virtual volunteering activity, the data offered by
Murray and Harrison, based on several Canadian studies, suggest that while hybrid
forms of volunteering are fairly common, "pure" forms of virtual volunteering, in
which no management is performed face-to-face, are relatively rare. For example, few
individuals use the Internet to find volunteer positions, although this figure is
increasing. One finding of note is that among those individuals who have used a
Conclusion: Toward the Future of Volunteering 115

national online matching service, few (about 5%) report placement into an actual
volunteer job. This finding challenges easy assumptions about the efficacy of online
recruitment systems in the United States, such as the USA Freedom Corps volunteer
placement system. It suggests that placements, rather than sign ups, should be regarded
as the output of interest when these recruitment programs are evaluated (compare
Brudney and Gazley, 2003).
In the Canadian studies, about half of the organizations surveyed reported that
they had no openings for virtual volunteers. Further research could determine the
extent to which this low demand is based on capacity issues, or rather on incompatible
needs. The data introduced in this chapter suggest that organizational capacity in the
form of managerial expertise - specifically, previous managerial experience with
information and communications technology-drives the decision to involve virtual
volunteers.
Episodic Volunteering. Macduff writes that short-term or episodic volunteers

have posed challenges to public and nonprofit organizations that depend on a n::gular,
consistent influx of volunteers. In one Flemish study cited in the chapter, 21 % of Red
Cross volunteers could be considered short-term or "episodic" volunteers. Although
attempts have been made to convert these short-term volunteers to longer term
commitments, Macduff argues that short-term volunteerism is driven by larger and
more enduring societal shifts. These trends have fostered a more pragmatic, mobile
and conditional form of civic engagement than in the past, and have encouraged a
greater number of individuals to make temporary and interim commitments to
voluntary agencies. Thus, agencies dependent on volunteers are best served by
developing flexible programs that can accommodate both short-term and long-term
volunteers. Missing still from this discussion are the specific ways in which
organizations can implement this shift in managerial focus, and the specific tools that
exist to help them.
Organizations dependent on long-term volunteers can be expected to resist such a
market-oriented, volunteer-centered notion of civic engagement. Yet, references made
in this chapter to the "biographical whims" of reflexive or short-term volunteers are
unlikely to help voluntary organizations to take these volunteers seriously, as Macduff
suggests they should. Without a better understanding of the benefits such volunteers
might offer, managers of volunteer programs will continue to view episodic
volunteering as a less cost-effective arrangement, and as a recruitment and management
challenge. Yet, Macduff has argued that these volunteers also offer opportunities for
the voluntary sector. She suggests that episodic volunteering challenges established
definitions of civic engagement and perhaps encourages individuals to volunteer who
otherwise would not. Her argument that episodic volunteers can make particular
contributions in the area of political advocacy is an interesting one, but requires further
elaboration.
Finally, Macduff offers a classification system to understand distinctions among
episodic volunteers. The author's taxonomy suggests that these volunteers can be
grouped into at least three categories: temporary or single-service volunteers, interim
volunteers such as interns or members of a task force, and occasional volunteers who

provide service for short periods of time but over a longer time frame (e.g., those who
return to staff an annual event). Although these categories are still fairly general and
have some potential overlap, they do address distinct managerial issues and allow for
more specificity in developing recruitment, management and retention plans.
Cross-National Volunteerism. Smith, Ellis and Brewis describe a significant

increase in the number of cross-national or country-to-country volunteering programs
during the past decade. Regarding the ways in which these international volunteers are
involved, the authors note the greater interest in initiatives that support long-term,
economic sustainability rather than short-term, emergency relief, and a move away
from "North-South" or colonialist patterns of program sponsorship. They also note
the increasing involvement of nongovernmental organizations in managing these
programs. Each of these trends is expected not only to support the growing scope and
size of cross-national volunteering, but also to contribute to an ethos that is less self-
serving in terms of national interests and more in tune with contemporary
development practices. The implication is that such practices will also be more
acceptable to recipient nations and organizations, although the authors note that
benefits may vary widely depending on the design and goals of these programs.
The authors note the potential for cross-national volunteer programs to produce
more benefits for the volunteer than the recipient organization or host community.
They cite as evidence the growth in "volunteer vacations," short-term assignments that
blend personal recreation with societal benefits. Within such programs, scholars have
noted that training and retention can be particular challenges for recipient organizations
(Gazley, 2000). And, clearly, impoverished communities will benefit more from long-
term rather than short-term assistance.
Even so, evidence from such programs suggests that most recipient organizations,
including Habitat for Humanity International and Earthwatch, to name just two, can
make these programs cost-effective by charging substantial fees to individuals who
wish to participate in volunteer vacations, and using these fees to underwrite other
operational needs. This model is quite different than that of the traditional volunteer
management model, in which volunteer management costs are supported by the
recipient organization rather than the volunteer. Further, such programs may increase
overall rates of volunteerism by bringing in individuals who prefer to volunteer during
a vacation period. Additional research is called for to assess whether and how this form
of volunteering can make substantive contributions to the well-being of recipient
communities.
Smith, Brewis and Ellis have suggested that duration, function, geographic
direction and scale, and governmental involvement are relevant dimensions around
which the phenomenon of cross-national volunteering can be understood. Duration,
for example, would help to explain how volunteer vacationers can be distinguished
from other forms of cross-national volunteers. At least three additional dimensions
that might help to understand patterns of cross-national volunteering should be
considered. These are the centrality of cross-national volunteering to an organizational
mission, the location of a host organization inside or outside the recipient community,
along with the duration of the relationship, and the nature or mission of the voluntary
Conclusion:Towardthe Future of Volunteering117

activity (i.e., whether it has political or religious overtones and whether these overtones
are compatible with the local culture). These dimensions might help to explain both
differences in the intensity of cross-national efforts, as well as the extent to which their
contributions are accepted in recipient communities. The central question raised by
the authors in this chapter regarding whether benefits accrue to volunteer, recipient
organization and/or host community is likely to depend on specific organizational
missions, and on the sensitivity and care with which they plan projects that support
self-determination, independence and self-sufficiency in host communities.
Board Members as Volunteers. In his wide-ranging chapter on nonprofit board

members, Herman addresses what he considers several gaps in our understanding of
board members as volunteers. These include the scope of board volunteerism, the
characteristics and motivations of board members, and the extent of research evaluating
board management practices as a singular or unique form of volunteer management.
Herman's discussion is framed around two central issues. First is his argument that
the nonprofit scholarship would be well-served with more research regarding the scope
and nature of board volunteerism. To date, we lack even a basic empirical
understanding of how many citizens volunteer on nonprofit boards, and we have
progressed only slightly further in understanding trends in board characteristics (e.g.,
racial, gender and economic diversity).
Secondly, Herman raises the question of whether board service can be understood
in the same terms as other forms of volunteer service. In short, should the study of
board volunteers be treated differently than the study of service volunteers? It is
commonly understood that board members are "different" than other volunteers. In
some cases, the distinctions are clear: only board members or trustees hold the
fiduciary responsibility for an organization. In other cases, the distinctions might be
more usefully viewed as degrees of difference rather than absolute distinctions - such as
the extent to which board members undergo the kind of training that service
volunteers might undergo.
Herman tests the latter perspective by applying to board activities a list of generally
accepted volunteer management practices relevant to service volunteers (Urban
Institute, 2004). The applicability of this approach is more evident at some points
than at others. While the applicability ofissues such as liability insurance coverage and
volunteer recognition activities do appear equally relevant to both board and service
volunteers, albeit to a greater or lesser degree, others have weaker connections. For
example, it is unlikely to be possible to separate the impact of board members on an
organization from the impact of other organizational factors. Nor does it seem useful
or even possible to track the hours that board members devote to nonprofit service,
given that some of this effort is not quantifiable. And, the degree to which they are
supervised, as Herman notes, is simply not relevant. Such findings suggest that a
framework for understanding board service as a distinct form of volunteerism should
be developed. As Herman concludes, it is not enough to superimpose the framework
of service volunteer management onto board volunteers.
Government Volunteerism. Volunteering in the public sector represents a less

prominent form of civic engagement in the U.S. than does volunteering in nonprofit
organizations. Nonetheless, it constitutes an enormously important resource for all
levels of government, and a valuable means of implementing public policy. We see a
reflection of this perceived value in the emphasis placed by various U.S. presidents on
public sector volunteerism, including the recent efforts of President George W. Bush
to promote programs of the USA Freedom Corps in the wake of the events of
September 11, 2001.
As Rehnborg's chapter illustrates, trend data on government volunteerism are more
easily obtainable than are data for some other areas of volunteerism addressed in this
volume. Nevertheless, these data are spotty and can be misleading. While trends
suggest a slight overall decline in public sector volunteerism during the past decade,
certain policy areas, agencies or levels of government have increased their reliance on
volunteers in recent years. These include the areas of arts, culture and public safety at
the local levels of government, and strong growth in volunteerism within certain
federal agencies. Rehnborg also notes the increase in the number of volunteer-driven
nonprofit organizations that serve as fundraising arms of state government. Although
it is not discussed here, anecdotal evidence suggests a similar growth in volunteer
fundraising for local government.
In her discussion of the Citizen Corps program, an initiative of the Bush
Administration focused on emergency preparedness and terrorism prevention,
Rehnborg calls into question the ability of the federal government to meet its
objectives based on the restrictive, limited and complex array of funding allocated to
Corps programs. Rehnborg is especially critical of the White House's lack of attention
to infrastructure development and its assumption that local governments will be able
to finance administrative support for these volunteers without federal funds. This
chapter makes a useful policy recommendation by calling on these new programs to
make better use of the institutional memory of existing, longstanding government
volunteer programs (e.g., the Cooperative Extension Service) and the collaborative
mission and training resources of the Points of Light Foundation and Corporation for
National and Community Service.
The Future ofVolunteering: Common Themes
When these chapters are assessed as a group, two themes emerge that are touched
on by virtually every author. First is the need for more empirical research, not only to
ascertain basic knowledge such as the strength or direction of these trends but also to
understand how each trend is affecting volunteerism and volunteer management. It is
common to hear such a call for more research - we all tend to find our own areas of
interest woefully neglected and deserving of greater scholarly attention. However,
these chapters tend to suggest something more: either that we require more nuanced
ways of examining these trends (for example, by distinguishing board volunteerism
from other forms), or that we have approached certain issues with a perspective that is
too normative. The subtext here is that several authors find the scholarly discussion in
certain areas - particularly workplace volunteering, cross-national volunteering and
virtual volunteering- focused too heavily on the potential positive contributions these
Conclusion: Toward the Future a/Volunteering 119

forms of civic engagement offer the voluntary sector. Less thoroughly understood,
these authors argue, are the potential challenges each trend poses to the nature of
volunteering, to the value of subsequent volunteer efforts, or to the ability of the
voluntary sector to recruit, retain and manage these volunteers.
Thus, the issue is not only more but more focused research. Two additional
suggestions regarding possible improvements in research are offered here: first, efforts
should be made to link these trends together. Trends in workplace, episodic and
virtual volunteering seem particularly well-suited to joint analysis. We might ask, for
example, to what extent employee volunteer programs and cross-national volunteerism
contribute to episodic and short-term volunteerism? Are these programs a response to
or a cause of the emerging behavioral gap between short-term and long-term
volunteers? Are there more similarities or differences between the individuals drawn to
these types of programs? In fact, such a linked analytical approach might go the
furthest in supporting the theoretical development of volunteer management practices,
by moving beyond the separate analysis of trends and impacts to develop joint
frameworks for a managerial response.
In addition, a certain amount of speculation occurs in these chapters regarding the
potential impact of these trends on volunteer management practices. Voluntary
organizations and volunteer managers have not always been sufficiently involved in
assessing the relative importance of each challenge. The value in asking volunteer
managers to weigh in more centrally on these issues is illustrated by a recent Urban
Institute (2004) study on volunteer management capacity. While many perceived
challenges in volunteer management were reported less often than might commonly be
perceived, the concerns were quite specific. Thus, recruiting sufficient number of
volunteers overall is a concern expressed by only about one-quarter of charities, but the
same respondents express relatively more concern about recruiting weekday volunteers
and about financing their volunteer programs. An extension of this set of questions to
concerns raised in these chapters illustrates their potential value: for example, a set of
questions on volunteer retention could help us to understand the impact of episodic
volunteers on organizational performance, and the relative perceived value oflong-term
versus short-term volunteers.
A second overarching theme of these chapters is that these trends demand greater
attention to management capacity and infrastructure. The recommendations offered
in this book are most helpful in a campaign to build the infrastructure of volunteerism
when they call attention to specific elements of volunteer management programs that
might support each emerging area of volunteering. Thus, Murray and Harrison
suggest that the lack of demand for virtual volunteers, when compared with a relatively
healthy supply of individuals willing to volunteer offsite, is shaped not only by limits
on the kind of work that can be carried out offsite, but also by a limited number of
organizations with the technological capacity to support these volunteers. Moreover,
they link, empirically, an organization's ability to engage virtual volunteers to the
presence of a manager with the motivation, experience and technical expertise to
involve such volunteers.
When recommendations on the scope of improvements in management capacity
are considered, some differences in perspectives are evident. Some authors suggest

minor recommendations in the form of "tweaking" volunteer management programs,
while others call for more profound adjustments. Macduff, for example, calls on
volunteer managers to develop "a new type of thinking" to manage episodic volunteers:
i.e., a perspective that acknowledges the shifts in their motivations for volunteering.
Such distinctions reflect a potentially wide variety of opinions about the scope of the
impact that these emerging areas could have on management structures. This is likely
to be an important discussion in future scholarly exchanges.
When considered on a wider stage, these issues about building volunteer
management capacity have not achieved the prominence of sectoral issues. Volunteer
management capacity is rarely considered separately from human resources issues of a
more general nature (see for example, Light, 2004). Yet, few would argue that the
management of volunteers has its own distinct characteristics and needs. The gap in
the nonprofit literature in linking the expressed interest in broadening and supporting
civic engagement generally, to the means by which this support can be implemented
requires research attention.
On a third and final point, several authors in this volume allude to the ability of
these trends in volunteerism to broaden civic engagement or otherwise contribute to
building social capital. If these trends do continue, what would be the effects for civic
engagement? Tschirhart, along with Murray and Harrison, suggest that workplace and
virtual volunteering can bring in new kinds of volunteers. On the other hand, experts
have been critical ofWhite House claims that new government programs (e.g., Citizen
Corps) will broaden the volunteer base, but this concern has not yet been tested
empirically. This "inclusion factor" warrants further attention. Benefits worth
examining in future research include the ability of volunteers to build bridges between
sectors, and the extent to which technical assistance to communities brought by cross-
national volunteers makes permanent improvements to their well-being. Viewed
through this lens, board volunteering, for example, can be considered a worthy means
of helping citizens to build and hone their democratic values.
References
Brooks, A. (2004). The effects of public policy on private charity. Administration &
Society,36(2), 166-185.
Brudney, J.L. 2005. The distinctiveness and efficiency of pro bono volunteering. In
Dennis R. Young (Ed.), W'iseDecision-Makingin UncertainTimes:UsingNonprofit
Resources Effectively. (In press).
Brudney, Jeffrey L., and Beth Gazley. 2003. Federal Volunteerism Policy and the
States: An Analysis of Citizen Corps. In The Book of the States(2003 Edition, Vol.
35), edited by Keon Chi, 516-522. Lexington, KY: The Council of State
Governments.
Gazley, Beth. 2000. Volunteervacationersand what researchcan tell us about them.
E-Volunteerism, 1(2). Available atwww.evolunteerism.org.
Light, P.C. 2004. SustainingNonprofit Performance:The Casefor CapacityBuilding
and the Evidenceto Supportit. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
Urban Institute. 2004. VolunteerManagement Capacityin America'sCharitiesand
Congregations: A BriefingReport. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
Weitzman, M.S.; Jalandoni, N.T.; Lampkin, L.M. and T.H. Pollak. The New
NonprofitAlmanac and Desk Reference.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Conclusion:Towardthe Futureof Volunteering121

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EMERGING AREAS OF

Funded by The UPS Foundation

Jeffrey L. Brudney, Editor

The ARNOVA OccasionalPaper Seriesis a publication of the Association for Research

ARNOVA Executive Office

2 Emerging Areas of Volunteering

About the Authors ................................................................................................... 4

Employee Volunteer Programs

Societal Changes and the Rise of the Episodic Volunteer

Cross-National Volunteering: A Developing Movement?

Board Members of Nonprofit Organizations as Volunteers

Government Volunteerism in the New Millennium

Conclusion: Toward the Future of Volunteering

4 Emerging Areas of Volunteering

About the Authors 5

Justin Davis Smith

Welcome co the future of volunteering- or at least a good pare of char furure.

■ Employee-based volunteer programs

With these topical domains as our guide, we nominated an international group of

In the first chapter, Mary Tschirhart analyzes employee volunteer programs.

As stated earlier, to settle on emerging areas of volunteering is a challenge. To have

Employeevolunteerprograms, in which individuals provide communiry servicewith the

Organization and Date Established Website

Description of Employee Volunteer Programs

Definition of an Employee Volunteer Program. An employee volunteer

14 Emerging Areas of Volunteering

Employee Volunteer Programs 15

Management of Employee Volunteer Programs. Employee volunteering is

Employee Volunteer Activities. Employees may volunteer individually, in

Employee Volunteer Incentives and Supports. Case studies and examples of

Benefits of Employee Volunteer Programs

Despite their diversity, employee volunteer programs are widely promoted as

Employee-Related Outcomes. Employee volunteer programs are reputed to

18 Emerging Areas of Volunteering

Community-Related Outcomes. Some studies find that communities are

Employee Volunteer Programs 19

20 Emerging Areas of Volunteering

Employee Volunteer Programs 21

Employee Volunteering Numbers and Trends

22 Emerging Areas of Volunteering

Study Sample Findings

Research on Management of Employee Volunteer Programs

24 Emerging Areas of Volunteering

Employee volunteering is a research area desperately in need of theory. A deeper,

26 Emerging Areas of Volunteering

Virtual Volunteering(VV) is the applicationof informationand commuuirotiom

Virtual volunreering (henc-eforth to be known as W) is che term coined to

What Is Virtual Volunteering?

As noted above, virtual volunteering (VY) is the application of information and

32 Emerging Areas of Volunteering

How volunteer work is performed: How potential volunteers are recruited:

Type 2: The "traditional/virtual" volunteer, or volunteer manager, uses traditional

Type 3: The "virtual/traditional" volunteer, or volunteer manager, uses ICT to

Type 4: The "fully traditional," or non-virtual volunteer or volunteer manager,

Why Is Virtual Volunteering Important?

How Much and What Kind ofVV Is Going On?

What Kind of Work Is Done by Virtual Volunteers?

Again, research-based information on this question is scant. Aside from our

36 Emerging Areas of Volunteering

Type of Virtual Volunteering National Local National