Research on Volunteering

In this Research to Practice, Steven Howlett reviews a recent research report that delves into how middle-aged and older Americans spend their time when they’re not at work. Published in January 2010 by AARP in Washington, D.C., this report collects information from a comprehensive survey of Americans over age 45 (with a smaller sample of younger Americans for comparative purposes). Although the report itself is largely descriptive, Howlett reveals that it outlines what organizations older Americans belong to, how they make connections and build communities, and what, if any, volunteering they do. The valuable insights offered in this research can be used to examine the latest volunteer trends in older Americans and to draw out implications for practice in the US and elsewhere.

Is the worst of the recession over? Many nonprofits are still feeling a dual pinch - more clients to serve and less money to do it with. But despite the downturn, many organisations seem to report steady volunteer numbers. Anecdotal evidence from the UK even suggests that problems in the private sector may be resulting in new volunteers - and ones with exceptionally useful skills. This Research to Practice looks at two recent short reports to try and make sense of this rather surprising but welcome turn of events and to review ways to recruit and create opportunities for skilled volunteers.

Readers of e-Volunteerism and users of the Web site often want to find evidence to support the impact of volunteering. In short, does volunteering work? Finding evidence to support volunteering can be tricky, for all sorts of reasons. This edition of Research to Practice looks at some of those issues and reviews a publication that pulls together evidence that covers some key policy areas of volunteering.

Research To Practice takes its eye off research about volunteers in this issue and instead takes a look at that other vital resource – the people who look after volunteers. Call them managers or coordinators and any one of the myriad of other names that become attached to people who are responsible for volunteers. This summary report is based on a global survey from 2008, one that drew responses from 851 people who are responsible for volunteers and who answered questions on their status, responsibilities and levels of support. This Research to Practice also reviews how the survey highlighted issues that managers identified as important to further their own skills and their profession.

In this comprehensive and engaging feature article, the current state of volunteerism in Mongolia is explored by Fulbright Senior Specialist Ellen J. Benjamin, Ph.D., who spent time in residence at the Mongolian State University of Education’s Social Work Department in the summer of 2008.  In discussing civil society in Mongolia today, Benjamin draws upon data developed by local activists and foreign scholars. And in this e-Volunteerism feature, Benjamin also shares insights offered by her students and faculty colleagues regarding prospects for the future of volunteerism in Mongolia.  

In this discussion of research from the Netherlands, Research to Practice explores how volunteers are as committed as paid workers and provides examples of how organizations can deepen the attachment of their volunteers.  Editor Steven Howlett further explores how the issues discussed in this research “chime nicely with what we know, underlining other findings and suggesting that for commitment, at least, volunteers from different parts of the globe have a lot in common.”

This edition of Research to Practice looks again at research into volunteering by older people. Globally it seems we are witnessing an increased desire to get older people involved in voluntary and community organizations. This may be for a number of reasons − from recognition of the intrinsic worth of involvement in democratic societies to recognition of health benefits gained from participation and the goal of balancing work and care in aging populations. The result, however, is that older people’s involvement is a popular area for study.

This Research to Practice looks at a study of older volunteers and their volunteering profile. It is a study which uses panel data (that is, it tracks the same people over a period of time) between 1996 and 2004. The incorporation of panel data is quite useful, because so often research is a ‘snapshot’ at a specific time. This study tracks people between the ages of 55 to 65 in 1996, and then asks them about their volunteering practices every two years up to 2004. As you will see, the results tell us something about who volunteers, and something about why some people do not. 

Yad Sarah is an Israeli nationwide network of volunteers aiding needy, disabled and elderly people. The organization relies on volunteers and provides many essential services which are not covered by the government, such as lending medical equipment, day rehabilitation centers, transportation for the disabled and geriatric dental services.  Through Yad Sarah, professional dentists in Jerusalem volunteer to serve the underprivileged elderly, an act of volunteering that expresses social solidarity and willingness to contribute.

Avraham Zini and Harold D. Sgan-Cohen, two leading dental experts in Jerusalem, decided to explore ways to improve the satisfaction among volunteer dentists – for the benefit of the health care providers and the community recipients. Towards this goal, they surveyed 67 dentists currently volunteering on a regular basis at the Yad Sarah geriatric dental clinic in Jerusalem.  In this feature story, e-Volunteerism presents the results of Zini and Sgan-Cohen’s research, outlining the main reasons that lead Israeli dentists to volunteer. Their article reviews the aspects of dental volunteering efforts that fulfilled expectations, and which areas proved less than satisfactory. This important research provides a unique look inside a volunteer experience that is rarely made available to the public.