Changing the Focus on Volunteering: An Investigation of Volunteers' Multiple Contributions for a Charitable Organization

"Changing the Focus on Volunteering: An Investigation of Volunteers' Multiple Contributions for a Charitable Organization"
Steven M. Farmer and Donald B. Fedor
Journal of Management
March 2001

Steven Farmer and Donald Fedor have taken a look at factors which make volunteers decide to continue and increase their contribution of volunteer time and effort to a particular organization. This issue is a serious one to effective involvement of volunteers, since the motivation of volunteers may be negatively affected by asking for too little involvement (thus creating a sense in a volunteer that their talents and time aren't being well used) or too much (thus creating both a sense of being overworked and a sense that the contribution they are making isn't "enough").