|
What
are the primary factors that determine whether you stay with a volunteer
position long-term (i.e., for more than one year). (Select up to 3)
(n=222)
Each respondent was allowed to
select up to three responses. “I am helping people” (44%), “I
am supporting an organization that is important to me” (40%), “I
am supporting a specific issue or population” (37%), “I have the
time to continue volunteering” (35%), and “I am supporting my
community” (33%) were the clear favorites. Four of the five
responses above also appeared as top responses to question
14) “What are the top three (3) reasons
you volunteer?” So, in many cases, the primary
reasons our respondents began volunteering were the same reasons
they continued to volunteer. Again, similarly to the responses
to question 14, we see a mixture of broad and specific interests
among the top responses: “helping people” and “supporting the
community” on the broad side of the spectrum and “supporting a
specific issue or population” and “supporting an organization
that is important to me” on the narrow interest end. A look at
the demographic subgroups of our sample will help explain these
different interests.
Another popular response to why
members of our sample stay in their volunteer positions for a
year or more is “I have the time to continue volunteering.”
There was a flaw in the questionnaire design. “I have time
to volunteer” was not an option for question
14) “What are the
top three (3) reasons you volunteer?” Therefore, we do not know
whether “having the time” would be a primary motivation for why
members of our sample began volunteering in the first place.
Obviously, however, it is often a determinant of whether
volunteers continue in their positions for a year or more.
Very few respondents (fewer than
2%) said they would “not stay in a volunteer position for more
than one year.”
Let’s look at the demographic
subgroups to see how their responses differed from each other.
By Age
By Sex
Age
-
Helping People: Being ages 55+
greatly increased the likelihood that a respondent would
stay in a volunteer position for more than a year if they’re
“helping people.”
-
Supporting Your Community:
Being ages 35-64 greatly increased the likelihood that a
respondent would continue volunteering because s/he is
“supporting” his/her “community.”
-
Specific Causes and
Populations: Respondents ages 45-64 were more likely to
continue volunteering to help a “particular issue or
population.”
-
Specific Organizations: There
was no significant difference between age groups when it
came to volunteering to “support an organization that is
important to me.” Percentages were high among all age
groups.
-
Time to Volunteer: There was
a striking difference between the different age groups'
responses to this option. More than 27% of respondents in
each age group said that having “the time to continue
volunteering” was one of the top three determinants of
whether they stay in a volunteer position. However, 60% of
the respondents in the 34-45 age group marked this response,
28% more than any other age group. It is unknown whether
this is due to objective increased demands on the time this
age group has available or a difference in attitudes between
this age group and the others surveyed.
-
Health: Being ages 65-84
greatly increased the likelihood that respondents would
select “I am healthy enough to continue volunteering” as a
reason they continue volunteering in a position.
-
Learning New Skills and
Knowledge: Age did not affect the likelihood that a
respondent would continue volunteering because they are
“learning new skills or knowledge.” Between 11%-19% of
respondents in each age group chose this option as one of
the top three reasons they continue to volunteer. Focus
group conversations also confirmed this finding. A third of
the focus group participants mentioned that they were more
likely to volunteer in positions that gave them learning
opportunities.
Sex
For the most part, men and women had similar responses to the
question of why they would stay with a volunteer position for a
year or more.
|
