Rural Settings

Materials focusing on the special issues of volunteering in sparsely populated areas.

In 2012 the Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration (MAVA) conducted its first study on volunteerism in rural Minnesota. The purpose of the survey was to learn what was changing in rural volunteerism, strategies being used to address the changes and current perspectives on rural volunteerism. The site offers a summary of findings, the report itself, and related articles.

, 2012

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the United Nations-declared "International Year of Volunteers," United Nations Volunteers (UNV) conducted an extensive research project to produce this unique overview of volunteering in 80 countries around the world. Sub-titled "Universal Values for Global Well-being," the report examines the important contributions of volunteers in diverse fields such as sustainable livelihoods, social inclusion, social cohesion and disaster risk reduction. By suggesting how volunteerism can be taken forward, the SWVR also provides an alternative vision of a better society.

Download chapter by chapter or the entire document.

, 2011, pp. 148

Study sponsored by the Points of Light Foundation to: 1) deepen understanding of volunteer engagement in rural communities; 2) examine the applicability of the neighboring model to rural communities; and 3) identify practices that document and support volunteering and neighboring by, in and with under-resourced rural communities.

, 2004, pp. 153