Motivation

Connected to recruitment, supervision, and recognition, these resources on motivation offer general perspectives on why volunteers do what they do.

Related Topics: Recognition | Recruitment | Supervision
Both Receiving and Giving, Susan J. Ellis
Bribing volunteers: Should we be incentivising people for their time?, Rob Jackson (UK)
Cultivation and Critique, Claudia Kuric and Sharon Koll, with contributions by Myrl Weinberg, A Roadmap to Managing Volunteer Systems: From Grassroots to National, National Health Council
Decide Needed Roles and Set Recruitment Goals, Gary J. Stern, Moblizing People for Marketing Success, Amherst H. Wilder Foundation
Demand Excellence, Dr. Bill Wittich, pp. 43-44, Knowledge Transfer Publishing
Don't Let the History Made by Volunteers Fall through the Cracks of Time, Susan J. Ellis
Don’t Just Recognize Volunteers, Invest in Them…and Yourself, Sheri Wilensky Burke
Encouraging Entrepreneurial Volunteering, Susan J. Ellis
Enough Formal Banquets! Let's Transform Recognition Events, Susan J. Ellis
Fueling Volunteer Passion: Empowering Volunteers to Self-Motivate, Sheri Wilensky Burke
Good Intentions Going Nowhere -- Again, Susan J. Ellis
Grow Volunteer-Staff Harmony: Plant New Seeds this Spring, Betsy McFarland
The Holiday Season: Going Beyond "Feel-Good" Volunteering, Susan J. Ellis
I'll help with that, but don't ask me to lead it!, Susan J. Ellis
It’s Time to Discuss the Complex Relationship of Volunteering and Money, Susan J. Ellis
Keeping Former Volunteers in Our Circle of Good Friends, Susan J. Ellis
Lessening Social Exclusion through Volunteering, Susan J. Ellis
Lessons Learned About Leading Volunteers From a Volunteering Working Mom, Sheri Wilensky Burke
Make New Friends But Keep the Old..., Susan J. Ellis
Marketing Savvy - Our Field's Blind Spot, Susan J. Ellis
The Money Factor in Volunteer Management, Susan J. Ellis
The Moral Obligation of Volunteer Recruitment Promises, Susan J. Ellis
Prepare: Equipping a Volunteer to Serve, Barry Altland, pp. 81-83, Peppertree Press
Reaching Out to International Visitors, Susan J. Ellis
Recruitment Maxims, Susan J. Ellis
Save a Life, Win a Car! When Do Incentives to Volunteer Cross the Line?, Susan J. Ellis
Sending Volunteer Talent Down the Drain, Susan J. Ellis
Should Volunteer Program Managers Be Volunteers, Too?, Susan J. Ellis
Should We Ask Volunteers to Give Money on Top of Time?, Susan J. Ellis
Stop Volunteers from Being Their Own Worst Enemies, Susan J. Ellis
The Times They Are a Changin’—Even for Volunteers, Rob Jackson (UK)
A Volunteer Needs a Good Reason for Doing the Task, Helen Little, Volunteers: How to Get Them, How to Keep Them, pp 37-38, Panacea Press
Volunteering Trend Watch: What Can We Learn from Looking Back?, Cara Thenot
Volunteers Just Want to Have Fun, Susan J. Ellis
Voluntourism - Pros, Cons, and Possibilities, Susan J. Ellis
What's the Mystery about Motivation?, Susan J. Ellis
When Volunteers Resist Change, Susan J. Ellis
Why Social Media Is Not the Cure-All for Building Volunteer Engagement, Susan J. Ellis
By Judy Esmond. An Executive Summary also available. , 2004, pp. 82
From the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre, Singapore , 2008, pp. 40

Results of the Abila Donor Engagement Study: "we decided to dig even deeper into donor behavior, to go beyond just engagement, and see what drives donor loyalty, what types of content donors really like to consume, what actions by an organization annoy donors, what role events and volunteering play, and how donors really feel when it comes to an organization spending money on overhead." Lots about Gen X and the connection of volunteering to giving money. 

, 2016, pp. 22

Produced by Community Brands, YourMembership, and Abila, this study reports on answers given by over 1,000 association members to what they want from their membership and what keeps them renewing.  

, 2017, pp. 23
Assesses factors that increase male volunteering in service programs and offers concrete approaches to overcoming barriers and designing programs that are attractive to males. , 1999
Allison Fine for the Case Foundation. Social Citizens BETA addresses the unique characteristics of Millennials, who have grown up in a digital era, and "are equipped with innovative tools and ideas for bringing about change. This is a paper intended to start a "larger conversation with these 'social citizens, to share new ideas and "challenge perceptions about their approaches to being engaged." , 2013, pp. 65

By Nora L. Silver, based on work done by The Volunteerism Project on volunteering by diverse ethnic/cultural groups. Seven focus groups provided the basis for the book:

  • A Chorus of Voices, African American focus group facilitated by Vicki Clark in Memphis, Tennessee
  • Self-Determination: Messages for Our Native Youth, two American Indian focus groups conducted by Kouslaa Kessler-Mata in Oakland and San Francisco, California
  • Uno Recibe lo que Uno Da: You Get What You Give, Central American focus group conducted in Spanish, facilitated by Coco Mendoza and translated by Gary Wheelock in San Francisco, California
  • Extending the Family, Chinese American focus group conducted by Mae Chao in San Francisco, California
  • Giving Generously, Japanese American focus group conducted by Mami Ishikawa in Berkeley, California
  • Three Continents, Four States, Ten Cities, Korean American focus group facilitated by Debbie Ng in Oakland, California
  • La Gran Familia, Mexican American focus group facilitated by Ramon del Castillo, with simultaneous translation by Patsy Roybal in Denver, Colorado
, 2011, pp. 131
Edited by Andy Fryar, Rob Jackson, and Fraser Dyer. Essays from contributing volunteer managers around the world on attracting the best and most diverse volunteers and then working with them successfully. , 2007, pp. 204
Celebrity Volunteers

Several articles both cautioning about and explaining how to recruit and work with celebrities as volunteers, from The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Compassion Fatigue UK
Do your volunteers have to cope with "compassion fatigue"? Get advice, training, and resources at this site that promises volunteers it "will help you get back to being brilliant; so that you can remember why you're doing what you're doing and get back to doing it; making that difference to the people you care for."
 
Convio Connection

Sample articles from free bimonthly newsletter for nonprofits on how to attract constituents, drive action, and build loyalty through online relationship management.

Encouraging Involvement in Community Work

Chapter 7 of the "Community Toolbox," with self-teaching modules on gaining participation by community members.

Fenton Communications

Approaches to advocacy communication campaigns. Click on "resources" from the home page to access their free resources.

PTO Today

Wonderful publication and online resource for parent-teacher organizations -- but with all sorts of useful nuggets for ANY all-volunteer organization.

The Serious Leisure Perspective

Canadian academic William A. Stebbins has devoted his career to studying the connection of leisure to work and volunteering,as well as professional to amateur. The site offers a wealth of materials, including a Digital Library of many articles.

Stronger Together: Recruiting and Working with Ethnocultural Volunteers

Online manual by the Central Volunteer Bureau of Ottawa-Carleton (Canada) about how to make volunteer programs attractive and accessible to ethnic minority volunteers, based on input from program managers with experience.

Tag Lines

Clever phrases for recruiting volunteers into virtual volunteering assignments.

Movie Mondays from 501 Video

"Fun weekly videos to help nonprofits raise money, steward donors, and inspire board members," produced by Chris Davenport with a range of guest presenters.  A new, short video (usually less than 5 minutes) comes out every Monday and you get the link via e-mail. 

Volunteerism: Best platform for personal and professional development

Video of a 2014 TEDxUOttawa talk (11 minutes) by Tuan Nguyen, a young Canadian philanthropist and entrepreneur. Surviving death during his escape after the fall of Viet Nam in 1975, he sees the world from a lens of gratitude and has been the foundation for all his hopes, dreams, and vision. His stories demonstrates how volunteerism (mainly fundraising events) is the best platform for professional and personal development.