New Report: Volunteer Management Capacity of Nonprofits

Posted by on February 28, 2004

For Immediate Release
Contact: Sandy Scott
February 19, 2004
202-606-5000 ext. 255

Volunteer Management Capacity at U.S. Charities and Congregations, and Potential Enhancements

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The findings of one of the most comprehensive studies to be conducted of volunteer management in the United States – including a look at what charities and congregations say would be helpful with their volunteer management efforts – were released today at a press conference at the Urban Institute.

Conducted by the Urban Institute and supported by the USA Freedom Corps, the Corporation for National and Community Service, and The UPS Foundation, the study gives the first clear picture of volunteer management capacity among a large sample of community organizations in the United States. It shows that: most charities do indeed utilize volunteers; charities and congregations greatly value the contributions those volunteers make to improving services and cutting costs; volunteer management practices have taken root in these organizations; and many organizations want to take on more volunteers. The report is available at http://www.nationalservice.org/research/vol_capacity_brief.pdf

“This study demonstrates the important role that volunteers play in America, and their great value to nonprofit groups,” said USA Freedom Corps Acting Director Ron Christie. “After measuring the volunteer management capacity and needs of nonprofit organizations and places of worship, we are now in a position to develop better policies and offer more effective resources to those organizations to recruit, manage, and retain volunteers. This is an important key to engage more people in volunteer service and to foster a culture of service, citizenship, and responsibility in America.”

Key Findings

The study was conducted by the Urban Institute in fall 2003 and is based on a representative sample of 1,753 charities and 541 congregations. Among the key findings:
? More than four in five charities that are large enough to be required to report to the Internal Revenue Service use volunteers in one way or another. More importantly, more than 90 percent of them say that volunteers increase the quality of their service, reduce costs, and increase public support for their organization to a “great” or “moderate” extent. On average, groups say that an hour of a volunteer’s time is worth approximately $20 in financial resources – an amount that exceeds previous estimates by about 21 percent.

? More than nine in 10 charities and congregational outreach programs say they can absorb additional volunteers, with the typical (median) charity or congregation reporting that it can take on an additional 20 volunteers. Extrapolating nationwide, demand for volunteers at registered charities and at congregational outreach programs that manage their own volunteers currently exceeds supply by approximately 5.9 million.

? The more time a volunteer coordinator dedicates to management of volunteers, the better a charity is prepared to take on additional volunteers, to adopt “best practices,” and to have an effective program in terms of the benefits reported. This is important because although most charities (62 percent) have a paid staff member who coordinates volunteers, only one in eight has someone whose full-time job is volunteer management. Indeed, of the options offered, the number one resource charities said they would like is a full-time person to assist with volunteer recruitment and management.

? Charities that partner with religious organizations are more likely to report a number of positive characteristics, including the ability to recruit more volunteers and to reap greater benefits from them. However, charities that partner with religious organizations also say they require additional management resources.

The release of the survey’s findings comes at a time when attention is increasingly being focused on the role and value of volunteer efforts to make our nation stronger, safer, and more secure. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, President Bush created the USA Freedom Corps and issued a call for every American to dedicate the equivalent of at least two years of their life – or about 4,000 hours – to serving their communities and country through volunteering and other forms of service and civic participation.

Americans have responded to that call. According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) study conducted in September 2003, approximately 63 million Americans volunteered through formal institutions and organizations during the preceding 12 months. That was up about 4 million, or 6.8 percent, from the number who responded positively a year earlier to that same question, which was included in a supplement to the Census Bureau’s annual Current Population Survey at the request of the USA Freedom Corps and the Corporation for National and Community Service.

“At the time President Bush issued his call to service, some questioned whether the nonprofit sector could absorb the additional wave of volunteers, and put them to use effectively,” said Elizabeth Boris, Director of the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute. “This study helps us answer that question. Together with the BLS study, we now know that charities not only have already absorbed an influx of volunteers, but that they say they are prepared to absorb an additional 5.9 million volunteers – and even more if they get the help they need to effectively manage those additional volunteers.”

Noting that nonprofit organizations attached particular importance to the value of having a full-time volunteer coordinator, David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, said, “This is precisely the kind of help that many of our AmeriCorps members are providing to the nonprofit sector. By using our members to help charities recruit, train, organize, and manage volunteers, national service can be an engine of volunteer mobilization.” At the press conference, Eisner announced a new partnership with the Points of Light Foundation that will provide 75 full-time AmeriCorps*VISTA members to assist at Volunteer Center locations across the country.

The study’s findings also have important implications for private funders, said Evern Cooper, president of The UPS Foundation and vice president of UPS corporate relations. “Six years ago, The UPS Foundation launched its Volunteer Impact Initiative to help nonprofit organizations improve the recruitment, training, management, and retention of volunteers,” Cooper said. “This research confirms there is significant opportunity for increased funding for nonprofit capacity-building, which leads to improved program and service delivery. However, no single funder can address this issue alone. Through our collaborative efforts with government, nonprofits, and businesses, we can build stronger communities.”

The research was conducted by Dr. Mark Hager, Senior Research Associate at the Urban Institute’s Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy, and Dr. Jeffrey Brudney, a professor at the University of Georgia. A PDF copy of the report, called “Volunteer Management Capacity in America’s Charities and Congregations: A Briefing Report,” is available at http://www.nationalservice.org/research/vol_capacity_brief.pdf

USA Freedom Corps is a White House initiative to foster a culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility, and to help all Americans answer the President’s Call to Service. For more information, visit http://www.usafreedomcorps.gov.