Motivation of volunteers in not-for-profit organisations supporting children with life-threatening illnesses in Western Australia

Abstract

This research was carried out with the aim to discover the reasons why people became volunteers, what factors led them to staying involved in volunteer organisations, and what contributed to them leaving those organisations.A qualitative methodology was used to perform this research, and this decision was underpinned by the philosophy, sociology, ontology and epistemology of the research objectives and setting. A philosophy of becoming was selected as the researcher believes that each volunteer has their own view of motivation, and this is continually evolving as they engage in volunteering activities. This research, thus, explored the lived experiences of the volunteers as they participated in the various activities of the organisation, leading to a sociological perspective of, phenomenology. The primary data collection method was semi-structured interviews. The iterative process of grounded research was used, with theoretical sampling, guiding the questions and the choice of the next interviewee. The judgement was made that saturation was achieved after 32 interviews.The findings were as follows: 1) Reasons why people volunteered: a) Personality b) Societal Pressure c) Life experiences d) Cause of the organisation e) Need for belonging f) Family Values g) Religion h) Looking for meaning in life 2) Reasons why people stayed with volunteer organisations a) Enjoyment b) Sense of contribution c) Pride in the organisation d) Expectations met 3) Reasons why people stopped volunteering a) Expectations not met b) Time Constraints c) Changed life circumstancesThe contribution of this research to the practice of volunteer management is two-fold. One is an easy-to-read, intuitive framework that can guide volunteer organisations in terms of what to focus on in each of the stages of volunteering, so as to maximise the outcomes and the effectiveness of the partnership between the organisation and its volunteers. The second is a more detailed practical implications and recommendations. This research has also attempted to contribute to volunteer theory in general. This took the form of a more abstracted, 3 stage model of volunteering. The three stages of volunteering are: Join, Stay and Leave. Motivational factors impacting each of these stages are classified as to whether they are altruistic or egoistic, and whether they are nature-based (ie born with) or nurture-based (through upbringing and environment).The contribution of this research to the practice of volunteer management is two-fold. One is an easy-to-read, intuitive framework that can guide volunteer organisations in terms of what to focus on in each of the stages of volunteering, so as to maximise the outcomes and the effectiveness of the partnership between the organisation and its volunteers. The second is a more detailed practical implications and recommendations. This research has also attempted to contribute to volunteer theory in general. This took the form of a more abstracted, 3 stage model of volunteering. The three stages of volunteering are: Join, Stay and Leave. Motivational factors impacting each of these stages are classified as to whether they are altruistic or egoistic, and whether they are nature-based (ie born with) or nurture-based (through upbringing and environment).One paragraph that summarises the biggest insight gained through this research is: “Volunteer retention hinges on understanding the expectations of volunteers, and ensuring that only those whose expectations can be met are recruited and trained. Recruiting everybody who wishes to be a volunteer will inevitably lead to a waste of valuable and scarce resources”.