Changing the focus on volunteering: an investigation of volunteers' multiple contributions to a charitable organization

Despite the fact that over half of the people in the US volunteer each year , there is little theoretical or empirical understanding of volunteer perfo rmance. In response, this study examined executive-level volunteers' multip le contributions of personal resources to a national health care advocacy o rganization. We expected higher contributions when demands from volunteer r oles do not exceed desired levels of contribution, interaction with other v olunteers is higher, role investments are higher, and motives to join are c onsistent with organization's mission. Regression analyses supported the re lation of contributions to social interaction, role investments, and volunt eer motives. Suggestions for enhancing the level of volunteer contributions to the organization are made. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights re served.