Selling volunteering or developing volunteers? Approaches to promoting sports volunteering

Abstract

This paper considers the balance between promoting volunteering in sport by emphasising the personal rewards to prospective volunteers themselvesthe dominant management approach and promoting it by the long term development of the values of volunteering. We review the motivations and rewards of sports volunteers and how these can be used to promote volunteering as being a transaction between volunteer and organisation. This is contrasted with a life-course approach to understanding volunteering, and evidence that an understanding of the value of volunteering can be inculcated that underpins continued volunteering. The two approaches regard potential volunteers respectively as 'consumers' and as 'citizens'. We suggest that a shift to treating volunteers as consumers can lead to volunteering being regarded as transactional. The discussion has implications for volunteering in general; in particular, how it can be promoted in a society where narratives of 'the consumer' increasingly dominate over those of 'the citizen'.

Community event sustainability: why don’t people volunteer?

“…Once such benefits are received (for example, sufficient experience to add to a CV), volunteering may be discontinued. Nichols et al (2019) observe that sporting capital (which relies on factors such as social connections, confidence, health and competence) is greater among higher social classes, as are volunteering rates. On this basis, they advocate social equality to reduce barriers to volunteering.…”

“…Additionally, presenting benefits when trying to increase volunteering may have limited effect since rewards may undermine intrinsic motivation (Nichols et al, 2019).…”

“…A recent study found other obligations and work schedules were the main reasons not to volunteer (Krajňáková et al, 2018), but the participants were mostly aged under 30. Nichols et al (2019Nichols et al ( , 2016 emphasise the importance of a life-course approach where individual traits, along with social networks and local and wider environments, change over time and interact in different ways, although personal values -a key factor -tend to be relatively constant. They argue that economic theories focus too much on self-interest, and note that this can lead to recruitment strategies that emphasise extrinsic benefits.…”

The Willingness to Devote Time to Volunteers Projects in Relation to Volunteers Practice

“…Volunteers join for various complex reasons, especially altruism and different personal meanings [18]. When selecting projects, they evaluate workplace relationships, health benefits, new knowledge and competencies, and expect professionalism and good organization [19]; [6].…”

Doing more with movement: constituting healthy publics in movement volunteering programmes

“…This participation and volunteering in organised sports structures has declined since then in favour of more individual and informal activities such as gym membership, running, cycling and walking. These activities are sometimes supported by volunteers, such as in parkrun, where runners sometimes also act as volunteers ( Nichols et al, 2016 ) and described volunteering as a way of ‘giving back’ to ensure the continuation of parkrun as a free and accessible event for themselves and for others ( Wiltshire et al, 2017 ). Similarly, organised walking groups rely on volunteer walk leaders within the community to co-ordinate and lead the walks ( Ball et al, 2017 ; Grant et al, 2017 ).…”