Despite popular rhetoric concerning the benefits of volunteerism for public and nonprofit organizations, the use and management of volunteers to assist in the delivery of services is uneven: some organizations rely heavily on volunteer labor for this purpose, while others circumscribe volunteer contributions or eschew volunteer involvement altogether. This article introduces eight dimensions of volunteer involvement-four involving organizational decisions and four regarding volunteers' decisions-that make up the overall scope of volunteer involvement in an organization. Based on a review of the literature, the article presents a conceptual framework and several research propositions concerning how organizational characteristics, volunteer management, and environmental factors affect the overall scope of volunteer involvement in an organization.

Volunteering motivations and patterns change over the course of a person's life cycle. This paper tests hypotheses about the relationship between volunteering and four specific life events-the birth of a child, divorce, widowhood, and the death of another household member. I find that having a child decreases a person's likelihood of volunteering and hours spent in volunteer work. Divorced males were more likely to volunteer and to increase the number of hours volunteered when compared to divorced females. Divorcees with children are also more likely to volunteer and increase the number of hours spent volunteering. Thus, gender and the presence of children in the home are important pathways to volunteering for divorced individuals. Overall, being widowed decreases the likelihood of volunteering and volunteering hours, but older widows tend to increase their volunteering activities. Having another (non-spouse) member of the family pass away is not related to volunteering.

Research shows that military service is linked with political engagement, such as voting. This connection is strongest for minorities. The authors explore the relationship between military service and volunteering. They conclude that military service helps overcome barriers to volunteering by socializing people with civic responsibility norms, by providing social resources and skills that compensate for the lack of personal resources, and by making veterans aware of opportunities to volunteer as well as asking them to do so. Military service is positively related to volunteering among blacks and Hispanics. Married veterans are more likely to volunteer than nonveterans. Veterans who served during wartime are more likely to volunteer than those who served in peacetime.

This paper investigates the how the volunteering behaviors of family and household members influence an individual’s decision to volunteer. Using data from the 2005 Current Population Survey’s Volunteering Supplement, I test how living with volunteers and living with people who have never volunteered affect volunteering. I find that living with volunteers dramatically increases the likelihood of volunteering, especially for religious volunteering. The more volunteers the person lives with, the higher the person’s probability of volunteering. People who live with others who say that they have never volunteered in their lives are much less likely to volunteer and volunteer fewer hours. Living with volunteers also changes the methods by which people become involved in volunteering.

In this study, the authors explore how the dynamics associated with the founding of new nonprofit organizations, the characteristics of the founders, and the developmental life cycles of nonprofit organizations contribute to the seemingly fragmented landscape of the nonprofit sector. Based on data collected from interviews with 31 nonprofit organizations, we find that new nonprofits are being created by passionate, entrepreneurial individuals who hope to make a difference in the community. Although these organizations are typically small, with few staff members and small budgets, the extent to which they rely on volunteers and are connected to the broader community varies considerably. Moreover, many founders had little experience volunteering or working in the sector. The findings from this study have important implications for the professional development of nonprofit staff, leaders, and volunteers, and they shed new light on how we think about and describe the founders of nonprofit organizations. Keywordsfounder's syndrome, new nonprofit organizations, market failure, contract failure, government failureThe purpose of this study is to explore the dynamics associated with the founding of new nonprofit organizations. Using data gathered from interviews with the founders of new nonprofit organizations, we explore why the founders created a new nonprofit organization-especially during a time when foundations, governments, and citizens Research Note