Episodic Volunteering at a Religious Megaevent

Abstract

In preparation for Pope Francis's visit to Philadelphia and the 2015 World Meeting of Families, organizers looked for thousands of volunteers to help carry out these events. This is common for many one‐time and episodic events, such as large sporting events (from marathons to Special Olympics), arts and cultural events (such as festivals and concerts), and fundraising events. After the pope's visit, volunteers were asked to respond to a questionnaire about their experiences and the volunteer management of the event; 2,408 responded (34.4 percent). Data on motivation, who volunteered, recruitment, training, assignment, supervision, communication, satisfaction, and suggestions for improvement were elicited. We focused on episodic volunteering at a religious event and on a broad spectrum of issues pertaining to management of episodic volunteers. Our findings add to the knowledge regarding volunteer management and also add to conceptual understanding of the distinction between ongoing and episodic volunteers.

Designing “National Day of Service” Projects to Promote Volunteer Job Satisfaction

“…Our study suggests that these earlier findings apply to NDS events. We confirm the importance of social interaction and recognition from supervisors and beneficiaries in episodic volunteering (Cho et al, 2020;Cnaan et al, 2017). Whereas Cnaan et al (2017) speculated about what role supervision may play in episodic volunteering; our findings suggest that social support from the host organization reduces anxiety and insecurity by answering volunteers' questions and providing direction.…”

“…Researchers advise nonprofits to provide quick, honest recognition tailored to the activity (Hager & Brudney, 2004;Rehnborg, 2009), whereas failing to recognize volunteers' work leaves a negative impression (Harris, 2012). More specifically, Cnaan et al (2017) found that episodic volunteers are more likely to value expressions of gratitude from supervisors, rather than small gifts of appreciation.…”

Is your church “liked” on Facebook? Social media use of Christian congregations in the United States

“…Further, studies find that online social networking has been a useful communication and education tool to target otherwise hard‐to‐reach groups of population, who may be in need of various social services (Martinez et al, ). In addition, religious organizations' social service programs depend largely on volunteers (Chaves, ), and studies show that today's nonprofit organizations utilize social media as a volunteer recruitment tool (Cnaan et al, ).…”

“…Surveys of Christian congregations in the United States show that the majority of churches view social media as a more effective outreach and proselytization method than such traditional ways as knocking on doors, radio, television, or newspaper advertisements (BuzzPlant, ; LifeWay, ). Recent studies report that religious congregations use social media applications for various purposes, including recruiting and training volunteers (Cnaan, Heist, & Storti, ). Research also suggests that congregations' adoption of media and information technologies contributes to increased membership (Webb, ).…”

Priming from the pulpit: Extending regulatory focus theory to church services

“…Future research should examine whether congregants experiencing regulatory fit exhibit more negative behaviors if the argument strength of a message is weak, or if the message is not delivered in a dynamic way. Fifth, we do not account for individual‐level factors, such as intrinsic motivations (Cnaan, Heist, & Storti, ), which have been shown to impact congregant activity. Churches do not have control over these individual‐level idiosyncrasies, and our framework is focused on strategies that church leaders can use to improve receptivity to various messages, regardless of individual psychological traits.…”