Young Adult Volunteers: Recruitment Appeals and Other Marketing Considerations

Abstract

The long-term survival of nonprofit charitable organizations depends on the recruitment and retention of today's young adults. A segmentation strategy proposed for retirees which was consistent with previous research on volunteer motivation was found to also be relevant for the young adult market, especially if implemented with consideration of this segment's unique interests and characteristics. In addition, young adults were found to be most inclined to volunteer for organizations that were either local and personal or nationally renowned. Organizations benefiting children were also highly regarded. The higher a college student's grade point average (GPA), the more likely they were to indicate an intention of volunteering in the future. Those most likely to volunteer in the future also exhibited higher teamwork and mentoring trait scores. The young adult market was found to be multidimensional and best approached with a variety of appeals.

What Motivates Students to Volunteer at Events?

“…The experts were also asked to give reasons for their rankings where possible, offering participants value-added information for (Maslow, 1954) Process Theory (Vroom, 1964) Motivation Altruism Reciprocity Affiliatory Dimension/Trigger (Monga, 2006) Recognition and Reward (Shields, 2009 , 1994). An average of the responses was calculated for each category after combining the results from all six experts.…”

“…What remains unclear at this point is the boundary between altruism and reciprocity, with the literature highlighting the evident grey area between them. The literature also identifies young people as generally being more likely to cite gaining some benefit from their voluntary activity (Shields, 2009). In contrast, much of the literature perceives volunteers at events as having altruistic motivations (Haski-leventhal & Cnaan, 2009;Elstad, 2003;kemp, 2002;Ralston et al, 2004).…”

“…Other factors include a love of the sport and personal growth (Bang, Won, & kim, 2009), "escaping loneliness," and "making new friends" (Haski-leventhal & Cnaan, 2009, p. 66). Retention can also be increased where volunteers experience connectedness or they share goals and values (Shields, 2009). It could be argued that this sense of belonging could help to satisfy the security "need" in Maslow's theory, suggesting that it may not always be genuinely altruistic, but the benefit gained could be personal and intangible.…”

“…Extending networks is also a benefit to professionals and students alike (Gazley & Dignam, 2008), because it further enhances employment opportunities. This receipt of some sort of reward and recognition for their work is an important motivating factor for young people (Shields, 2009).…”

Attracting Volunteers in Highly Multicultural Societies: A Marketing Challenge

“…For example Shields (2009) identified distinctive characteristics and motivators for young adult volunteers, while Randle and Dolnicar (2009b) segmented volunteers based on the number of volunteer hours contributed and identified specific profiles for high-contributing volunteers. Other attempts at market segmentation have used more complex bases such as lifestyles (Heidrich, 1990) or specific combinations of motivations (Dolnicar & Randle, 2007).…”