Volunteer Management Practices and Retention of Volunteers

This report is the second in a series of briefs reporting on findings from a 2003 survey of volunteer management capacity among charities and congregations. The findings in this report are based on conversations with a systematic sample of charities about their practices, challenges, and aspirations for their volunteer programs. Findings include: adoption of volunteer management practices are not widespread; the likelihood of adoption of such practices depends on characteristics of the charity such as size, industry, and role for volunteers; some practices such as training and professional development for volunteers are tied to greater retention of volunteers; charities can do other things to maximize volunteer retention such as a welcoming culture, sufficient resources to support volunteers, and enlisting volunteers to recruit other volunteers.