Challenges for Formal Organizations Engaging Volunteers During Regular and Crisis Times According to Polish and Italian Volunteer Coordinators

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6459505
AutoresIwona Nowakowska (0000-0001-7701-5612), Ewa Duda (0000-0003-4535-6388), Adriano Mauro Ellena (0000-0002-4464-7792), Domenico Martinelli (0000-0001-8028-3167), Daniela Poli Martinelli, Michał Szulawski (0000-0001-8489-327X), Maura Pozzi (0000-0003-2849-9344)
Año2024
Volumen36
Número1
Páginas18-31
Fecha de publicación2024-10-18
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaVoluntas Revista Internacional de Filosofia (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2179-3786 • E-ISSN: 1573-7888
EditorialSpringer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1007/s11266-024-00689-w
OpenAlexW4403536523
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas3
Referencias citadas38

The recent crises in Europe impacted the volunteering patterns within formal organizations that provide support in regular and crisis times. In our paper, we investigated how volunteer coordinators from formal entities (public/governmental and non-governmental) perceive (1) the patterns of volunteering engagement (long-term versus episodic) in regular and crisis times, (2) the processes of retaining volunteers during crises; (3) the trust of the community toward various types of organizations during social crises; (4) the role of informal support groups in relation to the tasks of their organization. Between June and October 2023, we performed an online-based study (total N = 55)—in Poland ( N = 28) and Italy ( N = 27). The survey had multiple-choice and open-ended questions, and the results were analyzed qualitatively using the thematic analysis framework. The findings indicated that volunteer coordinators reckon that long-term and episodic volunteers play crucial and complementary roles in helping organizations achieve their objectives. This implies that organizations should recognize the value of both types of volunteers and consider them essential resources for pursuing organizational goals. The results also suggest that the volunteer retention strategies are worth outlining or revisiting within organizations, and attention should be paid to psychological support. According to coordinators, trust in non-governmental organizations is perceived as crucial in the beneficiaries' decisions about where to seek help. Collaboration with informal groups is advised, given that the goals can be achieved together, mutually using the resources provided by both types of helping entities

Business · Political science · Public relations · Qualitative research · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Value (mathematics · Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering · Psychology · Public Relations and Crisis Communication · Tourism, Volunteerism, and Development