1. Research Findings
March 2004
HART
RESEARCH
P e t e r D A S O T E C I

2. Potential Volunteers: A Demographic Profile
VolunteerMatch site users are:
Overwhelmingly female (84% women, 16% men);
Highly educated (57% have at least a college degree), and of the 39% who do not have a degree, half are under age 18;
Young (50% are under age 30, only 32% are age 40 or older); and
Diverse (58% are Caucasian, 11% are African American, 10% are Hispanic).

3. Potential Volunteers: Motives For Volunteering I
Compared to other things you do in your life, how important to you is your volunteer work?
Not very important
One of the most important things in my life
Somewhat important
68% highly
important
The more frequently that Potentials volunteer, the more likely they are to say that volunteering is important in their life.
Very important

4. Potential Volunteers: Motives For Volunteering II
Which of the following is the most important reason why you volunteer?
To help others/feel like I’ve made a difference
To be involved/feel connected to my community
To contribute to a cause that I care about
To use my skills in a productive way
To develop skills, knowledge, experience
To meet people, make new friends/acquaintances
To fulfill a community service requirement
By 60% to 40%, Potentials prefer to volunteer with others rather than on their own; this is especially true of younger volunteers.

5. Potential Volunteers: Areas Of Volunteering Interest
Which two/three of these volunteering areas most interest you?
Children/youth
Animals
Homeless/housing
Education/literacy
Advocacy/human rights
Community
Arts/culture
Hunger
Environment
Women
Health/medicine
Crisis support
Seniors

6. Potential Volunteers: Wide Spectrum Of Volunteering Behavior
How often do you volunteer?
How many hours per visit do you volunteer?
Three or four hours
One or two hours
Once a week or more
Three times a year or less
One to three times a month
Four to 11 times a year
Five or more hours
Under an hour

7. Potential Volunteers: Expanding The Pool Of Potential Volunteers
I had not volunteered before using VolunteerMatch
I had volunteered before

8. Potential Volunteers: Using The VolunteerMatch Site
How often do you use VolunteerMatch?
One to three times a year
At least two or three times a month
Four to 11 times a year
Once a month

9. Potential Volunteers: Finding A Match III
How many volunteer opportunities do you generally respond to before finding the right place to volunteer?
Two or three
One
Four to six
Seven or more

10. Potential Volunteers: Satisfaction With Volunteer Experiences
How satisfied have you been with your experiences volunteering with organizations you found through VolunteerMatch?
86%
59%
41%
14%
December 2003
May 2001

11. Potential Volunteers: Making Their Mark Through VM
63% of volunteers say that half or more of their volunteer activity in the past year has been with an organization they found through VM.
61% of volunteers report that they have become regular, ongoing volunteers at an organization they found through VM.
19% report that they have become members of an organization they found through VM, and 25% report having taken on another role (e.g., donor, board member) in the organization.

12. Potential Volunteers: Impact Of Service
VM makes it easier for me to find volunteer opptys
I am more satisfied with VM than other online services of volunteer info
I am more likely to find satisfying volunteer rela-tionship because of VM
I am more likely to volunteer because of VM
86%
86%
82%
79%

13. Nonprofits: The Challenge Of Recruiting Volunteers I
Which of the following challenges keep your organization from making greater use of volunteers?
Finding people who can commit enough time
Finding people whose schedules match our needs
Finding people with the skills and abilities we need
Cost of training and managing volunteers
Cost of recruiting volunteers
Limited organizational commitment to volunteer programs

14. Nonprofits: The Challenge Of Recruiting Volunteers II
Most useful volunteer recruiting strategies
Word of mouth
Our Web site
Internet recruiting services
Live presentations to groups
Events
Newspaper ads
Local volunteer center
Relationship with local corporations
Direct mail
Radio/TV ads
71%
45%
37%
33%
29%
17%
15% 8%

15. Nonprofits: Engaging Volunteers
On average, what proportion of the people who respond are you able to engage as volunteers?
None of the people
50% to 100% of the people
1% to 9% of the people
20% to 49% of the people
10% to 19% of the people

16. Nonprofits: Satisfaction With VolunteerMatch Volunteers
How satisfied have you been with the quality of volunteers you have recruited through VolunteerMatch?
Very/somewhat dissatisfied
Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied

17. Nonprofits: Valuing Internet Services
Provides a valuable service to us
Has helped us reach out/ recruit volunteers we wouldn’t have found
Makes it easier for us to find the right volunteers
Has helped us find the volunteers we need
Has allowed us to free up valuable resources
92%
85%
85%
79%
68%

18. Research Findings
March 2004
HART
RESEARCH
P e t e r D A S O T E C I