Atlantic Schools of Business 1997

Emerging Social, Economic, and Political Pressures on Volunteerism: 

Implications for Services Marketing in Non-profit Organisations

Rosemary Polegato, MBA, PhD
Fredericton, New Brunswick Mount Allison University

Amidst the call for increased volunteerism, Canadians have been dubbed "stingy volunteers" relative to Americans; only 27 percent of Canadians (versus 51 percent of Americans) donate their time (Canadians tight-fisted ... 1996). Yet in 1990, 5.3 million Canadian volunteers donated about 1 billion hours contributing an estimated $13.2 billion to the economy, more than the value of industries such as communications and oil! This is the equivalent of one of every eight dollars if volunteerism were considered a paid commercial activity. Further, volunteers spent another $1 billion while taking part in volunteer activities (Volunteer work ... 1990). 

In 1987, Statistics Canada published a report on volunteerism based on descriptive statistics (Duchesne 1987). Clearly, social, economic, and political changes have had an impact on volunteerism over the last decade. It is time to review how social change (e.g., shifting demographics), economic change (e.g., recession), and political change (e.g., reduction in public funding of agencies) have affected volunteers and non-profit organisations. This paper reports on an interdisciplinary review of the literature and focuses on the implications of the changes for services marketing in non-profit organisations.

Emerging Pressures on Volunteerism

Pressures affecting formal volunteering, unpaid work done through organisations of various kinds, is the focus of this paper. The organisations in which formal volunteering takes place include schools, churches, hospitals, museums, trade associations, professional associations, performing arts, and unions; and cover diverse areas, such as drunk driving, women’s rights, learning disabilities, neighbourhood protection, consumerism, international understanding, animal rights, literacy, health care, and social services. These non-profit organisations are unique, compared to for-profit organisations, in that they concentrate on exchanges "involving nonmonetary costs on the one hand and social and psychological benefits on the other" (Kotler & Andreasen 1996:29). The diversity of non-profit organisations suggests that frameworks of classification, based on people processing, possession processing, information processing, mental stimulus processing or one of the numerous other classification approaches (Lovelock 1996) would be very helpful in identifying services marketing applications in conditions of environmental change.

Volunteers are "individuals who participate in spontaneous, private, and freely chosen activities that promote or advance some aspect of the common good" (Kotler & Andreasen 1996:275). Volunteers include "families, the physically challenged, new Canadians, young moms, top executives, university students, the unemployed, and new graduates" (Lebans 1991:4). As O’Connell (1989:488) so succinctly points out, these volunteers

Some overlapping fund-raising issues are included, especially in consideration of economic pressures on volunteerism. Further, there is overlap in some of the social, economic, and political pressures, although they have been separated for the purpose of the discussion. This paper represents an exploration of as many issues as possible in a short paper, and is intended to stimulate further thought and research in an area which has become increasingly important to Canadians involved in volunteering or in the management of non-profit organisations.

Social Pressures

Social pressures stem from factors affecting groups and social behaviour associated with volunteerism.

Disassociation. Disassociating is the tendency for an individual to "go it alone" rather than in association with a group. It is a view put forth by Robert Putnam in the Journal of Democracy. Disassociation has been attributed to the number of hours spent watching television and the movement of women into the paid labour force (The Solitary Bowler 1995). However, in the United States there is countervailing evidence that an increasing number of people are volunteering (A Nation of Boy Scouts 1991). As Ellis and Noyes (1990:366) point out, "volunteering is experiencing the popularity of the limelight, and there is a visible pride growing among volunteers". Existing volunteers will be involved in enabling new forms of community service to develop and in reaching out to those who have participated minimally to this point (Ellis & Noyes 1990). Thus, non-profit organisations need to develop strategic marketing plans to reposition existing organisations or to launch and develop new ones.

Changes in families and individuals. Ellis and Noyes (1990) state that changes in the family (e.g., divorce, single-parents, dual earners, fewer children) and the growing demand for high quality child care raise questions about who is available to volunteer, when, and to do what. Interestingly, Schram and Dunsing (1981) found that husbands’ positive attitudes about wives working outside the home was an important determinant of whether married women participated or not; women’s satisfaction with marriage also determined the extent of participation in volunteer work. Further, Vaillancourt (1994) found in an analysis of the 1987 Statistics Canada data that individuals whose family or career is likely to benefit from volunteerism are more likely to do volunteer work. There will be opportunities for families who want to volunteer together (Lebans 1991), so marketing plans need to ensure that their interest will not be lost. Perhaps some family members will rotate who donates time. Others may cover a wide range of tasks. Family volunteers will also want to be able to see that they are spending their time wisely. Thus, internal marketing efforts should encompass the needs of family volunteers as well as individual volunteers, and should foster volunteer loyalty to the cause and the nonprofit organisation.

Individual volunteers are reluctant to make long term commitments to a single volunteer activity due to busier lives overall, relocation to remain employed, and multiple requests for volunteer time (Ellis & Noyes 1990). A volunteer might, for example, be able to give two hours a week for only ten weeks and be very choosy about where those few weeks might be spent (Edwards 1991). With so many giving more specific hours under specific conditions, scheduling and co-ordination of time tables to manage demand for services will be a challenge. Ironically, non-profit organisations may have to put their own restrictions on who can volunteer when in order to meet their objectives in changing times. Certified courses on volunteering (Edwards 1991) and cross-training may need to be required, to ensure high quality inputs, as well as more emphasis on enlisting volunteers to get more volunteers (Netting 1987) to keep the roster going. Further, the work of Palisi and Korn (1989) suggests that a distinction be made between instrumental and expressive volunteerism (which is not necessarily divided along gender or age lines).

On a more optimistic note, options, such as four-day work weeks and flextime, may free up more leisure time, but will change the scheduling for volunteer hours (Ellis & Noyes 1990). This trend may open volunteering opportunities which did not exist previously.

Declining compassion. There is a decline in compassion for the unfortunate and for the neglect of the needs of children, as evident in blaming the victims of poverty and the perceived excesses of the welfare state, while at the same time there is a hue and cry for any negative effects on middle class benefits (Pifer 1987). This pressure on non-profit organisations may be the most pervasive. Volunteers will need to be involved in educating the general public about societal needs, as well as alleviating the sense of threat to the middle class. 

Balkanisation of volunteers and voluntary organisations. Fukuyama (1995), a social scientist with the RAND Corporation in Washington, DC, lamented about the balkanisation of American society through the promotion of bilingualism, multiculturalism, and other policies meant to raise the self-esteem of minority groups. He alleges that the court system further fosters individualism, depleting social capital and the strength of voluntary associations. There is some anecdotal support for these notions among Canadians. On the other hand, Pifer (1987) suggests that motivations, such as individualism, self-reliance, distrust of government, or simply impatience with public authority and eagerness to get on with the job, may motivate volunteers. Abdennur (1987) states that the new volunteerism acknowledges self-interest and individualistic motives (e.g., opportunity for personal growth, development of new skills, having fun) as the basic motive for volunteering. Thus, marketing approaches to recruit volunteers need to place much less emphasis on altruistic themes and much more emphasis on concrete benefits, except perhaps among older volunteers as discussed next.

Ageing society. The 1987 Canadian data show that seniors volunteer more frequently (217 hours per year) than younger adults (170 hours per year) (Volunteer work ... 1990). Gallagher (1994) found that older adults spend more time volunteering than younger adults, and Zweigenhaft et al. (1996) found them to be more effective in a community hospital setting. Thus, altruism is believed to increase later in life. There is some Canadian evidence that volunteerism is a self-actualising activity among older volunteers and that they respond to appeals to their goodwill (Mahoney & Das 1995). However, health and mobility factors need to be considered (Ellis & Noyes 1990); ageing Canadians may actually create more demand for non-profit services, especially in the health care sector. Further, among married women in the United States, Schram and Dunsing (1981) found that younger women volunteered more frequently. 

The first baby boomers will only turn age 65 in the year 2012 (Foot 1996). However, they are expected to create a "huge pool of potential board members and volunteers with time, experience, and money to donate" (Brinkerhoff 1997:1). They may bring the idealism of the 1960s and 1970s to volunteering, and may bring new ideas and energy to non-profit organisations.

Increased need for special needs volunteers. There will be increased opportunities for individuals who want to volunteer in the special needs areas (Lebans 1991). There is, for example, an increasing need for services for job creation for low income citizens and minorities, for underclass citizens (Canadians tight-fisted ¼ 1996), for targeted populations (such as expensive, highly technical home-based nursing care), for ethnic groups (Brinkerhoff 1997), and for the homeless, AIDS sufferers, the destitute, the hungry, the disabled, schools, and hospitals. A case in point is the much publicised problems of Covenant House in Toronto. Volunteers will need to be trained in how to do needs assessment to represent the special needs of clients and in how to carry out the mission of their organisations. There will also be a need to establish and work towards benchmarks in these highly specialised areas. The need to customize service delivered to special needs clients, perhaps at multi-sites, will be very high and resource draining; ways to move to mass customisation (Lovelock 1996) will need to be developed. Interestingly, many volunteers may belong to the groups being "served". 

When marketing techniques are employed in organisations dealing with very volatile social issues, such as AIDS, marketers have been forced to pay attention to whether they should be using some of their techniques, such as marketing research (Kotler & Andreasen 1996). The AIDS epidemic has created fear of the disease among volunteers and those who might have it (Ellis & Noyes 1990). This factor will inhibit volunteerism, especially in health care areas and in some special populations. Non-profit organisations will need to take on the role of AIDS education in-house or through outsourcing. 

Discriminating donors and volunteers. There is an increasing number of people who do not want to fund duplicated services and who want to have greater impact for their donations which support services and the volunteers (Brinkerhoff 1997). This point can be extended to cover the concern about "calling twice" -- at home and at the office. Volunteers will be looking for financially viable organisations and those which are state-of-the-art in terms of service delivery (Brinkerhoff 1997). Non-profit organisations will have to do good record keeping to avoid duplication and to be able to answer questions about alternate providers of a particular service to position themselves effectively. They will also need to develop clear and up-dated job descriptions (Davis 1988), implement them, and evaluate volunteers so that they can determine which ones should be retained. Retaining volunteers (and donors) will be a major challenge. Approaches that make the effects and impact of volunteering in a particular organisation concrete need to be developed. Donor and volunteer analysis, based on research, will be useful for segmentation approaches.

Social conditioning. Brinkerhoff (1997) contends that some groups have been conditioned over several decades to turn to non-profits for services, so that now, with social services chronically underfunded, the pressures are increasing in areas such as housing. Volunteers may be faced with angry "clients" who qualify for less service or who no longer qualify for any service. Non-profit organisations will need to recruit and train volunteers who are able to resolve conflicts. Non-profit organisations will need to be clear about the criteria and boundaries for the provision of their service.

Shifting societal interests. The "secular drift towards private business enterprise" (Van Til 1985:30) and a preoccupation with personal gain has been replaced with concern for the future of the planet and quality of life (Ellis & Noyes 1990). Yuppies, for example, are now concerned about their neighbourhoods, the environment, and international issues. Social marketing, which has increased dramatically in the last five years (Kotler & Andreasen 1996), will be useful. Non-profit organisations can expect to have dedicated intelligent volunteers interested in these areas, but may need to dampen overzealous volunteers in to implement action plans. 

Changes in ethnic profile. Many ethnicities have not been fully integrated into volunteer organisations (Ellis & Noyes 1990), while there has been an increase in demand in areas such as "transition" services for new immigrants and ESL services. Volunteer development programmes for those who do not traditionally volunteer, e.g., due to language barriers, will need to be developed (Lebans 1991). Volunteers who are flexible, adaptable, open-minded, and tolerant of diversity will need to be recruited to these settings. They will need to know how to work with clients of different backgrounds, and how to assess group needs and how to form liaisons within cultural groups (Brinkerhoff 1997).

Relocation to non-urban areas. People are moving to bedroom communities (Ellis & Noyes 1990) and the hinterlands, raising the question of who will look after inner city volunteering. However, local communities may benefit, as long as commuting does not take away from time which volunteers would spend on local involvement and community ties. "Act Locally" campaigns may be necessary.

Risk of litigation. Cases of litigation in the United States and the availability and cost of insurance for volunteers and the programmes they serve (Davis 1988; Ellis & Noyes 1990) make the need to raise more money urgent for some organisations. Some volunteers are shying away from some volunteer opportunities due to the personal risk of volunteering. There is also the perception that volunteers may not have the back-up of their organisations when things go wrong. Thus, non-profit organisations will have to provide more than annual commemoration for faithful service. It has been suggested that the possibility of insurance and pension programmes, and cash equivalents for volunteer services should be raised (Daniels 1987). Certification programmes which help to build confidence and a sense of competence among existing and potential volunteers may be appropriate. Expertise in crisis management may become essential.

Ethics. Some organisations are getting bad press due to mistreatment and abuse of those most vulnerable in the system, although the problems are not necessarily located with the volunteers, but with paid employees. This phenomenon is particularly true in the face of problems in Canada with the Red Cross and hockey organisations. Many volunteers will have to be able to stand up to public scrutiny in everything they do -- "to defend [their] actions based on reasoned, regularly-reviewed decisions" (Brinkerhoff 1997). Volunteers will increasingly need to be screened, trained, and supervised (Ellis & Noyes 1990). Non-profit organisations will want to be trusted and accepted in communities; volunteers will be an integral part of building this image of integrity (Canadians tight-fisted ... 1996). They may also need the backing of fairly sophisticated public relations programmes. 

Economic Pressures

Economic pressures are related to government funding and the environment in which non-profit organisations must operate.

Decreased government funding. In 1996 there was $300 million less in direct federal funding to volunteer groups; an additional $200 million may be cut up to 1998. The Metro Toronto United Way, for example, had $8 million in transfer payments cut (Canadians tight-fisted ... 1996). Due to deficits, no increase in provincial or federal spending above inflation is expected (Brinkerhoff 1997) after 1998. This trend towards reduced government support from subsidies and grants is occurring in the United States, as well as Canada (Netting 1987). Pifer’s (1987) analysis suggests that there is an underlying long-term strategy in the United States to privatise some of the services provided by government and the voluntary sector. Some organisations will let go volunteers and even close their doors. In some non-profit organisations, such as the performing arts, there are pressures to keep attendance and use of services up to justify what is left of government financial support. Particular attention will need to be paid to who these organisations serve, that is, their target markets. 

Large successful organisations like the United Way, which has their own management training and development program (Cosier & Dalton 1993), will probably set the agenda. In this very competitive environment, voluntary organisations will be rationalised or "cherry-picked" by funding sources. Leadership from Boards of Directors which can formulate a strategy and play a role in the new volunteerism will become crucial. Those organisations which do survive will need more volunteers to provide a workforce, skills, and volunteered or reduced-cost goods and services for day-to-day work and Boards of Directors (Kotler & Andreasen 1996).

There is a trend towards collaborative efforts among various voluntary agencies. Collaboration may be one survival approach in the face of scarce resources (Ellis & Noyes 1990). Collaboration is a relatively new perspective and will require the recruitment of volunteers with positive attitudes towards a wide variety of perspectives – professional and otherwise.

Need for private funding. Less reliance on government funding means increased competition for shrinking government funds, volunteers (Brinkerhoff 1997), and for private funding (Netting 1987). This trend will enable some non-profit organisations to become more independent now that the tie to federal funding has been loosened (Pifer 1987). There will be a new emphasis on earned income (Netting 1987) and the need to run profit-making operations, such as retail outlets like the Salvation Army’s Thrift Stores. Organisations which survive cuts to government funding will need to focus on fund-raising. Volunteers with fund-raising experience will be needed, as well as those who can make the best use of funds available. Volunteers will need to be involved in not only one-time fund-raising, but building a continuous relationship with existing and potential donors (Canadians tight-fisted ... 1996), and deal not only with individual, but also corporate, donors. Non-profit organisations will need to recruit and train volunteers who will be expected to find increasingly innovative ways to raise those funds (Lebans 1991) in a sluggish North American economy. More specifically, in such a competitive environment, volunteers may need to be trained to work with corporations on cause-related marketing and personal selling.

Taxes. Kotler and Andreasen (1996) point out that there is some consideration being given to the idea of taxing the "profits" made by American non-profit organisations. In Canada, this threat does not seem to be imminent. However, many smaller organisations have been burdened with the administration of taxes, such as the HST, on membership dues. 

Two-way competition between the voluntary sector and the private sector. There is increased competition from private firms in traditionally non-profits areas (Netting 1987), such as "privatis[ed] human services" (Pifer 1987:129), notably nursing homes, group homes, and prisons (Ellis & Noyes 1990). In other areas, such as profit-making retail outlets run by non-profit organisations, there is increased concern among for-profit organisations about the encroachment of non-profit organisations (Netting 1987) on their sales. In essence, there is a "dissolution of the public/private partnership as a mechanism for attacking social ills as a result of federal budget cuts" and a "turning to the needs of middle-class clients and to profit-making activities by voluntary agencies, to ensure their survival" (Pifer 1987: 129; Van Til 1985).

"Some people believe that it is wrong for volunteers to provide service where there is no money for paid staff, the demands are too high, the risks are too great" (Ellis & Noyes 1990: 363), or those employed may be undermined in not capturing demand or keeping local small businesses going. Acts of volunteerism are sometimes viewed with suspicion, as they are in Sweden. Swedish volunteers in hospitals are often opposed by vested interests such as unions (The Atrophy ... 1996). Volunteers will need to be able to articulate their position on the question of taking away from the local economy, etc. (Ellis & Noyes 1990).

Non-profit organisations will need to focus on marketing services, such as co-op housing and health care (Kotler & Andreasen 1996). They will need to become engaged in retailing and merchandising approaches based on marketing research and market segmentation. Greater dependence on market sources for revenue will mean higher price points, although restrictions on the level of market pricing due to the non-profit nature of the organisations will probably continue.

Increased use of computer technology. Many large non-profit organisations are technologically adept organisations (Brinkerhoff 1997). Computer proliferation offers new ways to link through, for example, bulletin boards and chat groups, especially for agencies located in remote locations (Ellis & Noyes 1990). There will be a high demand for volunteers with technological skills (for example, in computers and teleconferencing); some volunteers may even receive computer training. Building databases and a presence on the Internet may be a powerful marketing management tool, even for small organisations.

Professionalisation of volunteerism. There has been increasing attention paid to the "professionalisation and importance of voluntarism" (Van Til 1985:30). The result is greater concern about management issues (Netting 1987), not just keeping records (which has been a part of many voluntary operations), but a focus on leadership and management in an all-encompassing sense. One result may be to turn to funding services after they have been delivered (and scrutinised); therefore, non-profit organisations will need to train volunteers to manage working capital (Brinkerhoff 1997), recruit volunteers with financial skills, or hire professionals. They will also have to be involved in constant education and training programmes within the context of the organisation’s mission and will also need fund-raising and grant writing expertise (Brinkerhoff 1997). The need for non-profit organisations to be involved in constant reskilling and retraining will open opportunities for volunteer work to help develop these skills (Ellis & Noyes 1990).

Trying to be all things to all people is falling by the wayside as organisations examine where they want to focus their efforts (Canadians tight-fisted ... 1996). Some volunteers will be "turned off" by pragmatic approaches, while others will embrace them. Non-profit organisations will have to be vigilant in orienting volunteers to their mission.

Separation of financial and human resource development. There is new questioning about the separation of financial and human resource development leading to an understanding of the interrelationship between the two (Ellis & Noyes 1990). Non-profit organisations will probably be expected to embody both perspectives, at least in the short term.

Increased specialisation within professions. Increased specialisation within professional fields means that more volunteers will be needed to do these tasks, as well as volunteers to link individuals in the various areas of specialisation, especially to provide the personal touch (Ellis & Noyes 1990). 

Political Pressures

Political pressures stem from socio-political views on the role of the voluntary sector in society, particularly vis a vis the public and private sectors, and the politicisation of volunteerism issues.

Encouragement to serve political agenda. In the United States, the benefits of volunteerism are clearly tied to a political agenda. In 1989, George Bush encouraged Americans to provide a "thousand points of light", marking what seems to be a significant event in the development of evaluation and change in the non-profit sector in North America. It has been suggested that volunteerism provides the benefits of cost effective government, gaining knowledge of government operations and elected officials, improving the quality of local government services and products, acting as advocates of programmes when volunteers seek resources for them, providing the opportunity for a stronger democracy, and empowering communities through engaging volunteers from all walks of life (Markwood 1994). In some cases, non-profits are being asked to make ideological shifts. Even if Canadian funding remains constant after 1998, support for non-profit organisations will vary with "political winds", i.e., if the service area is in vogue (Brinkerhoff 1997). Thus, many organisations will need to look towards actions which gain them political mileage and to recruit volunteers with political savvy.

Decentralisation of programmes. Another American view is to decentralise (phase out) federal-assistance programmes, so that each state will have to develop ways for individuals and community-based groups to take over poverty-fighting responsibility in a way that is right for its unique population and specific problems (Olasky 1996). Olasky (1996) contends that block grants reduce accountability. However, there is continued debate as to what extent government should be responsible for providing for the coverage of basic human needs (Ellis & Noyes 1990). Non-profit organisations may find themselves working in the rather harsh conditions of a laissez-faire situation. Volunteers will be drawn into this debate and organisations will find that everyday activities will be affected by it.

Amalgamation of cities, towns, and municipalities. The issue here is whether the spirit of volunteerism and non-profit organisations will survive amalgamation.

Mandatory volunteerism. A few American schools and universities (and some private organisations) encourage or require students (employees) to volunteer for credit -- mandatory voluntarism (Wildavsky 1991). Boston College, for example, requires its MBA students to mentor young teenagers from Boston’s lower class South End (Kotler & Andreasen 1996). Mandated forms of service, e.g., workfare in New Brunswick and Ontario, while receiving workers’ compensation or welfare payments, are being proposed amid criticisms of adding an element of coercion and negative connotations and attitudes towards volunteerism (Ellis & Noyes 1990). Some organisations will be pleased to have a ready supply of volunteers. However, volunteers could find themselves working beside those who were encouraged or had to volunteer due to school, university, or government policies (Wildavsky 1991). What will their attitude towards volunteering be? These situations need to be monitored carefully.

Government control of change process. Volunteer Canada has been formed as an umbrella organisation to co-ordinate the activities of various smaller and larger non-profits and will raise funds. But who will dictate how to volunteer and be accountable? O’Connell (1989) raises the issue of whether voluntary organisations should just be accountable to government (usually for funding reasons) -- or to volunteers, donors, and the groups they serve. Non-profit organisations will need to re-examine who their stakeholders are.

Internationalisation of non-profit organisations. The trend toward larger organisations through international linkages among westernised, developing countries continues, and recently democratised countries continues (Kotler & Andreasen 1996). This change requires the development of materials and approaches appropriate to a wide variety of cultures. Not all countries have the same view of volunteerism, as indicated in the example from Sweden. Non-profit organisations may have to refine their positioning vis a vis other sectors to adapt to various cultures.

Conclusions

This inventory of pressures suggests an element of radical change which threatens the very existence of the non-profit sector. There is a high profile debate in Canada and the United States on the role of volunteerism led by Drucker, McKnight, and Putnam. There is particular disenchantment with the view that volunteerism is being asked "to cure the public ills that have defied decades of public doctoring" (McDonald 1996:37). Fortunately, the debate does include those who have recognised this possibility and who have worked to defend the non-profit sector. Pifer (1987:130) very eloquently points out that there is a need to keep the non-profit sector independent (through philanthropic support) because it serves such roles as ...

... an effective critic of, and a restraining influence on, the governmental and business sectors, encouraging individuality, providing a sanctuary for unorthodox opinion and expression, being a watchdog for the nation by calling the public’s attention to wrongdoing and dangerous practices, setting and enforcing professional standards in a number of fields, providing variety and choice in the arts and education, serving as the locus for truly independent research uncontaminated by the political process, and, most importantly, providing a margin for experimentation and innovation. 

Even amid all the social, economic, and political pressures, existing and potential volunteers have much to contribute to the survival of an independent non-profit sector. The non-profit sector may indeed serve the role of a kind of societal Janus which will need the skills of services marketers to survive. The use of services marketing approaches to attract funding and volunteers, and to achieve operational and strategic objectives, would seem particularly useful for non-profit organisations connected to health care and education where changes in funding are affecting the scope and quality of service delivery.

Selected References

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