Identification & Analysis of Volunteer Motivations at the New River Valley Special Olympics
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Abstract
Volunteerism, which can be defined as the act of volunteering or helping others without financial benefits in return (Janus & Misiorek, 2018), is not a new concept within America. For centuries, people have engaged in volunteer work. The purpose of this case study was to identify and analyze individuals’ motivation and intention to volunteer for Special Olympics sporting events. Through analysis of participants’ results on the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) proposed by Clary et al (1998), I was able to uncover the different motivational functions that are influencing individuals to volunteer. Upon analyzing the results, conclusions and recommendations were identified in order to help the New River Valley Special Olympics with better recruitment and retention of the volunteers, while also being able to help improve volunteers’ overall satisfaction with their volunteer work by assigning them to roles and tasks aligned with the motivational function most influencing them.