An exploration of long-term retention of volunteers in Foróige, a national youth work organisation

O'Higgins, Dawn

An exploration of long-term retention of volunteers in Foróige, a national youth work organisation

Files

DawnOHiggins.pdf(737.25 KB)

Published Version

Date

2012-04-18

Authors

O'Higgins, Dawn

Publisher

Community-Academic Research Links, University College Cork

Abstract

This research explores long-tern volunteer retention in Foróige; a national youth work organisation. Foróige have found that their volunteer numbers are not increasing inline with the number of people they are Garda Vetting, this would appear to mean there is a drop off of existing volunteers. Foróige and the researcher wanted to understand what motivates people to volunteer and what keeps them committed to volunteering in the long-term. A literature review was conducted and qualitative methods were used, within an interpretivist perspective, to collect data in relation to volunteers. Volunteers, who had been involved in Foróige in the long term, were interviewed in relation to their thoughts, feelings and perceptions about sustained volunteering in the Organisation. This information was then analysed and a number of significant findings emerged. The findings of the study show that training, support, praise and recognition are key factors in volunteer retention. Using the literature review and these findings a number of recommendations were made in relation to supporting continued volunteering within Foróige.

Keywords

Foróige , Youth work organisation , Retention of volunteers

Citation

O’Higgins, D. (2012) An exploration of long-term retention of volunteers in Foróige, a national youth work organisation. Cork: Community-Academic Research Links, University College Cork.