Why We Volunteer: Motives, Rewards & Civic Pride
Millions of Canadians give their time without pay to causes they care about. But why? What motivates people to volunteer when they could spend that time on paid work, leisure, or family? Understanding volunteer motivation helps organizations attract and retain volunteers while also illuminating broader questions about human nature, community, and civic life.
The Complexity of Motivation
Volunteer motivation is rarely simple. Most volunteers have multiple, overlapping reasons for giving their time. Pure altruism is rare; pure self-interest doesn't capture the full picture. Mixed motives are normal and don't diminish the value of contribution.
Motivation research identifies common patterns. Studies consistently find several clusters of reasons people volunteer. Understanding these patterns helps organizations appeal to potential volunteers and design meaningful experiences.
Individual circumstances shape motivation. What motivates a retired professional differs from what motivates a college student. Life stage, experiences, and circumstances all affect why particular people volunteer for particular causes.
Values and Beliefs
Desire to help others reflects caring values. Many volunteers are motivated by genuine concern for others' wellbeing. They want to reduce suffering, improve lives, and contribute to the common good. This altruistic motivation is real even if rarely pure.
Religious and spiritual beliefs motivate service. Many faith traditions emphasize service to others as religious duty or spiritual practice. For some volunteers, giving time is expression of faith commitment.
Social and political values drive issue-based volunteering. Volunteers for environmental causes, social justice organizations, or political campaigns are often motivated by beliefs about what society should be like. Volunteering expresses and advances their values.
Social Connections
Belonging to community motivates participation. Humans are social beings who want to belong. Volunteering connects people to communities—of place, identity, or interest—that provide belonging.
Relationships form through volunteering. Some volunteer to make friends, find community, or work alongside people they enjoy. Social connection is both motivation and reward.
Social expectations and norms influence volunteering. When volunteering is expected in social circles, people may volunteer partly to meet expectations or fit in. This social motivation isn't inferior to other motivations.
Personal Benefits
Skill development attracts volunteers. Volunteering can build resume credentials, provide work experience, and develop capabilities. Especially for young people and career changers, skill development is significant motivation.
Career exploration uses volunteering to test interests. People considering career changes may volunteer in related areas to explore fit before committing. Volunteering provides low-risk exploration opportunity.
Personal growth and learning motivate many volunteers. Encountering new situations, learning about issues, and stretching beyond comfort zones all contribute to personal development that volunteers value.
Psychological Rewards
Purpose and meaning come from contribution. Volunteering can provide sense that one's life matters, that one is making difference. This existential reward may be volunteering's deepest benefit.
Positive emotion accompanies helping. Research shows that helping others triggers positive emotions—the "helper's high." Volunteering feels good in ways that self-interested activities may not.
Identity as volunteer shapes self-concept. Being someone who volunteers becomes part of how people see themselves. This identity motivates continued volunteering to maintain self-concept.
Civic Pride and Identity
Pride in community motivates contribution. People who feel pride in their communities want to maintain and improve them. Volunteering expresses and reinforces community pride.
Civic identity connects self to community. Seeing oneself as citizen, community member, or stakeholder motivates participation in collective life. Volunteering enacts civic identity.
Reciprocity and gratitude drive giving back. Those who have benefited from community may volunteer to reciprocate. Veterans volunteering for veterans, former patients volunteering for hospitals, and immigrants helping new arrivals all reflect reciprocity motivation.
Practical Considerations
Time availability affects who can volunteer. Motivation matters, but practical capacity matters too. Those with more discretionary time can act on motivations that time-constrained people cannot.
Opportunity awareness shapes volunteering. People can only volunteer for opportunities they know about. Awareness of opportunities—through networks, outreach, or media—affects who volunteers where.
Removing barriers enables motivated people to act. Even highly motivated potential volunteers may not act if barriers are too great. Transportation, childcare, scheduling, and other practical factors affect whether motivation translates to action.
Organizational Implications
Appeal to multiple motivations in recruitment. Since volunteers have varied motivations, recruitment that appeals to different reasons reaches more potential volunteers than appeals to single motivations.
Match volunteers to motivation-satisfying roles. Volunteers motivated by social connection need different assignments than those motivated by skill development. Good matching improves satisfaction and retention.
Recognize volunteers in ways that matter to them. Recognition should align with what motivates particular volunteers. Public recognition matters to some; private thanks to others; neither to those seeking only to help.
Create meaning-rich experiences. Whatever other motivations volunteers have, most want to feel their contribution matters. Assignments that demonstrably make difference satisfy motivation better than makework.
Sustaining Motivation
Initial motivation may not sustain engagement. What motivates someone to start volunteering may not be what keeps them engaged. Organizations must attend to sustained motivation, not just initial recruitment.
Evolving motivation is normal. Volunteers' motivations may change over time. What began as resume-building may become genuine commitment; social motivation may give way to cause commitment. Accommodating evolution keeps volunteers engaged.
Burnout threatens even highly motivated volunteers. Excessive demands, insufficient support, or disappointing impact can exhaust volunteers despite strong initial motivation. Sustainable volunteering requires protecting against burnout.
Conclusion
Volunteers are motivated by complex combinations of values, social needs, personal benefits, psychological rewards, and civic identity. Understanding this complexity helps organizations recruit, engage, and retain volunteers effectively. Appreciating motivation's variety also illuminates aspects of human nature—we are beings who seek meaning, connection, and contribution alongside material benefit. The fact that millions volunteer despite opportunity costs reflects human capacities for caring, community, and civic pride that deserve recognition and cultivation.