IDENTIFYING CONTINUING AND NON-CONTINUING ADULT 4-H VOLUNTEERS: HOW HAVE THEY EVOLVED OVER TIME?

Abstract

The initial component of a volunteer administration model is identification. Potential volunteers must be identified before they can be recruited, screened, selected, oriented, educated, empowered, recognized, evaluated or retained. Identifying who is most likely to volunteer is a key component of a volunteer recruitment initiative. Additionally, it is important to determine if differences exist between those individuals who continue their service of volunteerism for an extended period of time and those who terminate their service of volunteerism after three years of service or less. Moreover, it is important for Extension Educators to be aware of volunteer demographics and how these descriptive profiles may either remain constant or change over time. The purpose of this study was to identify the people most likely to volunteer for service as an adult 4-H leader. Findings from this study revealed that the profile of a typical Indiana 4-H volunteer during 1994 was remarkably similar to profiles of other 4-H and youth organizational volunteers from across the United States since 1950.