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24 April 2012, 15:07

Bevin Presutti

Capstone Spring 2012

Title: Movtivations of Corporation of Volunteers

Abstract

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, for the year ended September 10, 2010, approximately 32.8 million Americans volunteered at least once that year, a rate similar to those in both 2008 and 2009.  While traditionally volunteering is an activity done during one’s free time, corporations are increasingly embracing volunteerism and encouraging their employees to get involved.   Employee Volunteering Programs (EVPs) “are increasingly regarded as a means of improving companies’ community and employee relations” (Muthuri 2007, 75). 

The EVP of a publically traded financial services firm headquartered in Westchester County, NY was the subject of this study.  An online, anonymous survey was sent to the employees in an effort to learn about: 1) factors that motivate them to participate in the corporate volunteering program and 2) how the Company incentivizes its employees to volunteer.  An interview with the Company’s Corporate Giving Manager was also conducted to determine how the success of the current corporate volunteering program is measured.

The results of the study were interesting.  Some were consistent with the finding of previous researchers including that respondents would be more likely to participate if they had a clear understanding of the project’s purpose and end result.  Employees’ perception of the Company’s commitment to volunteering also corroborated a previous researcher’s finding highlighting the increasing importance of a corporate volunteering program in the workplace.  Other results provided a direct contradiction to previous research findings.  The actual motivation to participate in the surveyed group is in fact charity, not egoistic or organizational as other studies have found.