Volunteering and charity fundraising events

Abstract

Volunteers provide a critical supporting role within the Third Sector, with charities in particular being heavily reliant on their support. The growth of charity fundraising events in the last 20 years is adding additional pressure on this volunteer resource. The importance of and reliance on volunteers in relation to charities is examined and an outline for how charities can effectively manage this valuable resource is discussed. This type of volunteer management is also linked to the motivations for volunteering and supporting charities, and it explores this in context of the broader reasons for giving to charity. Characteristics and trends of volunteering with charities and charity events, such a gender and episodic volunteering, as well as examining the economic significance of charity events, are outlined, providing additional context for managing and recruiting volunteers. Finally, the role of volunteers in relation to charity fundraising events is also considered from which a new typology for charity event volunteering is outlined, to demonstrate the relationships between differing charity event contexts and the reliance on volunteers.