"Lady Bountiful" and the "Virtual Volunteers": the changing face of social service volunteering.

• Author: Wilson, Carla

Abstract

As part of its contribution to the International Year of Volunteers 2001, the Ministry of Social Policy (now the Ministry of Social Development) undertook a review of literature relating to the voluntary social service sector, to examine changes affecting the sector and to consider their implications for patterns of volunteering (Wilson 2001). The review examines how the widespread introduction of the "contract culture" has influenced volunteering within voluntary social service organisations, identifies changes in the level (number of volunteers) and nature (type of activities undertaken) of such volunteering, describes the possible reasons for, and potential consequences of, changes in the level and nature of volunteering, and considers the future role of volunteers within voluntary social service organisations. The review focuses on volunteering within medium-to-large social service organisations, consequently exploring trends in only a small part of the diverse voluntary social service sector. The main focus is on changes over the past two decades since the introduction of contracting; the effects of broader economic, demographic and social changes are also considered. Due to the limited amount of New Zealand material available, most of the literature reviewed is from Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States (these countries having experienced similar changes). While the international literature provides important insights, suggestions for further local research are outlined.

INTRODUCTION

There have been a number of significant changes in the environment in which the voluntary social service sector operates, including changes to its relationship with government, changes in labour force participation (especially by women) and in the nature of work, and wide-ranging changes in social attitudes and behaviours. Some commentators, including people in the voluntary social service sector, have expressed concern about the potential impact of such changes on patterns of volunteering. Under its strategic research programme, and as part of its contribution to the International Year of Volunteers 2001, the Ministry of Social Policy (2) (MSP) undertook a review of the literature relating to the voluntary social service sector, to examine these changes and consider their implications for patterns of volunteering (Wilson 2001). This paper presents the main findings from the review.

The review had four objectives:

* to examine how the introduction of the "contract culture" (3) has influenced volunteering in voluntary social service organisations;

* to identify the changes that have occurred in the level (number of volunteers) and nature (type of volunteering activities undertaken) of formal social service volunteering;

* to examine the possible reasons for, and potential consequences of, any changes in the level and nature of volunteering in the voluntary social service sector; and

* to consider the future role of volunteers within voluntary social service organisations.

The review covers volunteering within medium-to-large voluntary social service organisations, focusing on changes over the past two decades -- since the widespread introduction of contracting for social services -- and considers the effects of broader economic, demographic and social changes. While debates over the nature of volunteering (and the meaning of the term itself) outside this context are acknowledged, the review explores the trends in only a small part of the complex and diverse voluntary social service sector.

Due to the limited amount of New Zealand material available, most of the literature in the review is from Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States (4), as there are similarities in the political, economic, demographic and social changes experienced in these countries since the 1950s. While the international literature provides some important insights, further local research is recommended.

Outline of this Paper

The "Background" section defines the terms "volunteering" and "the voluntary sector", and presents the structural/operational framework for discussing the voluntary sector (used to shape the review). Concepts relating to volunteering (e.g. the "dominant status" model) and differing cultural perceptions of volunteering are described, followed by a discussion of the limitations of available survey data. The next section of the paper explores the "contract culture" and its impact on the volunteering sector, and includes a discussion of volunteer workloads, expectations and demands. This is followed by a section that examines the economic, demographic and social influences on volunteering, and another section that speculates on volunteering in the future. The paper concludes by recommending areas for future research.

BACKGROUND

Voluntary social service organisations in New Zealand have traditionally played an innovative role in responding to community needs. Moore and Tennant (1997) describe the voluntary sector and the state as having complementary roles prior to the 1980s, with services delivered to a diverse range of groups through grant funding. In the past two decades the sector has taken a more central role in the provision of social services to the community through the introduction of contracting, which changed the nature of government and voluntary sector relationships (Suggate 1995:1).

The establishment of the Community and Voluntary Sector Working Party (CVSWP) by the Government in 2000 highlighted the importance of the voluntary sector and the need to establish a positive and effective working relationship between the government and community partners. The CVSWP was established to consider "the scope of a proposed agreement between government and Iwi/Maori, community and voluntary organisations" (MSP 2001:10).

As the voluntary social services sector continues to play a significant role in social service provision, it is essential to have an understanding of the capacity of the sector, especially given concerns expressed that more is being asked of the voluntary organisations at the same time that their resources -- particularly their volunteer base -- may be shrinking (Malcolm et al. 1993, MSP 2001).

"Volunteering" -- What does it Mean?

There is no standard definition of the term "volunteering". For the purpose of this review, the following definition has been adopted:

Activities or work done of a person's free will for the benefit of others (beyond the immediate family) for no payment other than, in some cases, a small honorarium and/or expenses. (Gaskin and Davis Smith 1997:7) The three key elements in this definition are free will, benefit to others and lack of payment. However, there is no consensus as to whether volunteering refers only to unpaid work done for an organisation, or whether it also includes informal volunteering activities outside any organisational context (e.g. babysitting). Harris (1996:55) notes that "how people perceive their own and others' unpaid activities appears to be a function of cultural factors including race and class"; specifically, in the New Zealand context, there are

differences in how Maori and Pakeha (5) conceptualise "volunteering", as discussed in a later section.

The Voluntary Sector

The "voluntary sector" operates in a space outside of the public/state, private/market and household sectors and is variously referred to as the "community sector", the "third sector", the "charitable sector", the "civil society sector" and the "not-for-profit sector".

Within New Zealand's voluntary sector, organisations vary in size and structure from large corporate national organisations with hundreds of (paid) staff and large budgets, to small volunteer-based organisations operating as collectives and running on very small budgets (MSP 2001). Organisations operate in a variety of arenas, from social services to sports, to arts and the environment. Kendall and Knapp (1995:66) describe the voluntary sector as a "loose and baggy monster", due to the lack of clarity about the terminology, definitions and classifications relating to organisations operating in this third space.

Salamon and Anheier's (1992:135) structural/operational definition of the voluntary sector has been used to shape this review. The "third sector" is thus defined as a collection of organisations that are:

* formal -- "the organisation has some institutional reality";

* private -- "institutionally separate from government";

* not profit distributing -- "not returning profits generated to their owners or directors";

* self-governing -- "equipped to control their own activities"; and

* voluntary -- "involving some meaningful degree of voluntary participation, either in the actual conduct of the agency's activities or in the management of its affairs".

Within this definition, the review focuses specifically on volunteering that takes place within voluntary social service organisations. This reflects the visibility of the formal sector, the greater access to information about that sector, and the closer links between the formal sector and government.

It is acknowledged that, by adopting this focus on the formal sector, the review necessarily excludes informal volunteering, volunteering for government or private for-profit organisations, and volunteering within formal voluntary organisations that do not provide social services.

Formal Volunteering: The Dominant Status Model

Current literature and research suggest that a range of people get involved in volunteering, although the concept of volunteering is frequently associated in the public mind with volunteering for formal organisations, and the "middle-class, middle-aged, do-gooder" stereotype -- the "Lady Bountiful". (6) Davis Smith (1992:89) suggests that "people from lower socio-economic groups are failing to recognise their activities in the community as volunteering, seeing them instead as examples of informal caring and...