Drivers for Non-Profits’ Success: Volunteer Engagement and Financial Sustainability Practices through the Resource Dependence Theory

Sehrish Ilyas, Mattiullah Butt, Fouzia Ashfaq and Daniela Acquadro Maran
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Sehrish Ilyas: School of Business Administration, National College of Business Administration & Economics (Main Campus), 40 E/1 Gulberg III, Lahore 54660, Pakistan
Mattiullah Butt: School of Business Administration, National College of Business Administration & Economics (Front Lane Campus), 168 Shadman II, Canal Road, Lahore 54610, Pakistan
Fouzia Ashfaq: Department of Management Sciences, Lahore College for Women University, Jail Rd, Lahore 54600, Punjab, Pakistan
Daniela Acquadro Maran: Department of Psychology, University of Torino, Via Verdi 10, 10124 Torino, Italy

Economies, 2020, vol. 8, issue 4, 1-17

Abstract: The strategies that non-profit organizations choose for volunteer engagement and financial sustainability are of the utmost importance for successful work. The main purpose of this study was to investigate feasible strategies for volunteer engagement and financial sustainability. Interviews were conducted to obtain data on the experience of volunteer managers in dealing with volunteers and financial matters together. Qualitative data analysis methods were used to code and analyze the data. Significant themes emerged from the data gathered through interviews that highlighted the strategies for volunteer engagement and financial sustainability chosen by the managers of non-profit organizations. From the manager’s perspective, the following strategies were considered important for engaging volunteers at non-profit organizations (NPOs): ‘building the skill sets of volunteers’, ‘fulfilling ulterior motives’, and ‘administering a culture of administrative support’. Moreover, ‘local fundraising preference’, ‘transparency’, and ‘building trust’ were regarded as successful strategies for maintaining financial sustainability. The findings of this study showed that, to function smoothly, non-profit organizations need to follow certain strategies to be cautious about volunteers as well as finance. The findings provide fruitful implications for practitioners and policy makers, and these are discussed in the paper. Furthermore, the limitations addressed in the study suggest a future direction for research in terms of study design and more focus on study informants.

Keywords: volunteer engagement retention; non-profit organizations managing volunteers; financial sustainability; managing non-profit organizations; formal volunteering; thematic analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E F I J O Q (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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