Mandated Service - The Future of Volunteering?

During the period of 1975 to 1998, the defining change in volunteer involvement was the shift in styles of volunteering from the Long Term Volunteers, who had dominated volunteering in the 20th century, to the Short Term Volunteers, who struggled to balance the demands of work and competing

Each of these styles of volunteering created slightly different approaches to volunteer participation. Overall, the shift from the Long Term Volunteer who typically stayed with an agency for a long period of time to the Short Term Volunteer who typically serves for shorter periods has been accompanied by an increased need for good volunteer management, with greater demands on the agency for accommodating the needs of the newer type of volunteers. This trend has dominated volunteer management during the past decade and will continue to influence volunteer programs for the foreseeable future.