Conducive Meso- and Micro-Contexts Influencing Volunteering

Abstract

This chapter reviews how interpersonal influences, institutional influences, the volunteer experience, life events, and practical considerations affect starting or stopping formal volunteering. Interpersonal exchanges and relationships affect volunteering by providing an opportunity for people to be asked to volunteer, by providing an incentive to volunteer for organizations that benefit a friend or family member, by providing emotional and practical support for volunteering, and by socializing people into the volunteer role. Institutions directly influence volunteering by actively sponsoring or facilitating participants’ volunteering, socializing people to volunteer, and providing individuals with the skills and resources necessary for volunteering. © David Horton Smith, Robert A. Stebbins, and Jurgen Grotz 2016 and Respective authors 2016. All rights reserved.