• Inclusion

• External Shocks

• Accommodating newcomers

Socio-structural Determinants in Volunteering for Humanitarian Organizations: a Resource-based Approach Trends in Forms of Civic Involvement in the Netherlands between 2008 and 2020 Assessing the ‘Why’ in Volunteering for Refugees: Exploring Volunteer Motivations

Hop in and Drop Out: How are Changes in the Life Course Related to Changes in Volunteering for Humanitarian Organizations? Assessing the ‘Why’ in Volunteering for Refugees: Exploring Volunteer Motivations Trends in Forms of Civic Involvement in the Netherlands between 2008 and 2020 Socio-structural Determinants in Volunteering for Humanitarian Organizations: a Resource-based Approach

This article addresses what motivations volunteers have for volunteering for refugees and whether these motivations differ from or complement motivations to volunteer in general, such as included in the widely used measurement instrument, the Volunteer Function Inventory (VFI). We organized eight focus groups with volunteers for refugees (N = 44) and interviewed five involved coordinators, all working in one city in the Netherlands. Results show that humanitarian concerns and social justice were highly relevant for people’s motivations, next to volunteering to obtain or improve knowledge and skills. We find support for the earlier suggested extension of the VFI with the social justice motivation. Next, the current study expands existing analysis on volunteer motivations by identifying four areas that require further attention: (1) volunteers for refugees seek a meaningful role in life; (2) are motivated by the pragmatism of this volunteer work; (3) have emotional reasons; and (4) are motivated by media exposure.

What are motivations to volunteer for refugees and do these motivations differ from or complement the general motivations to volunteer as derived from previous theoretical insights?

• Collected during project

• Interview
• Focus Group

No

• Unstructured

• Dutch
• English

Nijmegen area

04/11/2021

04/02/2022

No