Determining Factors Affecting Adult Volunteerism in the Texas 4-H Program

Volunteers have always been essential to the success of 4-H youth development programs. However, the number of available volunteers has declined. Although this decline is not new, it is imperative to recruit and retain adult volunteers for youth programming. Researchers sought to describe characteristics of current Texas volunteers and identify motivational functions according to the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI). This descriptive study utilized enrolled volunteers in the Texas 4-H program, with responses from 1,225 individuals. Most volunteers were white, college educated, females, and had no prior affiliation with the program. Volunteers were mainly motivated by the values and understanding function. It was recommended information from volunteer demographics and identified motivations be used by extension volunteer administrators to more effectively recruit and retain volunteers for 4-H youth development programing.