Volunteer Participation in Local Government Agencies

ABSTRACT:

Using data collected in a national survey of 1,638 individuals regarding volunteer behavior, this article examines factors related to volunteer participation in local government activities. The findings suggest that among all volunteers (regardless of sector), those individuals residing in cities with populations of under 100,000, in central cities, and in states where limitations on local tax revenues have been imposed are most likely to volunteer to perform activities under the auspices of a public jurisdiction. Furthermore, none of the other sociodemographic variables are related to volunteering to public jurisdictions. The study also revealed that among those who volunteer to public jurisdictions, different combinations of sociodemographic and environmental variables are associated with different types of volunteer activities.