Another Meeting Just Might Do It! Enhancing Volunteer Engagement Using Effective Meetings

Volunteers are an essential part of the economy and impact our communities by helping nonprofit organizations provide services to those in need. Finding practical strategies to facilitate engagement within volunteer workforces is one way to address how nonprofit organizations can retain their volunteers. We hypothesize that meetings between volunteers and organizational members (e.g., volunteer resource manager) are an avenue through which exchange relationships between organizations and their volunteers may be generated and strengthened, thereby influencing volunteer engagement. Results suggest high-quality meetings positively influence volunteer engagement and voice. Practical suggestions for human service managers are offered.