ASPA Volunteer Survey Results

Dear ASPA members: We would like to acknowledge and thank all of our members who, over the past month, participated in a survey about the topic of “volunteering” in our association.

“Volunteering” is a topic that is highly relevant for us, as the association requires many volunteers to conduct its business.  The ASPA Executive is interested in our members’ perception of the value of volunteer participation.

At the closing date of the survey, 384 (of around 1100) ASPA members had responded to the survey.  Here is what we found:

• Close to 94% of the respondents do not currently volunteer time for the association; however, about 44% of respondents indicated that they will consider (6%) increasing their volunteer commitment or might consider (38%) such a step.
• The main reasons provided by the 56% who would not consider volunteering included: lack of time (69%); inability to commit for a three year (ASPA Executive) term (36%); and lack of knowledge about what skills and abilities are required for volunteer positions (14%).

In general, respondents are quite satisfied with ASPA’s organizational mix of staff and volunteers who conduct ASPA’s business: 81% of the respondents felt that the current model works well; with 13% suggesting that ASPA members should not be expected to volunteer.

The most significant lesson learned from the survey is that ASPA must do a better job of communicating volunteering opportunities and the value of volunteering to the association members.  Major recurring themes in the replies to the question of how members could be persuaded to volunteer were:

• lack of awareness of the kind of member involvement needed, of the time commitments that volunteers need to make, and of the kind of acknowledgements volunteers can receive from the association
• lack of ASPA outreach to the ASPA members: respondents indicated that they need to be approached and asked directly about volunteering for the organization

Over the coming year, the ASPA Executive will explore ways to enhance communication with ASPA members about the role of, and opportunities for, volunteering.

Click HERE to view a PDF of the complete survey results