This document summarizes a case study on volunteer motivation and satisfaction at the 2004 Twin Cities Marathon. It begins with an introduction on motivation theory and literature reviewing theories of altruism and mixed motives. It then describes the study methodology of surveying 254 marathon volunteers. Results found most volunteers were female, average age 39, and well-educated. Analysis of survey data on motivations and satisfaction is also discussed. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of leaders understanding different motivations and tapping into them to effectively motivate diverse groups.

1. Volunteer Motivation & Satisfaction
Rajkumar Adhikari
A Case Study of 2004 Twin Cities Marathon

2. Objective of Presentation
What Motivation mean ?
To explain Motivation Theory
To explore

3. Literature Review
way of understanding volunteer motivations has been based on
theories of altruism and selflessness (Phillips, 1982; Rehberg, 2005)
The reasons for joining an organization not only included altruistic
motives, but financial motives as well (Farmer and Fedor ;2001)
numerous volunteer studies on social services have found different
motivations such as altruism, social contact, personal interests, and
emotional needs (Yeung, 2004)

4. Until the 80’s effective leadership meant:
 Being precise in making decisions
 Courage and audacity to develop new organizational
strategiess.
Today an effective leadership means:
 To dominate the art of motivaton
 Being capable to understand and comunicate with others
 Being capable to match people’s talent with the right
activity/situation
Servant Leaders inspire and motivate their followers
Leadership and Motivation

5. . What is Motivation
A motive is an impulse that causes a person to act.
Motivation is an internal process that makes a person move toward
a goal.
 Motivation, like intelligence, can’t be directly observed. Instead,
motivation can only be inferred by noting a person’s behavior

6. Physiological Needs
(hunger, thirst)
Safety Needs
(security, protection)
Social Needs
(sense of belonging, love)
Esteem Needs
(self-esteem)
Self
Actualization
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

8. Method ( Sample Selection)
3450 volunteers contributed their services
Email was sent to the database of 1297 on-line
volunteers
The final set of respondents for the study consisted of
254 individuals (females=179; males=75).

9. Instrumentation
The questionnaire consisted of three broad areas designed to achieve
the purpose of the study.
The first section included items assessing the motivations of
volunteering.
The second area included items assessing the satisfaction of individual
volunteer experiences.
The third a final section included questions tapping demographic
information.
The response format for the scale is a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging
from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (7).

10. Results
Respondent Profile of the 254 respondents
70.5% were female and 29.5% male
The mean age was 39 years old, and ranged from 13 to 67 years
About one half (49.2%) were married, 43.2% were single, 6.8% were
divorced, and .8% were widowed
Four out of 10 (40.5%) of the respondents were classified as holding
college degree, 25.0% hold graduate degree, 18.3% of the respondents
were college students, 10.3% were classified as graduate student
status, and 1.6% hold a high school diploma.

11. Analysis

12. Conclusion
People are motivated in different ways
To effectively motivate others, leaders need to:
 Identify these motives
 Find ways to tap into them
 In large groups: need them all !!!
 Make them Happy & be Happy !!!

13. Question

14. Thank You