This morning, the Points of Light blog talked about the faith community and volunteering.  One of the things that was mentioned was the volunteer retention rate in faith-based organizations, and how it’s higher than for other organizations.

The Corporation for National and Community Service’s Research Brief: Volunteering in America’s Faith-based Organizations reported that faith-based organizations have the highest rate of volunteer retention than any other type of organization. (Faith based organizations report a 70% retention rate, where hospital or health organizations report a retention rate near 60%.) The report that the research brief draws from suggests that partnering with religious organizations because they maintain a stable base of volunteers.

This is a good suggestion, but what is it about volunteering with a faith based organization that makes the retention rate higher than secular organizations?

Certainly, the faith component plays a part in the higher retention rate, but is that the only piece?

When your volunteer activity relates to a part of your life that is already important to you, whether it’s your job or your faith or a passion you have, there’s an additional tie to the service you do.  Volunteering moves from something you do after work or on a Saturday afternoon to a way that you define and express yourself.

If a secular organization partners with a faith-based organization, can they expect their volunteer retention rates to increase? If secular organizations improve their training and recruitment practices, can they reach retention rates similar to faith-based organizations?

Can secular organizations build the same kind of connection with their volunteers that may already be in place with faith-based organizations?

We’d love to hear what you think. What connects you to the organizations you volunteer with? Let us know in the comments!