ABSTRACT
A large segment of the United States population, 26.8% in 2009, performed unpaid work (i.e., volunteer) for organizations (United States Department of Labor, 2010). To provide perspective about the impact of volunteers in the United States, if a paycheck were to be issued to the volunteer collective for their approximately 8.1 billion hours of volunteer service in 2009, the amount would be just over $169 billion (Corporation for National and Community Service, 2010; Independent Sector, 2010). Thus, volunteering is a relatively common activity, which results in substantial financial savings to organizations. As such, nonprofit organizations—and the communities they serve—may greatly benefit from an improved understanding of their volunteers. Along with the other chapters in this book, we seek to explore the application of I-O psychology for prosocial purposes. Specifically, our focus is on how I-O theory and research can inform the understanding and management of the volunteer experience.
