Date of Conferral

10-26-2025

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)

School

Management

Advisor

Carol-Anne Faint

Abstract

The inability to retain volunteers critically undermines nonprofit leaders’ capacity to deliver consistent and effective services to vulnerable community populations, threatening organizational stability and mission fulfillment. Persistent challenges with volunteer retention hinder nonprofit leaders’ operations, reduce program reach, and drive up recruitment costs, weakening organizational sustainability. Grounded in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, this qualitative multiple case study explored effective strategies that nonprofit leaders use to retain volunteers and support organizational sustainability. Five nonprofit leaders from the U.S. East Coast were participants and selected because each demonstrated success in volunteer retention. The themes that emerged from thematically analyzing semistructured interviews and organizational documents were ensuring volunteer motivation alignment, creating an impactful volunteer experience, fostering communication and recognition, and enhancing adaptable volunteer engagement. One recommendation is that nonprofit leaders center volunteer well-being through values-based engagement strategies that foster belonging, purpose, and personal development. The potential implications for positive social change include empowering community members through meaningful engagement and promoting civic participation across diverse populations.

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