Abstract (eng)
Voluntary work is not a static construct that has not changed for years. Just like in gainful employment, there are conversion trends in voluntary work too and in connection with that the term ‘modern volun-teering’ is discussed for some time now. The attitude of volunteers about their voluntary work changes and this affects non-profit organizations (NPOs), where voluntary work takes place. Charitable organiza-tions cope with the new demands of ‘modern volunteering’ in different ways.
The case study of this thesis deals with the training project ‘Lernhaus’ from the Austrian Red Cross. The NPO ‘Lernhaus’ was selected, because it shows ‘modern’ structures in the organization of volunteering due to it´s cooperations with various partners. The presented case study was realized in the context of a qualitative research design.
In addition to the results of previous research on ‘the changes in voluntary work’, this thesis questions the subjective attitudes, valuations, motivations and opinions of the volunteers, while also paying attention to the organizational setting, to which the respondents belong.
Besides a reference to the ‘changing values theory’, which explains the changes of voluntary work on the individual level, and explanations about non-profit organizations in general, the use of the concept of so-cial exchange on voluntary work according to Jütting (1998) is the major part of the theoretical frame for the empirical approach. That is why the results from the case study refer to the various aspects of the social exchange process in the examined non-profit organization. Furthermore the entry into voluntary work, the expectations of the volunteers regarding the voluntary activities as well as the multidimensional challenges, which the NPO has to face in cooperation with the volunteers and the involved partners, are explained.