Volunteers benefit both the institution and the volunteer.
As people become more involved with an organization, they often make larger and more frequent gifts and show greater willingness to ask others to do the same. Volunteerism is essentially contagious. Asking someone for a commitment to volunteer makes them feel needed. Volunteers have influence, can open doors that few academically minded professionals cannot unlock. They move in circles beyond the institution and understand power struggles and political situations in communities and corporations that a staff member never could.