Greater economic benefits were found among Family Community Leadership volunteers than volunteers from the other Extension volunteer programs. While less common than perceptions of benefits, these perceptions of costs are important. The most common costs noted were time, feelings of frustration, conflicts with other responsibilities, and fatigue. Extension volunteers are either employed or retired. Volunteer recruitment, training, and payback opportunities should accommodate older, educated, and working volunteers.
Special effort is needed to recruit males and younger volunteers.
Training, payback, and recognition events that are scheduled only during weekdays cause volunteers to be underutilized. Volunteers addressed these issues in their comments. Since I am employed, advance notice of planned activities is essential. I felt rushed. Although volunteers value the technical, informational, and skill-building benefits received from Extension, the personal satisfaction benefits outweigh the technical and informational gains.