Volunteers and paid staff are fundamentally different in terms of remuneration and freedom of choice. As a result, different stakeholders have different perceptions of volunteers. The specific positions that volunteers hold can allow them to add unique value for society, nonprofit organizations, and beneficiaries, as well as for themselves. From the perspective of organizational cost savings, the dominant approach is to assign a monetary value to volunteer labor. This paper moves beyond this approach to define a broader perspective on the creation of value by volunteers. Information obtained from eight focus groups with volunteers and paid staff within a large charitable organization in the Netherlands reveals three overarching themes concerning the creation of value by volunteers. First, volunteers create supplementary value, which could probably also be achieved by hiring more paid workers. Second, due to their unique status, volunteers create complementary value as well. A third theme emerges through the combination of these two types: ambidextrous value. Each of these themes is driven by several factors. The differences between volunteers and paid staff also have implications for staffing decisions. This paper advances the debate about the interchangeability of volunteers and paid staff, in addition to demonstrating that the value that volunteers create for their organizations extends well beyond the framework of cost savings.
