Ignite the Spark: A multi-state webinar series identifying strategies for engaging and retaining 4-H Volunteers

Situation and Priorities:

Volunteers are critical to 4-H program delivery; however, volunteer retention remains a persistent challenge within youth development organizations. To address this concern, a coalition of 4-H volunteer specialists from the Southern region designed and delivered a five-part webinar series titled Ignite the Spark. This series provided professional development on volunteer engagement and retention for 4-H youth development professionals across the United States. Topics included personal and program readiness, recruitment, engagement, and retention strategies. More than 450 extension professionals from 12 states participated in the live sessions, with an additional 228 completing asynchronous, self-paced modules. Evaluation data indicated significant knowledge gains among participants in key areas such as program readiness (91%), engagement (90%), and retention (99%). The initiative's success demonstrates the effectiveness of regional collaboration in developing comprehensive, research-based professional development resources. This program practice offers a promising blueprint for future efforts aimed at empowering volunteer-led programs and addressing the critical issue of volunteer retention in youth development organizations. An additional benefit was that the volunteerism specialists in the southern region successfully identified a multi-state issue and successfully developed and delivered a program designed to address this need. This regional collaboration was a resounding success that will be replicated in the future.

Introduction

Volunteers form the backbone of 4-H programs, delivering critical youth development initiatives across the United States. Their contributions enable programs to expand their reach, deepen their impact, and sustain long-term engagement with local communities. Kok et al. (2020) emphasize that volunteers are essential for the success of 4-H efforts, providing both human and social capital to strengthen organizational capacity.

Unfortunately, the landscape of volunteerism is undergoing significant shifts. Recent years have seen a decline in volunteer participation (Edeigba & Singh, 2021), making retention a mounting concern for organizations that depend on volunteers (Gagné et al., 2019; Wong et al., 2011). For 4-H, where volunteers are often integral to program delivery and mentorship, this challenge necessitates a deeper exploration of engagement and retention strategies.

Volunteer engagement and retention are intrinsically linked. As noted by Alfes et al. (2016), Traeger and Alfes (2019), and Vecina et al. (2012), engaged volunteers are more likely to remain committed to an organization. Despite this, many traditional volunteer management frameworks used within 4-H, such as ISOTURE (Boyce, 1971), have not been fully updated to integrate modern engagement research or emerging best practices.

Consequently, there is a pressing need for professional development programs that equip 4-H professionals with contemporary strategies rooted in evidence-based volunteer management theories. This need spurred the creation of Ignite the Spark, a collaborative multi-state training initiative aimed at empowering youth development professionals with the tools to strengthen volunteer engagement and retention.

Literature Review & Theoretical Framework

Volunteer retention is more than a logistical concern, it is a reflection of an organization's ability to foster meaningful volunteer experiences. Models such as the 4-H Volunteer Leadership Development Program (Kwarteng et al., 1988), LOOP (Penrod, 1991), and the GEMS Model of Volunteer Administration (Culp et al., 1996) have emphasized retention as a core component of effective volunteer administration. These frameworks stress that retention must be intentionally planned from the outset, beginning at volunteer entry and extending through continuous support and recognition (Culp, 2013).

Contemporary research further affirms this perspective. Walk et al. (2021) liken volunteer managers to front-line corporate managers who shape volunteer experiences by signaling expectations and rewards. When volunteer managers are well-trained and responsive, they create an environment that fosters volunteer satisfaction and retention (Lai & Nguyen, 2024).

Additionally, collaborative approaches to professional development have been shown to improve program outcomes. Research by Boskamp and Zane (2023) found that individuals who engage in collaborative environments experience heightened engagement, improved task efficiency, and lower burnout. Virtual learning environments and web-based tools, as highlighted by Gan et al. (2015), further enhance collaborative learning opportunities, making professional development more accessible and scalable.

Given these insights, this initiative sought to integrate contemporary research on volunteer management, collaborative learning, and virtual engagement into a single, impactful training series.

Educational Response: A Collaborative Regional Approach

Recognizing the shared challenges faced across the Southern region, a coalition of 4-H volunteer specialists from eleven universities partnered to design and deliver a comprehensive webinar series aimed at enhancing volunteer engagement and retention practices among 4-H youth development professionals. The specialists that designed and delivered the series represented the following institutions: University of Arkansas, Clemson University, University of Florida, University of Georgia, University of Kentucky, Louisiana State University, North Carolina State University, Oklahoma State University, University of Tennessee, Texas A&M University, and Virginia Tech University.

The program design was informed by Franks’ (2022) national survey, which found that over 80% of Extension professionals considered volunteer retention a priority issue and expressed a strong desire for additional professional development in this area. Recognizing the need to shift from a recruitment-first model toward one that prioritizes engagement and long-term retention (Ganzevoort & van den Born, 2023), the collaborating specialists crafted a series that would address these concerns through a research-based, practical framework.

The series, titled Ignite the Spark: Rekindling our Volunteer Programs with Research-Based Engagement Strategies, invited participation from 4-H professionals nationwide. Its five sessions covered personal and program readiness, recruitment, engagement, and retention, providing a sequential model for professionals to assess, refine, and implement volunteer management strategies within their local programs. Institutions participating in the collaborative professional development series included: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

Goals and Objectives

The overarching objective of the Ignite the Spark series was to address declining volunteer retention within 4-H by equipping youth development professionals with research-based tools and techniques for enhancing volunteer engagement. Three specific goals supported this objective:

1. Deliver professional development grounded in current volunteer engagement research to 4-H professionals across the Southern region and beyond.
2. Enhance professionals' ability to recognize the relationship between volunteer engagement and retention, helping them to apply these insights within their programs.
3. Equip participants with practical strategies to engage diverse volunteer populations, addressing the unique needs of multi-generational and culturally diverse groups.

The series emphasized the need for reflection and intentional planning around five critical engagement components:

Personal Readiness: Professionals were encouraged to complete self-assessments exploring their readiness to recruit, engage, and retain volunteers effectively. This included reflection on leadership styles, communication approaches, and their capacity to foster inclusive volunteer environments.

Program Readiness: Participants evaluated their programs’ structural readiness for meaningful volunteer involvement. Guiding questions included:

• Are volunteers provided with the tools and feedback they need to succeed?
• Are volunteer voices incorporated into decision-making processes?
• Is recognition embedded within program culture?

Recruitment: Building on personal and program readiness, participants examined innovative strategies for recruiting volunteers who align with 4-H’s values and mission, with a focus on attracting multi-generational and underrepresented populations.

Engagement: Professionals were introduced to engagement strategies that prioritize two-way communication, volunteer autonomy, and the creation of opportunities for volunteers to contribute meaningfully to program success.

Retention: The series concluded with an exploration of strategies to retain volunteers through intentional relationship-building, ongoing training, and recognition practices that meet volunteer motivations and needs (Culp, 2013).

Methods: Designing the Ignite the Spark Series

Volunteer specialists from the Southern region, as referenced above, collaborated over several months through virtual meetings and working sessions. The team reviewed relevant volunteer management and engagement literature, identified best practices from their respective states, and co-developed a curriculum centered on the five key engagement components.

The series was delivered via monthly live webinars hosted on Zoom over a five-month period. Each session featured rotating teams of specialists serving as lead presenters and moderators. Following each live session, specialists developed asynchronous modules using Edpuzzle, an interactive video platform, enabling participants to complete training at their own pace. The Edpuzzle modules incorporated embedded reflection prompts and quizzes, providing formative and summative assessments that reinforced learning.

Participants were encouraged to complete post-session reflections, allowing them to summarize what they learned from the session and process how they might use the information to improve their volunteer programs, such as creating more opportunities for volunteers to share their voices and opinions and making greater efforts to share volunteer impact with community leaders and stakeholder groups. Further, each webinar included both quantitative and qualitative evaluation components. 

• Quantitative surveys captured self-reported knowledge gains across the targeted topic areas.
• Reflective questions encouraged participants to articulate key takeaways, intended applications, and strategies for improving volunteer engagement in their local contexts. This triangulated the quantitative data and enriched the program’s outcome analysis.

Additionally, participants who completed both the live or recorded sessions and evaluation activities were awarded digital badges signifying mastery of the content, providing both recognition and a tangible incentive for professional development.

Results

The Ignite the Spark series successfully engaged over 459 Extension professionals across 12 states through the live webinar sessions. In addition, 228 additional participants completed the asynchronous Edpuzzle modules, bringing the total reach of the series to nearly 700 professionals nationwide.

Evaluation data from both the live and recorded sessions revealed significant knowledge gains across all key topic areas. Participants reported measurable increases in their understanding of personal and program readiness, volunteer recruitment, engagement, and retention strategies.

Quantitative Findings

Table 1 summarizes the knowledge gains reported by participants across critical areas.  

Table 1. Topic Areas and percent of participants reporting knowledge gain for Ignite the Spark series. 

Notably, 99% of participants reported significant learning related to volunteer retention, a primary focus of the series. Additionally, 97% gained a deeper understanding of how volunteer management differs from volunteer leadership, particularly regarding the need for inclusive and adaptive leadership styles (Aslan et al., 2021).

Qualitative Reflections

       Participant reflections offered deeper insight into how the training influenced professional practice:

1. Many professionals indicated intentions to revamp existing volunteer programs, including integrating more formalized recognition systems and expanding leadership roles for volunteers.
2. Several participants emphasized plans to create more inclusive spaces where volunteers could share their voices and participate in decision-making processes.
3. Common themes included the importance of communication and collaboration to build stronger volunteer-professional partnerships and increase volunteer ownership of roles.

One participant remarked:

“In volunteerism, we all have the same needs and wants, no matter the state to which you belong.”

Another shared:

“This series has made me reflect on how we communicate and collaborate with our volunteers—it’s clear that engagement starts with us as professionals.”

These reflections suggest that participants were not only absorbing new knowledge but also critically considering how to apply these insights in their programs.

Outcomes and Impact:

The blended delivery model, combining synchronous webinars with asynchronous Edpuzzle modules, enabled broad accessibility and flexibility, contributing to the series’ wide geographic reach and high participation rates.

Key outcomes included:

Scalability and Replication: The modular design of the series, with self-paced learning options and interactive reflection components, offers a replicable model for future multi-county, multi-state, or multi-region professional development and training initiatives.

Community of Practice Formation: The series fostered multi-state dialogue, with many professionals noting that they appreciated learning that retention challenges were not unique to their local programs. This sense of shared purpose strengthened regional connections and supported the formation of an informal community of practice among participants.

Behavioral Intentions: Beyond knowledge gains, reflective responses indicated strong intentions to implement new engagement and retention strategies, including:

1. Developing more structured volunteer onboarding processes.
2. Expanding multi-generational volunteer recruitment efforts.
3. Increasing volunteer involvement in program planning and evaluation.

Additionally, the integration of digital badges for series completion provided a form of professional recognition that participants valued, reinforcing engagement in both the live and asynchronous learning environments.

Lessons Learned

The implementation of Ignite the Spark illuminated several critical insights into both volunteer engagement strategies and the benefits of regional collaboration:

Collaboration Enhances Impact: The multi-state partnership enabled specialists to pool their expertise, yielding a more comprehensive and dynamic curriculum than any single institution could have developed independently. The cross-state collaboration fostered a diversity of perspectives and allowed the program to address the commonalities and nuances of volunteer management challenges faced across different regions.

Engagement and Retention Are Interdependent: Volunteer engagement and retention strategies are not siloed; rather, they form a continuous cycle. When 4-H professionals invest in meaningful engagement through recognition, inclusion, and communication, retention naturally follows. This reinforces the research literature, which identifies engagement as a key driver of long-term volunteer commitment (Alfes et al., 2016; Vecina et al., 2012).

Reflection is a Critical Learning Tool: The integration of reflective activities following each session proved invaluable. Participants who engaged deeply with post-session reflections demonstrated stronger application of key concepts in their feedback. This suggests that reflective practice, encouraging professionals to personalize and contextualize new learning, should be an embedded component of professional development initiatives.

Flexible Delivery Maximizes Reach: The blended learning model, which combined synchronous webinars with asynchronous self-paced learning modules, ensured that professionals with competing demands could still benefit from the series. The use of Edpuzzle to create interactive, video-based learning also provided an innovative avenue for reinforcing learning objectives while enhancing accessibility.

Recommendations for 4-H Youth Development Professionals

Based on the program's success and the lessons learned, several actionable recommendations can be drawn for 4-H youth development professionals and other volunteer-dependent organizations:

Incorporate Engagement Strategies Early: Retention should not be treated as an end-stage activity. Volunteer engagement strategies—such as clear communication, role clarity, opportunities for input, and recognition—should be integrated from the earliest stages of volunteer recruitment and onboarding.

Prioritize Professional Readiness: Volunteer engagement begins with the readiness of youth development professionals themselves. Conducting personal readiness self-assessments can help professionals identify gaps in their leadership approaches, communication styles, and capacity to support volunteers effectively.

Foster Inclusive Volunteer Environments: Adopting inclusive leadership practices is crucial for sustaining volunteer engagement, particularly in multi-generational and diverse volunteer groups (Aslan et al., 2021). Creating a culture where volunteer voices are actively sought and valued strengthens volunteer commitment.

Leverage Regional Collaboration: Youth development organizations should explore regional partnerships to co-develop training materials, share resources, and conduct joint professional development initiatives. Collaboration expands capacity and fosters shared learning communities that benefit the broader volunteer network.

Utilize Hybrid Learning Models: To maximize participation and impact, training programs should include both synchronous and asynchronous delivery methods. Flexible learning options ensure that busy professionals can access content in ways that suit their schedules while maintaining the benefits of interaction and reflection.

Conclusion

Ignite the Spark demonstrated that a collaborative, multi-state approach to professional development can meaningfully enhance volunteer engagement and retention strategies among 4-H youth development professionals. By combining research-based practices, cross-institutional expertise, and a flexible delivery model, the initiative empowered nearly 700 professionals to reexamine and refine their volunteer management practices.

The program’s success illustrates that volunteer engagement and retention are most effective when professionals are equipped with tools that integrate theory with applied strategies. Further, the regional partnership model offers a scalable and replicable framework for addressing complex challenges faced by youth development organizations nationwide.

As the volunteer landscape continues to evolve, professional development efforts such as Ignite the Spark will be instrumental in ensuring that youth-serving organizations like 4-H can sustain a vibrant, committed volunteer base, one that is essential for the success and longevity of community-driven programs.

References

Alfes, K., Shantz, A. and Bailey, C. (2016). Enhancing volunteer engagement to achieve desirable outcomes: what can non-profit employers do? VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 27, pp.595-617.  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11266-015-9601-3

Aslan, H., Mert, I. S., & Sen, C. (2021). The Effect of Inclusive Leadership on the Work Engagement: An Empirical Study from Turkey. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 8(11), 169-178.

Boskamp, E. (2023). 35+ Compelling Workplace Collaboration Statistics [2023]: The Importance Of Teamwork. Zippia.com. Jul. 6, 2023, https://www.zippia.com/advice/workplace-collaboration-statistics/  

Boyce, M.V. (1971).  A systematic approach to leadership development.  Washington, DC: USDA, Extension Service.  (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 065 763).  

Culp, III, K., Deppe, C.A., Castillo, J.X., & Wells, B.J.  (1998).   The GEMS model of volunteer administration.  The Journal of Volunteer Administration.   16 (4) 36-41.

Culp, K. (2013). Sustaining Members, Volunteers, and Leaders in Community Organizations. The Journal of Extension, 51(2), Article 16. https://doi.org/10.34068/joe.51.02.16

Cho, H., Wong, Z., & Chiu, W. (2020). The effect of volunteer management on intention to continue volunteering: a mediating role of job satisfaction of volunteers. Sage Open, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020920588

Dolan, R.J. (1969).  The leadership development process in complex organizations.  Raleigh: North Carolina State University.

Edeigba, J., & Singh, D. (2022). Nonfinancial resource management: A qualitative study of retention and engagement in not-for-profit community fund management organisation. Asia Pacific Management Review, 27(2), 80-91.

Franks, M., Smith, A., & Weichel, J. (2022). Summary report on the 4-H national volunteer recruitment & marketing survey. National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals. Retrieved from https://www.nae4hydp.org/news/613893/Summary-Report-on-the-4-H-National-Volunteer-Recruitment--Marketing-Survey-.htm

GAN, Benjamin; MENKHOFF, Thomas; and SMITH, Richard R.. Enhancing students' learning process through interactive digital media: New opportunities for collaborative learning. (2015). Computers in Human Behavior. 51, (Part B), 652-663. Research Collection School of Information Systems. Available at: http://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sis_research/2533   

Gagné, M. and Luksyte, A. and Dunlop, P. and Holtrop, D. and Kragt, D. and Farid, H.M. 2019. Emergency Volunteer Retention: Can a Culture of Inclusiveness Help?, in Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council, Aug 27-30 2019, Melbourne: AFAC Conference Paper.  https://espace.curtin.edu.au/handle/20.500.11937/76211

Garner, J. T., & Garner, L. T. (2011). Volunteering an opinion: Organizational voice and volunteer retention in nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 40(5), 813-828. https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/nvsb/40/5

Ganzevoort, W., & van den Born, R. J. G. (2023). The everyday reality of nature volunteering: an empirical exploration of reasons to stay and reasons to quit. Journal of Environmental Planning & Management, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2023.2240953 

Kwarteng, J.A., Smith, K.L., & Miller, L.E.  (1988).   Ohio 4-H 4-H youth development professionals’ and volunteer leaders’ perceptions of the volunteer leadership development program. Journal of the American Association of Teacher Educators in Agriculture, 29, 2, 55-62. 

Kok, C., Espinoza, D., Worker, S., Go, C., & Miller, J. (2020). Identification of priority skill areas for volunteer professional development. Journal of Youth Development, 15(4), 51-67. https://doi.org/10.5195/jyd.2020.876

Lai, C. and Nguyen, D. (2024). The impact of perceived relationship investment and organizational identification on behavioral outcomes in nonprofit organizations: the moderating role of relationship proneness. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 35(3), 527-542. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21632

Minhat, H. (2007). Development of an Electronic Volunteer Management System (e-VMS) for Selangor Civil Defence Department using the ISOTURE model (Doctoral dissertation, Universiti Teknologi MARA).  https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/1448/1/1448.pdf

National Association of State Workforce Agencies (2025). 2025 MSDC Annual Meeting Report.  https://www.naswa.org/partnerships/multi-state-data-collaboratives/about#:~:text=The%20MSDC%20aims%20to%20support,on%20state%20needs%20and%20opportunities.

Penrod, K.M. (1991).  Leadership involving volunteers: The L-O-O-P model.   Journal of Extension, 29, (4), 9-11.    

Prince, W. and Piatak, J. (2022). By the volunteer, for the volunteer: volunteer perspectives of management across levels of satisfaction. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 52(5), 1191-1209. https://doi.org/10.1177/08997640221127974

Terry, B., Harder, A., & Pracht, D. (2011). Understanding the value of volunteer involvement. Journal of Agricultural Education, 52(2), 118-127. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2011.02118 

Traeger, Charlotte & Alfes, Kerstin. (2019). High-Performance Human Resource Practices and Volunteer Engagement: The Role of Empowerment and Organizational Identification. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. 30. 10.1007/s11266-019-00135-2. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333760884_High-Performance_Human_Resource_Practices_and_Volunteer_Engagement_The_Role_of_Empowerment_and_Organizational_Identification  

Vecina, M.L., Chacón, F., Sueiro, M. and Barrón, A. (2012). Volunteer engagement: Does engagement predict the degree of satisfaction among new volunteers and the commitment of those who have been active longer? Applied psychology, 61(1), pp.130-148.  https://iaap-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2011.00460.x

Vineyard, S.  (1980).  Recruiting and retaining volunteers...no gimmicks, no gags!  Journal of Volunteer Administration, 2, (3), 23-28. 

Walk, M., Scott, C., & Littlepage, L. (2021). It’s not all the same: implemented and perceived hr practices in the volunteer context. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 42(3), 492-513. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371x21994631

Wong, L.P., Chui, W.H. and Kwok, Y.Y. (2011). The volunteer satisfaction index: A validation study in the Chinese cultural context. Social indicators research, 104, pp.19-32.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21957325/

Zane, M. (2023). “The Most Important Collaboration Skills (with examples)” Zippa.com. Aug. 8, 2023, https://www.zippia.com/advice/collaboration-skills/