Volunteering Under Crisis: How Resource Perceptions Relate to Formal and Informal Civic Participation Before and During COVID-19

Performing prosocial acts such as volunteering represents a critical aspect of civic infrastructure. Research on this behavior comprises one of the largest sections of nonprofit literature but there remains limited theoretical and empirical understanding of nuanced components including informal behaviors and specific contexts. Our research builds on extant work to analyze the relationship between one’s resources and their propensity to report formal or informal volunteering before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing inspiration from recent critiques, we hypothesize that resources are not objectively determined but rather depend on external and internal perceptions of these facets. We find evidence that, during non-crisis periods, informal volunteering depends less on external perception of one’s resources than formal volunteering. During the pandemic, results again support that resources are perceived differently relative to the exact volunteer behavior being performed. Results speak to researchers interested in understanding the microlevel components that comprise civic infrastructure.

Recommended citation: Marrese, T., Handy, F., Cnaan, R. A., Choi, D. & Ferris, A. (2025). Volunteering Under Crisis: How Resource Perceptions Relates to Formal and Informal Civic Participation Before and During COVID-19. Nonprofit Policy Forum.