Tu dînes après le concert ? Un éclairage sur les coulisses du bénévolat

Abstract

Many non-profit organisations rely essentially, if not exclusively, on the participation of volunteers in order to function. Recent research into volunteer management provides a better understanding of the standard management practices of non-profit organisations, but rarely reveals the less formalised moments spent between volunteers. We develop the concept of ‘backstage volunteering’ to reflect the moments spent between volunteers, such as a post-concert meal. What role do these backstage moments play in volunteer management? Drawing on the case studies of 18 non-profit organisations in the solidarity and cultural sectors, we show that backstage volunteering can be used to coordinate, train, create cohesion and carry out emotional work between volunteers. In this way, we contribute to sharing an insight into the volunteering practices and provide a more complex and refined perspective on the inter-organisational episodes (Kreutzer & Rueede, 2019) of non-profit organisations.