Motivations to Volunteer Among College Students in India

India’s cultural context suggests that student volunteering may be influenced by a constellation of factors. However, scholars
have not examined student volunteering in India. Addressing this, we examine motivations to volunteer in a sample of 596 Indian
college students. A majority of students volunteered. Three types of volunteering emerged: formal volunteering in non-profit
agencies, informal volunteering outside these agencies, and hybrid volunteering consisting of volunteering informally in non-profit
agencies. Structural and individual-level factors influenced volunteering. Altruism was associated with volunteering in all
three sectors, but did not influence volunteering frequency. Parents, friends, and the internet were salient sources of information
that encouraged volunteering. Two instrumental pathways of volunteering emerged: poor- and upper-class students volunteered
to secure educational opportunities, while middle-class students volunteered to secure employment. Institutional opportunities
to volunteer in religious settings and as mentors facilitated volunteering, while mandated volunteering in educational institutions,
decreased engagement in it later.