The purpose of the master's thesis was to investigate the state of organization of volunteering in sports organizations in Slovenia and to identify key factors that influence the involvement and performance of volunteers.
Over 60 percent of the population in Slovenia engages in sports recreationally and at a high level. The basic cells of sports organization are associations. Sport is organized on a voluntary basis as a sphere of civil society. The network of volunteer organizations is led and coordinated by the Slovenian Philanthropy. The Rules of Volunteer Work (2011) stipulate that a sports organization with volunteers is registered as a volunteer organization in the register of the Agency for Public Legal Records and Services and reports annually on the volunteer hours completed. Many sports organizations today have a major challenge in recruiting and retaining volunteers. Various factors affect the activities of volunteers, which must be taken into account for successful management.
As part of the research, a survey was conducted among more than 500 sports organizations under the auspices of OKS-ZŠZ, with the aim of assessing their level of knowledge of the legislation, the current use of volunteer work and key obstacles to its implementation.
The results show a high dependence of sports organizations on volunteer work, as in 80 % of cases volunteers perform more than half of all work. The needs of organizations often exceed their current staffing capabilities. As many as 70 % of respondents are not familiar with the Volunteering Act, and most are not aware of the possibility of registering in the AJPES register. In addition, less than 20 % of respondents systematically record volunteer hours, which further complicates access to public funds.
In the analysis, we identified several limiting factors for the implementation of volunteer activities: administratively complex and lengthy procedures, personnel issues, lack of knowledge of legislation, a decline in the recognition of volunteering as a value, a lack of training in the field of volunteering, and a lack of systemic support at the national level, etc. For each limiting factor, this paper seeks and suggests solutions at different levels.
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