Poor management curbs enthusiasm.

If the nation wants more volunteers to give more time, it has to make better use of the time they give. That is the major finding of a nationwide survey by United Parcel Service. Nearly 40% of the respondents said they would like to do more volunteer work and that they are more likely to volunteer when they believe an organization is well-managed and will make good use of their time. More than half felt volunteering is more important today than five years ago.

The analysis suggests that nonprofit organizations could register a rise in the hours existing volunteers work, and increase the number of new volunteers, by making better use of their time and talents. Forty percent of those who have volunteered said they had stopped doing so at some time because the...