The contribution of volunteers in the sector was clearly acknowledged and applauded. But in a modernised Social Economy, it had the potential to be regarded as a ‘curse’ as much as a ‘blessing’.

The difficulties associated with voluntarism in the Social Economy ranged from:

* the burden of care for staff;
* the demands on resources to manage volunteers; and
* the challenges and increased tensions where volunteer fund-raisers had reduced responsibilities when an organisation engaged in corporate partnering and change management (observed in Arts organisations).

How to create a sense of value of volunteers while moving to a more commercial orientation was perceived as a significant challenge for many social businesses. Conversely, volunteers in programs (especially long established programs) continued to seek and or demand a sense of ownership of the program and this placed demands on management and leadership. What was clear to participants was that there was a need for more innovative approaches to the retention of volunteers