‘Volunteer’, therefore, may refer to a wide range of people. Voluntary Arts identifies four broad categories of volunteer, which may not be exhaustive:

• committee volunteers: those who serve on boards of management
• organising volunteers: those who co-ordinate the work of volunteers
• service volunteers: those who contribute to the running of the organisation
• process volunteers: those who direct, shape and lead the artistic work of the organisation, e.g. directors, conductors, producers, choreographers, designers, tutors, curators, conservators, promoters, tour guides, etc.

Whatever they do, however, anyone who donates their time freely to an organisation in order to benefit others is a volunteer.