Section Article

Class Privilege and Volunteerism: Motivations Behind NGO Work
Author(s): Joginder Singh

Abstract
The proliferation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) across the Global South has brought increased attention to the role of volunteerism in addressing social inequality. However the dynamics of class privilege within this landscape remain under-examined. This paper investigates the motivations behind NGO work with a particular focus on how individuals from middle- and upper-class backgrounds conceptualize and perform volunteerism. Drawing upon ethnographic research in Delhi Bengaluru and Lucknow as well as interviews with volunteers NGO staff and beneficiaries the study reveals that while many volunteers are driven by empathy and idealism their engagements are often shaped by privilege symbolic capital and social validation. The findings suggest that class privilege enables selective participation dictates the aesthetics of “help” and subtly reproduces hierarchies under the guise of service. The paper argues for a more reflexive model of volunteerism—one that recognizes power dynamics centers community voices and moves beyond savior narratives to foster genuinely transformative social action.