IN A STUDY ON THE COMPOSITION AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF BOARDS OF DIRECTORS OF VOLUNTARY SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES, DATA WERE OBTAINED FROM 783 BOARD MEMBERS OF 121 COMMUNITY CHEST AFFILIATED AGENCIES IN 51 UPPER NEW YORK STATE COMMUNITIES. RESPONDENTS WERE 65 PERCENT MALE AND 35 PERCENT FEMALE. ABOUT ONE PERCENT WERE NEGRO. SIXTY-THREE PERCENT WERE PROTESTANT, 22 PERCENT WERE CATHOLIC, AND 14 PERCENT WERE JEWISH. EARNINGS OF OVER $12,000 A YEAR WERE REPORTED BY 55 PERCENT, AND 85 PERCENT HAD HAD AT LEAST FOUR YEARS OF COLLEGE. PROFESSIONALLY TRAINED PEOPLE WERE 42 PERCENT, AND HOUSEWIVES 23 PERCENT, OF THOSE SERVING. MOST (69 PERCENT) WERE BETWEEN THE AGES OF 40 AND 59. MOST RATED BOARD MEMBERS ABOVE AVERAGE IN INTELLIGENCE, AND NEGATIVE PEER CHARACTERISTICS WERE NOTED BY ONLY 18 PERCENT. ONLY 48 PERCENT HAD HAD FORMAL TRAINING. THE MAJOR SPHERE OF DUTY WAS POLICY MAKING, FOLLOWED BY MEETINGS, FUND RAISING, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS. MAJOR MOTIVES NOTED WERE A SENSE OF DUTY, NEED FOR AN OUTLET, PRESTIGE SEEKING, AND BUSINESS ADVANTAGES. PATTERNS OF PARTICIPATION BY SEX, RACE, AND RELIGION WERE ALSO FOUND. THIS DOCTORAL THESIS IS AVAILABLE FROM UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS, ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN. ORDER NO. 64-3695. MICROFILM $2.75. XEROXGRAPHY $6.00. 122 PAGES. (AUTHOR/LY)