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American Report Shows Trends in Volunteering After Recession
24th June 2010
A government study released in America last month shed light on a number of volunteering trends, particularly a spike in numbers of volunteers, recording the largest single-year increase since 2003.
The Corporation for National and Community Service published the results in its annual report, “Volunteering in America.” The key findings reported 63.4 million Americans (age 16 and older) volunteered through a formal organization last year, giving more than 8.1 billion hours of volunteer service worth an estimated $169 billion (€135 billion).
“Americans have responded to tough economic times by volunteering in big numbers,” Patrick Corvington, the Corporation’s CEO, said. Previous research would suggest that volunteering should drop during an economic downturn, because volunteer rates are higher among job-holders and homeowners. Instead, volunteering increased at the fastest rate in six years, and the volunteer rate went up among all race and ethnic groups.
Other significant findings according to the report were as follows:
• Mid-size cities have on-average higher volunteer rates than large cities, and residents of mid-size cities contribute more hours to volunteering.
• Women volunteer at higher rates then men. Working mothers have the highest volunteer rates.
• Rates increased among minority African Americans – especially women – this year more than among other groups.
Volunteering community profiles
• The research found that higher rates of home-ownership, lower rates of foreclosure, shorter average commute times, more robust nonprofit infrastructure, lower poverty rates, and higher education levels are all related to higher rates of volunteering.
• Factors such as the prevalence of multi-unit housing, higher poverty rates, and longer commuting times are associated with lower volunteer rates.
The research published in the Volunteering in America report for 2009 is the most comprehensive data on volunteering ever assembled, and it includes volunteer profile by states and cities, displaying volunteer rates, rankings, area-specific trends, and analysis.
The report is a tool used by elected officials and nonprofit leaders to develop strategies and to address local needs and problems. The complete report can be accessed at VolunteeringInAmerica.gov.
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