Volunteering Among Americans
Hits Five-Year High
Parents of school-aged children volunteer at
higher rate than overall population; nation’s education chief says schools are
an essential hub for civic activity
Washington, D.C. – As the holiday season spotlights acts of kindness, a new national study shows that Americans
significantly increased their commitment to volunteering and civic engagement
in 2011, with the national volunteer rate reaching a five-year high.
The findings come from Volunteering and Civic Life in America,
a report issued by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) in
partnership with the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC).
The report also finds that
parents of school-aged children contributed more than 2.5 billion hours of
their time to volunteer efforts in 2011, most of it to school-based projects,
underscoring the pivotal role that schools play as hubs for local volunteer
efforts.
Overall, 64.3 million
Americans (more than one in four adults) volunteered through a formal
organization last year, an increase of 1.5 million from 2010. The 7.9 billion
hours these individuals volunteered is valued at $171 billion. Among citizens who volunteered through an
organization, the top activities included fundraising or selling items to raise
money (26.2%); collecting, preparing, distributing, or serving food (23.6%);
engaging in general labor or transportation (20.3%); or tutoring or teaching
(18.2%).
In addition to this formal
volunteering, two out of three Americans (65.1% or 143.7 million individuals) volunteered
informally by doing favors for and helping out their neighbors, an increase of
9.5 percentage points from last year. Among other key findings, almost half of
Americans (44.1%) actively participated in civic, religious, and school groups.
“Volunteering and civic
engagement are the cornerstone of a strong nation,” said Wendy Spencer, CEO
of CNCS, a federal agency that supports
and strengthens volunteering through its AmeriCorps and Senior Corps programs,
which collectively engaged 3.7 million Americans in volunteering in 2011.
“Hurricane Sandy provides a prime example of the importance of people working
together, with volunteers throughout the Northeast and elsewhere in the country
stepping up to support recovery and relief efforts. When volunteers and residents
come together, it has a positive and powerful impact on a community.”
The report shows the
volunteer rate among parents is seven percentage points higher than the
national average (33.7% compared to 26.8%). Nearly half of parents in their
late forties with school-aged children volunteer, despite time-consuming
child-rearing responsibilities. Among working mothers, the volunteer rate is
nearly 40 percent.
U.S. Secretary of
Education Arne Duncan said the findings reinforce how community participation
is an essential factor in school success.
“CNCS’s report
crystallizes that our schools are essential hubs for volunteering and civic
activity,” said Secretary Duncan. “Every day, AmeriCorps and Senior Corps
members help more than three million disadvantaged youth by serving as
teachers, tutors, mentors, and counselors.” Duncan added that, “In America,
education must be the great equalizer—and robust engagement from communities,
families, mentors, tutors, and other volunteers is absolutely vital to achieving
that core American ideal. As a nation, we are so much stronger working together
collaboratively to advance student learning than working in isolation.”
The report also ranks all
50 states and the nation’s largest cities and metropolitan areas for their
volunteering and engagement rates. It has become a useful tool for elected
officials, civic leaders, and nonprofit executives who recognize the economic
impact of an engaged community.
“Volunteering and Civic
Life in America helps tell the story of the quiet civic reawakening we see
happening around the country—a story about people helping communities
devastated by Hurricane Sandy; serving on the PTA; connecting with friends
through social media; and advocating for their favorite causes,” said Ilir Zherka,
Executive Director of NCoC. “We believe
this data shines a light on this reawakening, and is essential to inspiring all
sectors of our society to work together to bolster it.”
The full report is
available at volunteeringinamerica.gov.
Key Findings: States and
Metropolitan Areas
- The top five states for volunteering are Utah (40.9%), Idaho
(38.8%), Iowa (38.4%), Minnesota (38.0%), and South Dakota (36.8%).
- The five states with the greatest percentage point increase in
volunteering from last year are Delaware (+5.3%), Oregon (+5.0%), Alaska
(+4.4%), Georgia (+3.7%), and Idaho (+3.7%).
The survey results indicate that some gains for Delaware and Oregon were
due to increases in collecting/distributing food when volunteering (+1.0%
Delaware; +2.3% Oregon).
- The top five metro areas for volunteering are Minneapolis-St
Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI (37%), Rochester, NY (34.8%), Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue,
WA (33.4%), Salt Lake City, UT (33.2%), and Jacksonville, FL (32.2%).
- The five metro areas with the greatest gains in volunteering are
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA (+7.2%), Louisville, KY (+7.1%),
Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, CA (+6.3%), Austin-Round Rock, TX (+5.6%), and
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL (+5.4%).
Key Findings: Parents
Please
note that this survey defines parents as people who have children under 18 at
home.
- The parent volunteering rate in 2011 was 33.7 percent nationwide,
which is a 0.1 percentage point increase from the prior year. This translates
to 22.7 million parents volunteering with a formal organization for
approximately 2.5 billion hours, which is valued at $54 billion.
- Parents between the ages of 26 and 50 with school-aged children
volunteered at a significantly higher rate than non-parents in this age range,
with volunteering rates for parents peaking at nearly 1 in 2 parents (46%) in
their late 40s.
- Working mothers are a key segment of volunteering parents, as
nearly four in 10 (38%) volunteered.
- The top five states for parent volunteering rates are Utah
(52.0%); South Dakota (46.2%); Iowa (45.9%); Minnesota (45.0%); and Wisconsin
(44.3%).
- Schools and other youth service organizations are the most popular
places for parents to volunteer. More than 40 percent (43.1%) of parents
volunteered at one of these places.
-
Parents also
expressed some or a great deal of confidence in the public schools their children
attend, with nine out of 10 parents (90.4%) in 2011 feeling this way.
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The Corporation for
National and Community Service (CNCS), an independent federal agency, plays a
vital role in supporting the American culture of citizenship, service, and
responsibility and is a leading grantmaker in support of service and
volunteering. Through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, the Social
Innovation Fund, and other programs and initiatives, CNCS provides opportunities
for Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve their communities and
address critical needs. To learn more, visit www.nationalservice.gov.
The National Conference on
Citizenship (NCoC) believes that everyone has the power to make a difference in
how their community and country thrive. NCoC is a dynamic, non-partisan
nonprofit working at the forefront of our nation’s civic life. Through events,
research, and reports, NCoC expands our nation’s contemporary understanding of
what it means to be a citizen. More information is available at www.NCoC.net.
Background on Report
The data for this
report were collected through two supplements to the Current Population Survey
(CPS): the Volunteer Supplement and the Civic Engagement Supplement. The CPS is
a monthly survey of about 60,000 households (approximately 100,000 adults),
conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau on behalf of the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. The selected supplements collect data on the volunteering, voting,
and civic activities of adults age 16 and older for volunteering and 18 and
older for the civic supplement. Volunteers are considered individuals who
performed unpaid volunteer activities through or for an organization at any
point during the 12-month period (from September 1st of the prior year through the
survey week in September of the survey year).
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