nonprofit insights: who is volunteering in america?
DESCRIPTION
Who is volunteering in America? How much do they volunteer, and with what organizations? How can nonprofits best engage Americans in their causes? The new report from the Corporation for National and Community Service, "Volunteering and Civic Life in America," has some answers. Drawn from the most recent U.S. Census Bureau surveys of tens of thousands of households, the report and its accompanying website show how cities, states, age groups and other demographics rank and interact when it comes to volunteering and community involvement. What does this mean for nonprofits? How can you use this data to increase support for your organization's efforts? Why does it matter that parents volunteer at a higher rate than non-parents, or that two out of every three Americans are volunteering informally in their communities? For April 2013 Nonprofit Insights webinar, VolunteerMatch President Greg Baldwin had a special conversation with Dr. Christopher Spera, Director of Research & Evaluation at the Corporation for National and Community Service. They discussed the history of this research report, the trends it reveals, and the many ways nonprofits can make best use of the information contained within.TRANSCRIPT
Who is Volunteering in
America? A Data Dive
with the Corporation for
National and Community
Service
April 24, 2013
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Who are we?
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Dr. Christopher SperaDir. Research & [email protected]
Anthony [email protected]
Greg [email protected]
Volunteering & Civic Life
in America
April 23, 2013
Christopher Spera, Ph.D., Director of Research and Evaluation
Anthony Nerino, Statistician
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Research & Evaluation Agenda• Executing a rigorous set of program evaluations and research initiatives
to build the foundation of evidence for the agency’s mission, programs, and strategic goals.
• Fostering a culture of evaluation in our agency and our activities, ensuring our grantees and sub-grantees have access to the latest evaluation resources and assistance, and to the extent possible, demonstrating evidence of effectiveness at the highest standards.
• Supporting the implementation of performance measures as called for by the Serve America Act (SAA) and the CNCS strategic plan, both within and across programs.
• Putting in place a “research-to-practice model” so that research results are used to inform program and policy decisions, thereby infusing best practices into everyday program operations.
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VCLA Background
• Data collected through two supplements to the
Current Population Survey: the Volunteer
Supplement and the Civic Supplement. – CPS: a monthly survey of about 60,000 households
(approximately 100,000 adults) by the U.S. Census Bureau for
the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
– Data are analyzed at the national, regional, state, MSA, and
special group levels and presented on volunteeringinamerica.gov.
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Volunteering: 10 Year Trend
4/24/2013
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Over the past decade the national volunteer rate has remained reasonably stable, despite significant social and economic change.
27.4%28.8% 28.8% 28.8%
26.7% 26.2% 26.4% 26.8% 26.3% 26.8%
20%
22%
24%
26%
28%
30%
32%
34%
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Volunteer Rate, 2002-2011
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Volunteering : States
4/24/2013
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40.9%
38.8% 38.4%38.0%
36.8%
34.0%
35.0%
36.0%
37.0%
38.0%
39.0%
40.0%
41.0%
42.0%
Utah Idaho Iowa Minnesota South Dakota
Volunteer Rate: Top 5 States, 2011
Volunteer Rate
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Volunteering: Urban/Suburban/Rural
4/24/2013
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23.7%
27.5% 27.8%
21.0%
22.0%
23.0%
24.0%
25.0%
26.0%
27.0%
28.0%
29.0%
Urban Residents Suburban Residents Rural Residents
Urban/Suburban/Rural Volunteer Rates: 2011
Volunteer Rate
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Organizations
4/24/2013
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Civic, political, professional or international
6%
Educational or youth service
27%
Hospital or other health8%
Religious34%
Social or community service
14%
Sport, hobby, cultural or arts4%
Other7%Where People Volunteer: 2009-2011
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Types of Volunteer Activity
4/24/2013
The youngest volunteers primarily engaged in labor and transportation activities while
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Age 16-19 24.0%
Age 20-2421.3%
Age 25-34 24.9%Age 35-44 30.1%Age 45-54
29.5%Age55-64
26.2%Age 65-74 29.0%Age 75+ 28.1%
GeneralLabor
Mentoring
Fund Raising
Fund Raising
Fund Raising
Collect Distribute
Serve Food
Collect Distribute
Serve Food
Collect Distribute
Serve Food Ages 16-19
Ages 20-24
Ages 25-34
Ages 35-44
Ages 45-54
Ages 55-64
Ages 65-74
Ages 75 and over
Age and Type of Volunteering
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Volunteering: Selected Groups
4/24/2013
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Over a 3-year period (2009-2011), parents, in particular mothers, had the highest rates of volunteering.
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Parents (live with children
<18)
Nonparents (don't live with children <18)
All fathers All mothers Men Women
Volunteering : Parenting and Gender
2009
2010
2011
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Volunteering: “Parents Matter”
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0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62
Volunteers by Age and Parental Status
Non-parent volunteers
Parent volunteers
Rates of volunteering by parents are higher than those of non-parents, and as parents age this rate difference grows substantially.
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Parents: Type of Organization
4/24/2013
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0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Civic / Political / Prof.
Educ / Youth Service
Hospital / Health
Religious Social / Comm Service
Sport / Hobby / Cultural / Arts
Other Type
Parental Status by Type of Organization
Parents (live with children <18)
Nonparents (don't live with children <18)
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Volunteering: Age Groupings
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Within each generational group there is variation in the rate of volunteeringraising some concerns about the utility of these groups for analysis.
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Volunteering: Age Groups 2009-2011
4/24/2013
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0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
16-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Volunteer by Age Groups
2009
2010
2011
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Youth and Young Adult: Type of Organization
4/24/2013
The primary choices of where to volunteer for young adults are education and religious organizations.
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Older Adults: Types of Organizations
4/24/2013
Older Adults are far more likely to volunteer within a religious organization
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Volunteering: Selected Groups
4/24/2013
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0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
High School Graduate
Some College
College Graduates
Employed Adults
Unemployed Adults
Not in Labor Force
Volunteering: Education and Employment
2009
2010
2011
College graduates and Individuals who are employed had higher rates of volunteering
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Employment: Types of Organizations
4/24/2013
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0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Civic / Political /
Prof.
Educ / Youth Service
Hospital / Health
Religious Social / Comm Service
Sport / Hobby /
Cultural / Arts
Other Type
Type of Organization by Employment Status
Employed Adults
Unemployed Adults
Not in Labor Force
Unemployed individuals are more likely to volunteer in an education or youth organization. Employed individuals and those not in the labor force are more likely to volunteer in a religious organization.
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Questions?
4/24/2013
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Questions?
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Dr. Christopher SperaDir. Research & [email protected]
Anthony [email protected]
Greg [email protected]
Next month: Volunteer
engagement that tackles
big problems
http://learn.volunteermatch.org
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