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.
B.COM Unit – 4 ( CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ( CSR ).pptx
Nonprofit Insights: Who is Volunteering in America?
1. Who is Volunteering in
America? A Data Dive
with the Corporation for
National and Community
Service
April 24, 2013
#vmlearn
2. Who are we?
2
#vmlearn
Dr. Christopher Spera
Dir. Research & Evaluation
CNCS
@nationalservice
nationalservice.gov
Anthony Nerino
Statistician
CNCS
@nationalservice
nationalservice.gov
Greg Baldwin
President
VolunteerMatch
@volunteermatch
volunteermatch.org
3. Volunteering & Civic Life
in America
April 23, 2013
Christopher Spera, Ph.D., Director of Research and Evaluation
Anthony Nerino, Statistician
3#vmlearn
4. 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.
4
5. 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.
5#vmlearn
6. Volunteering: 10 Year Trend
4/24/2013
6
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
#vmlearn
9. Organizations
4/24/2013
9
Civic, political, professional
or international
6%
Educational or
youth service
27%
Hospital or other health
8%
Religious
34%
Social or community
service
14%
Sport, hobby, cultural or
arts
4%
Other
7%Where People Volunteer: 2009-2011
#vmlearn
10. Types of Volunteer Activity
4/24/2013
The youngest volunteers primarily engaged in labor and
transportation activities while
10
Age 16-19 24.0%
Age 20-24
21.3%
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%
General
Labor
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
#vmlearn
11. Volunteering: Selected Groups
4/24/2013
11
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
#vmlearn
12. Volunteering: “Parents Matter”
12
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.
#vmlearn
13. Parents: Type of Organization
4/24/2013
13
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)
#vmlearn
14. Volunteering: Age Groupings
14
Within each generational group there is variation in the rate of volunteering
raising some concerns about the utility of these groups for analysis.
#vmlearn
15. Volunteering: Age Groups 2009-2011
4/24/2013
15
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
#vmlearn
16. 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.
16
#vmlearn
17. Older Adults: Types of Organizations
4/24/2013
Older Adults are far more likely to volunteer within
a religious organization
17#vmlearn
19. Employment: Types of Organizations
4/24/2013
19
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.
#vmlearn
21. Questions?
21
#vmlearn
Dr. Christopher Spera
Dir. Research & Evaluation
CNCS
@nationalservice
nationalservice.gov
Anthony Nerino
Statistician
CNCS
@nationalservice
nationalservice.gov
Greg Baldwin
President
VolunteerMatch
@volunteermatch
volunteermatch.org
We have an hour today to get you get you acquainted to the SIF program’s requirements and expectations regarding evaluation of your subgrantees’ program models.Not at lot of timeWant to give you a fundamental understanding of what is coming for you, your subgrantees, and the evaluation experts you might hire over some length of time. Particular emphasis on what you should consider over the next two months before you return for the grantee convening in October.Expect this to raise Questions. Raise them now or at the end. Or contact me later.So, let’s go over the agenda…..
Over the past decade the national volunteer rate has remained stable, despite both social and economic change. Basic Descriptives Top volunteer activities26.4% completed fundraising activities or sold items to raise money for an organization.23.7% collected, prepared, distributed, or served food 20.4% contributed general labor or transportation services18.3% tutored17.2% mentored Top states by volunteering rateUtah (40.9%), Idaho (38.8%) Iowa (38.4%), Minnesota (38.0%), South Dakota (36.8%)
For the past five years working mothers have had the highest rates of volunteering. Parents have substantially higher rates that non-parents
Civic Data Findings:Parents are more likely to be involved with groups relative to non-parents. Parents volunteer at schools and in sports and recreation groupsat a substantially higher level than other groups.
Generational breakdowns suggest that there is wide variation within each group in particular for Millenials, Generation X and Older Adults