VOLUNTEERING IN THE UNITED STATES

September 2004 through September 2005 

Volunteer time dollar value

Idaho Ranked Second in Nation for Hours Volunteered

Idaho ranks second in the nation for the annual median number of volunteer hours donated in a year and 14th in the number of people volunteering.  This according to "Volunteering in America: State Trends and Rankings" a new study by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

The report is based upon the most statistically significant study of volunteering ever conducted in America - an annual survey of 60,000 households begun in 2002 by the U.S. Census Bureau.  It is the first study to give a detailed breakdown of America's states and regions.

Some highlights

• More than 65 million people volunteered in the U.S. during 2005, increasing from 5.6 million people since 2002.  The figure represents almost 29% of the U.S. population and the economic equivalent is almost $150 billion dollars in services each year.

• The national volunteer rate is 28.8%.  Idaho's rate is 35.5% (14th nationally).  Utah is first with a 48% volunteer rate, Nevada came in last at 18.8%.

• The national median number of volunteer hours worked is 51 hours per year.  Idaho's is 64 hours (second).  Utah again came in first with 96 hours, North Dakota came in last with 36 hours.

The report also shows volunteer rates by seniors, baby boomers, young adults and college students.  The full report, including highlights, state-by-state rankings, profiles of volunteering in each region and state, statistical tables, and technical notes, is available at http://www.nationalservice.gov.

Volunteer statistics

According to the Department of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, about 65.4 million people volunteered through or for an organization at least once between September 2004 and September 2005.

The proportion of the population who volunteered was 28.8 percent, the same as in each of the prior 2 years. 

Volunteers are defined as persons who did unpaid work (except for expenses) through or for an organization.  

Volunteering Among Demographic Groups

One-fourth of men and about one-third of women did volunteer work in the year ended in September 2005, about the same proportions as in the 2 prior years. Women volunteered at a higher rate than men across age groups, educational levels, and other major characteristics.  

By age, persons age 35 to 44 were the most likely to volunteer (34.5 percent), closely followed by 45- to 54-year olds (32.7 percent). Teenagers also had a relatively high volunteer rate, 30.4 percent, perhaps reflecting an emphasis on volunteer activities in schools. Volunteer rates were lowest among persons in their early twenties (19.5 percent) and among those age 65 and over (24.8 percent). Within the latter group, volunteer rates decreased as age increased.

Whites volunteered at a higher rate (30.4 percent) than did blacks (22.1 percent) and Asians (20.7 percent). 

Among Hispanics or Latinos, 15.4 percent volunteered.  Married persons volunteered at a higher rate (34.1 percent) than never-married persons (23.0 percent) and persons of other marital statuses (23.1 percent). Parents with children under age 18 were more likely to volunteer than persons without children of that age, 37.0 percent compared with 25.5 percent. 

Among employed persons, 31.3 percent had volunteered during the year ended in September 2005. By comparison, the volunteer rates of persons who were unemployed (26.4 percent) or not in the labor force (24.4 percent) were lower. Among the employed, part-time workers were more likely than full-time workers to have participated in volunteer activities—38.2 versus 29.8 percent.

Total Annual Hours Spent Volunteering

Volunteers spent a median of 50 hours on volunteer activities during the period from September 2004 to September 2005. This was down slightly from the level in the three previous surveys. Men spent 52 hours volunteering and women spent 50 hours. Median annual hours spent on volunteer activities ranged from a high of 96 hours for volunteers age 65 and over to a low of 36 hours for those 16 to 19 and 25 to 34 years old.

Number and Type of Organizations 

Most volunteers were involved with one or two organizations—69.6 and 18.9 percent, respectively.  Individuals with higher educational attainment were more likely to volunteer for multiple organizations than were individuals with less education. Parents also were more likely to volunteer for more than one organization than persons with no own children under 18.

The main organization—the organization for which the volunteer worked the most hours during the year—was most frequently either religious (34.8 percent of all volunteers) or educational/youth service related (26.2 percent). Another 13.4 percent of volunteers performed activities mainly for social or community service organizations.

Older volunteers were more likely to work mainly for religious organizations than were their younger counterparts. For example, 45.0 percent of volunteers age 65 and over performed volunteer activities mainly through or for a religious organization, compared with 27.5 percent of volunteers age 16 to 24 years.

Younger individuals were more likely to volunteer through or for educational or youth service organizations.

Among volunteers with children under 18 years old, 45.2 percent of mothers and 36.1 percent of fathers volunteered mainly for an educational/youth service-related organization, such as a school or sports team.  Parents were more than twice as likely to volunteer for such organizations as persons with no children of that age—51.5 and 21.6 percent, respectively. Conversely, volunteers with no children under 18 were considerably more likely to volunteer for some other types of organizations, such as hospitals or other health organizations and social or community service organizations.

Volunteer Activities for Main Organization

Volunteers were able to report more than one activity that they had performed for their main organization.  Fundraising was the most commonly reported activity (29.7 percent), followed by collecting, preparing, distributing, or serving food (26.3 percent), engaging in general labor or supplying transportation to people (22.5 percent), and tutoring or teaching (21.3 percent).

Educational attainment influenced the types of activities volunteers performed. People with higher levels of educational attainment were more likely to provide professional or management assistance, tutor or teach, mentor youth, coach, referee, or supervise sports teams, or provide counseling, medical care, fire/EMS, or protective services. They were less likely to collect, prepare, distribute, or serve food, or be an usher, greeter, or minister.

Parents were considerably more likely than those without children to engage in several types of volunteer activities—fundraising, tutoring or teaching, mentoring youth, and coaching, refereeing, or supervising sports teams. This may be because parents often volunteer for organizations in which their children are involved.

How Volunteers Became Involved with Main Organization 

Two in five volunteers became involved with the main organization for which they did volunteer work on their own initiative; that is, they approached the organization. A slightly larger proportion, almost 43 percent, was asked to volunteer, most often by someone in the organization.

Reasons for Not Volunteering 

Among those who had volunteered at some point in the past, the most common reason given for not volunteering in the year ended September 2005 was lack of time (45.6 percent), followed by health or medical problems (15.2 percent), and family responsibilities or childcare problems (9.3 percent). Lack of time was the most common reason for persons in all age groups except those age 65 and over, who reported health or medical problems as the primary reason.

Technical Note

The data in this release were collected through a supplement to the September 2005 Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS—a monthly survey of about 60,000 households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics—focuses on obtaining information on employment and unemployment among the nation’s civilian non-institutional population age 16 and over. The purpose of this supplement to the CPS was to obtain information on the incidence of volunteering and the characteristics of volunteers in the United States.