Data show U.S. volunteer rates dipping

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30156
• Published date: 01 February 2016
• Date: 01 February 2016

6

FEBRUARY 2016

NONPROFIT BUSINESS ADVISOR

© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

DOI: 10.1002/nba

Volunteers

Data show U.S. volunteer rates dipping

New data from the Corporation for National and

Community Service and the National Conference

on Citizenship shows that volunteer rates among

American adults continue to slip, even as the ag-

gregate number of American volunteers has grown.

The data, included in Volunteering and Civic Life

in America: 2015, shows that some 62.8 million

adults volunteered through nonprot organizations

in 2014, up slightly from 62.6 million in 2013 but

less than the 64.5 million reported in 2012. But

due to overall population growth, the percentage

of Americans volunteering in 2014 dipped to 25.3

percent, down from 25.4 percent in 2013 and 26.5

percent in 2012. In fact, the 2014 rate is the lowest

since the groups began tracking it in 2002.

Altogether, Americans volunteered nearly 7.96

billion hours for the year, worth roughly $184 bil-

lion, based on the Independent Sector’s estimate

of the average value of a volunteer hour. Cumula-

tive totals for 2014 are an improvement from 2013

totals of 7.7 billion hours and $173 billion, the

groups said.

The data, which is based on supplements to the

Current Population Survey conducted by the U.S.

Census Bureau, track volunteerism along a variety

of demographic lines, including age, gender and

parental status, and can also be parsed by state and

even city, in some cases. Some key ndings include:

• Generation X leads volunteering among gen-

erations, clocking in at 29.8 percent. They are

followed by baby boomers at 27.2 percent, older

adults (those older than boomers) at 24 percent

and, nally, millennials at 21.7 percent.

• Education matters. Among millennials aged

18–24, those attending college volunteered at about

twice the rate (26.6 percent) as their non-college-

attending peers (13.2 percent).

• Older Americans, including baby boomers and

members of the Silent Generation, volunteer more

hours, on average, than all other age groups.

• Parents volunteer the most. The volunteer rate

of parents with children under age 18 is higher than

the national average at 31.6 percent, and working

mothers maintain the highest rate of volunteering

among all populations at 36 percent.

In addition, more than 138 million Americans

(62.5 percent) also engaged in informal volunteer-

ing in their communities, the report said, helping

neighbors with such tasks as watching each other’s

children, helping with shopping, or house sitting.

Per the report, the most common volunteer ac-

tivities for 2014 included:

• Fundraising for a cause/charity—24.7 percent.

• Collecting and/or distributing food—24.2

percent.

• Providing general labor—18.9 percent.

• Tutoring/teaching—18 percent.

• Mentoring youth—17.2 percent.

• Providing professional services—14.7 percent.

• Collecting and/or distributing clothing—13.7

percent.

2014 American volunteerism

by the numbers

Older Adults (Silent Generation and Older):

• 10.7 million volunteers.

• 2.0 billion hours of service.

• $45.7 billion of service contributed.

• 90 median hours.

Baby Boomers:

• 19.9 million volunteers.

• 2.8 billion hours of service.

• $63.9 billion of service contributed.

• 52 median hours.

Generation X:

• 20.9 million volunteers.

• 2.3 billion hours of service.

• $53.9 billion of service contributed.

• 45 median hours.

Millennials:

• 15.7 million volunteers.

• 1.6 billion hours of service.

• $36.5 billion of service contributed.

• 36 median hours.

Source: The Corporation for National

and Community Service

(See VOLUNTEERS on page 8)