Majority of Older Adults Are Volunteers and Donors, New Study Finds

By Nicole Wallace

Eighty-seven percent of adults age 45 and older spend time volunteering, according to a new survey published by

AARP, a membership and advocacy group for older people. Fifty-one percent said that they volunteer through a nonprofit organization, civic group, or religious institution, while an additional 36 percent reported helping others on their own.

When asked about giving — both donations to charities and financial gifts to people in need, either family members or others — 87 percent of people age 45 and older reported making contributions.

AARP said it decided to use a broad definition of volunteering and giving after consulting with advisers at minority organizations who had worried that the charitable activities of blacks, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, and members of other ethnic and racial groups had been underreported in surveys that did not include informal charitable activities.

The study found, however, that members of minority groups were not significantly more likely than whites to volunteer on their own or give financial contributions directly to people in need.

For example, 52 percent of white respondents said they volunteered through nonprofit, civic, and religious organizations, and another 36 percent helped others on their own, compared with 49 percent of black respondents who volunteered through organizations and 41 percent who helped others informally. Among Hispanic respondents, 43 percent said they volunteered through organizations and 41 percent said they helped others on their own, while 43 percent of Asian-American respondents said they volunteered through organizations and 31 percent said they helped others on their own.

Race and Ethnicity

The survey did find differences in the types of organizations supported by members of different racial and ethnic groups. Almost three-quarters of blacks reported making a financial gift to a religious institution, compared with 64 percent of whites, 62 percent of Hispanics, and 60 percent of Asian-Americans.

At the same time, 69 percent of Asian-Americans and 64 percent of whites said that they made gifts to nonreligious charities, such as social-service groups, schools, and hospitals, compared with 50 percent of blacks and 45 percent of Hispanics.

The survey also found that 92 percent of those who said they volunteered also reported making financial contributions.

The report, “Time and Money: An In-Depth Look at 45+ Volunteers and Donors,” is based on a telephone survey of 2,069 people conducted in July 2003.

The report is available online at http://www.aarp.org. Free print copies of the report will be available in December. To order, contact the organization at AARP, Attn: Fulfillment, 601 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20049, and request D17973 — Multicultural Study — 2003.