Ranks of Volunteers Swell to a Record but Donations Dip, Survey Finds

Americans are volunteering in record numbers, a new survey

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Who Donated Time and Money, 1993-98

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Views on Charitable Organizations

reports, although their charitable contributions have dipped slightly.

An estimated 109 million people — or about 56 per cent of all American adults — volunteered some of their time last year, according to the report. That’s a big jump from 1995, when 93 million Americans — 49 per cent of the adult population — volunteered.

The average contribution per household, however, fell a bit after adjusting for inflation, from $1,088 in 1995 to $1,075 last year. The decline was particularly noticeable among donors in the top income categories.

The average amount of time each person spent volunteering dropped below 4 hours for the first time, to 3.5 hours a week. But the aggregate time spent volunteering in formal programs — excluding informal activities like free babysitting or baking items for a charity fund-raising event — was at an all-time high, at 15.8 billion hours.

“The proportion of Americans doing volunteer service is at its highest level ever — and is rising,” says Susan Saxon-Harrold, vice-president for research at Independent Sector, which is issuing results from its survey this week. “That’s very good news.”

Independent Sector, a national coalition of major charities and grant makers, has commissioned surveys of American patterns of giving and volunteering six times since 1987. Its latest report is based on responses from more than 2,500 people interviewed in May, June, and July by the Gallup Organization.

The report analyzes giving and volunteering patterns by age, sex, race, marital status, income, education level, and employment status, and samples public attitudes about giving. It does not capture giving patterns of the wealthiest Americans, however.

Over all, more than 70 per cent of all households reported donating money last year, up marginally from the fewer than 69 per cent who reported giving in 1995 — although still less than the 1989 figure of 75 per cent.

As a percentage of household income, donations also ticked downwards — from an average of 2.2 per cent in 1995 to 2.1 per cent in 1998.

That decline, which occurred as the United States continues to enjoy a long period of low inflation and a robust economy, reflects an increase in the number of people with modest incomes making contributions, the report says. The percentage of Americans with income less than $20,000 who gave to charity rose last year, for example.

“We’ve got people feeling more financially secure, which translates into a broader participation rate of households making contributions,” Ms. Saxon-Harrold says.

The share of people who worry about having enough money in the future declined from 74 per cent three years ago to 67 per cent this year, for example, while 25 per cent of Americans now say they have more money left over at the end of the year than they did the previous year, compared with 19 per cent who said that three years ago.

Among Americans with the lowest annual incomes — those under $10,000 — 48.2 per cent were donors last year, compared with 47.3 per cent in 1995. Their donations averaged 5.2 per cent of their income, compared with 4.3 per cent in 1995. (Many people with low incomes may be retired, the report points out, and able to draw upon their accumulated wealth for their donations.)

People with incomes between $10,000 and $20,000 also were more generous last year: 56.1 per cent of them were donors, who gave an average of 3.3 per cent of their income. In 1995, by contrast, only 51.1 per cent of such Americans were donors, and their gifts totaled 2.8 per cent of their income.

Larger percentages of relatively well-off Americans also donated last year. More than 83 per cent of those with incomes between $75,000 and $100,000 gave in 1998 compared with 79.7 per cent in 1995. The percentage of donors rose from 88.6 to 89.1 among those with incomes of at least $100,000.

The percentage of donors shrank slightly among some middle-income people: those with incomes between $20,000 and $30,000, for example, and between $50,000 and $75,000.

And the proportion of wealthier donors in several income categories stayed constant or even declined — as did the amount of their contributions.

Average gifts fell from $3,379 to $2,550 in households with income of $100,000 or more, and from $1,582 to $1,394 in those that earned between $75,000 and $100,000.

The average contribution among all households — including those that do not give — was $754, an increase of 1 per cent after inflation from the 1995 figure.

Both giving and volunteering are correlated with income, the report notes: As people’s income rises, they are more likely to donate both time and money. But the most dramatic growth in volunteers since 1995 has been among those who earned less than $50,000 — who often include people at both ends of the age spectrum.

Although the percentage of volunteers increased for all age groups, it was most dramatic among people age 35 to 44, where it swelled by 12 percentage points to 67 per cent. But it also grew significantly among the youngest and oldest age groups: The share of volunteers among people 75 and over increased 9 percentage points to 43 per cent, while among people 18 to 24 the percentage grew by 8 percentage points to 46 per cent.

Among the youngest age group, however, the growing popularity of volunteering did not accompany a rise in gifts. In a trend that charity officials may find disturbing, the percentage of young people giving to charity continued to drop: from 58 in 1993 to 57 in 1995 to 49 last year.

Both giving and volunteering increased in popularity among people over 65, however. The number of Americans in that age group — some 34 million today — is expected to more than double by 2030, Ms. Saxon-Harrold notes, to an estimated 70 million. Charities that figure out how to engage the interest and talents of older Americans will have a great advantage, she says.

“Today’s older adults represent a tremendous, largely untapped source of energy, commitment, and skills that lie waiting to address some of our social problems,” Ms. Saxon-Harrold declares.

But non-profit organizations will have to do a better job of tailoring volunteer opportunities to the needs, interests, and schedules of their volunteers, she adds. Many people say they have limited time to give, and do not want to spend it stuffing envelopes or pushing a hospital cart. What’s more, many respondents said they volunteer only seasonally or sporadically because they cannot commit to giving time on a regular basis.

While 39 per cent of volunteers said they preferred to volunteer on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis, 41 per cent said they volunteer irregularly, or on a one-time basis.

The growth in volunteers was especially strong among members of minority groups. Some 47 per cent of black Americans volunteered last year, for example — up from 35 per cent in 1995. The trend was nearly as strong among Hispanic Americans, who saw volunteering rise from 40 to 46 per cent.

Women continue to give and to volunteer in greater numbers than men do, although men’s average contributions are somewhat larger. Half of all men say they volunteered last year compared with 45 per cent in 1995. Among women, 62 per cent volunteered in 1998 — up 10 percentage points from 1995. On average, men gave 3.6 hours a week, compared with 3.4 hours for women.

The survey gives some evidence that the public has an increasingly favorable view of charities. Nearly 62 per cent of Americans say charities are more effective now than they were five years ago; only 58 per cent agreed with that statement in 1996. And 76 per cent say charities play a major role in making better communities — up from 71 per cent three years ago.

Almost 62 per cent of Americans say charities are honest and ethical in using donations. While that marks a gain from the 60 per cent in 1996, it still lags below the 67 per cent who agreed with that view in 1994.

Somewhat paradoxically, perhaps, fewer people see the need for charitable organizations increasing. About 74 per cent of respondents see a greater need for charities now than five years ago — down from 78 per cent in 1996 and 82 per cent in 1994.

Independent Sector normally publishes its giving and volunteering report every two years. But it waited an additional year this time so as to fall out of step with the national election cycle — and thereby perhaps get more cooperation from people not burned out by answering questions from political pollsters.

The organization will now resume its biennial schedule of reports, Ms. Saxon-Harrold says.

Copies of Giving and Volunteering in the United States Executive Summary are available from Independent Sector, 1200 18th Street, N.W., Suite 200, Washington 20036; by phone at (888) 860-8118; by fax at (301) 843-0159; or via the organization’s Web site, http://www.independentsector.org. The price is $20 ($14 for members) plus $4.50 for postage and handling; bulk-order prices are also available. The full report and data sets will be available next year.