More Americans Volunteered in 2004, New Survey Shows

The majority of American adults performed some form of volunteer service in 2004, and most volunteers said their motivation was to act on their moral values, according to a national Thrivent Financial for Lutherans survey. Fifty-seven percent of American adults said they had volunteered with a nonprofit organization or charitable cause in 2004, up nine percentage points from a year earlier.

Seventy-five percent of those who volunteer said that acting on their moral values was either an absolutely important or very important factor in why they volunteer. This compares with 47 percent who volunteer to gain new experiences, 42 percent who volunteer because they were helped by a volunteer in the past, and 39 percent who volunteer because of a desire to meet other people.

Those who attend religious services weekly were most likely to say acting on one's moral values was an absolutely important or very important motivation for their volunteer service (80 percent), but even the majority of those who never attend religious services said they volunteer to act on their moral values (66 percent).

"Most Americans see volunteerism as a means to connect their faith and values with their actions," said Brad Hewitt, Thrivent Financial senior vice president of volunteer outreach. "Volunteerism at its best enables people to selflessly give of themselves to others and to develop rewarding relationships and skills. Based on the number of Americans volunteering, it appears this is taking place."

Different generations of Americans place relatively greater emphasis on various motives for volunteering. Young adults (age 18-34) were more likely than other age groups to say that gaining new experiences was a major motivation for volunteering (59 percent), while seniors (age 65 and above) were most likely to place greater emphasis on their desire to meet other people (48 percent).

When reporting where they volunteered during the past 12 months, 38 percent of respondents said they did volunteer work for a nonprofit organization, 37 percent reported volunteering for a church, 29 percent said they volunteered for a school, and 27 percent said they volunteered for some other charitable cause.

"There's a richness in the diversity of Americans' volunteer commitments," said Hewitt. "Wherever there's a need, you will find volunteers at work, addressing the concern."

The survey revealed significant regional differences in Americans' volunteer behaviors. Residents of the South were most likely to have volunteered in the past 12 months. Sixty-two percent of Southerners volunteered in 2004, compared to 60 percent of Midwesterners, 54 percent of Westerners, and 49 percent of those from the Northeast. Westerners gave, on average, the greatest number of volunteer hours per month (20), while Midwesterners gave the fewest (14). Southerners were most apt to say that volunteer service was an expression of their moral values (78 percent).

By a ratio of more than two to one (50 percent versus 20 percent), Americans said that it is more important to volunteer one's time than to give money to a charitable cause. Twenty-six percent of respondents said that volunteering and financially giving were equally valuable.

"Many Americans genuinely feel there is nothing more valuable they can give to a charitable organization than the gift of themselves," said Hewitt. "The perceived value of writing a check just can't compete with the experience of giving one's time and talents."

Americans most likely to volunteer included individuals who attend religious services once a week or more (72 percent), college graduates (68 percent), women (60 percent versus 54 percent of men), and those having income of at least $75,000 (62 percent).

Among other findings from the survey:

• 22 percent of Americans reported they are more involved in volunteer work as a result of 9/11 and the war on terrorism.
     
• Volunteers reported engaging in volunteer work an average of 16.5 hours in a typical month, or 198 hours in the past year. The median number of hours volunteered monthly was 10, or 120 hours per year.
    
• Those who volunteered the greatest number of hours per month (on average) were: those with incomes under $35,000 per year (23 hours per month), men (20 hours), those attending religious services once per week or more (19 hours), and 18-34 year olds (19 hours).
     
• 27 percent of volunteers also said they are likely to devote more hours volunteering in 2005 than in 2004, while 14 percent said they would volunteer fewer hours and 58 percent said their volunteer hours would stay about the same.
     
• When asked to choose who is more affected by volunteer work, 40 percent of volunteers say the person doing the volunteer work, 24 percent believe the person benefiting from the volunteer work is changed more, and 32 percent say both the volunteer and the recipient are affected equally.

Telephone Interviews were conducted for Thrivent Financial by Quinley Research, Claremont, Calif., between Nov. 29 and Dec. 5, 2004, among a nationwide sample of 1,002 U.S. adults aged 18 and older. The margin of error for questions posed to all 1,002 respondents is +/- 3.1 percent.

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