FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 19, 2004
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The White House - USA Freedom Corps
Contact: Kathleen Mynster
202-456-7381 |
New Study Details Volunteer Management Capacity at U.S. Charities and Congregations, and Potential Enhancements |
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Washington D.C. — The findings of one of the most comprehensive studies to be
conducted of volunteer management in the United States – including a look at
what charities and congregations say would be helpful with their volunteer
management efforts – were released today at a press conference at the Urban
Institute.
Conducted by the Urban Institute and supported by the USA Freedom Corps, the
Corporation for National and Community Service, and The UPS Foundation, the
study gives the first clear picture of volunteer management capacity among a
large sample of community organizations in the United States. It shows that:
most charities do indeed utilize volunteers; charities and congregations greatly
value the contributions those volunteers make to improving services and cutting
costs; volunteer management practices have taken root in these organizations;
and many organizations want to take on more volunteers.
Click here to view the study.
"This study demonstrates the important role that volunteers play in America,
and their great value to nonprofit groups," said USA Freedom Corps Acting
Director Ron Christie. "After measuring the volunteer management capacity and
needs of nonprofit organizations and places of worship, we are now in a position
to develop better policies and offer more effective resources to those
organizations to recruit, manage, and retain volunteers. This is an important
key to engage more people in volunteer service and to foster a culture of
service, citizenship, and responsibility in America."
Key Findings
The study was conducted by the Urban Institute in fall 2003 and is based on a
representative sample of 1,753 charities and 541 congregations. Among the key
findings:
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More than four in five charities that are large enough to be required to
report to the Internal Revenue Service use volunteers in one way or another.
More importantly, more than 90 percent of them say that volunteers increase
the quality of their service, reduce costs, and increase public support for
their organization to a "great" or "moderate" extent. On average, groups say
that an hour of a volunteer's time is worth approximately $20 in financial
resources – an amount that exceeds previous estimates by about 21 percent.
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More than nine in 10 charities and congregational outreach programs say they
can absorb additional volunteers, with the typical (median) charity or
congregation reporting that it can take on an additional 20 volunteers.
Extrapolating nationwide, demand for volunteers at registered charities and at
congregational outreach programs that manage their own volunteers currently
exceeds supply by approximately 5.9 million.
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The more time a volunteer coordinator dedicates to management of volunteers,
the better a charity is prepared to take on additional volunteers, to adopt
"best practices," and to have an effective program in terms of the benefits
reported. This is important because although most charities (62 percent) have
a paid staff member who coordinates volunteers, only one in eight has someone
whose full-time job is volunteer management. Indeed, of the options offered,
the number one resource charities said they would like is a full-time person
to assist with volunteer recruitment and management.
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Charities that partner with religious organizations are more likely to report
a number of positive characteristics, including the ability to recruit more
volunteers and to reap greater benefits from them. However, charities that
partner with religious organizations also say they require additional
management resources.
The release of the survey's findings comes at a time when attention is
increasingly being focused on the role and value of volunteer efforts to make
our nation stronger, safer, and more secure. Following the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001, President Bush created the USA Freedom Corps and issued a
call for every American to dedicate the equivalent of at least two years of
their life – or about 4,000 hours – to serving their communities and country
through volunteering and other forms of service and civic participation.
Americans have responded to that call. According to a Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) study conducted in September 2003, approximately 63 million
Americans volunteered through formal institutions and organizations during the
preceding 12 months. That was up about 4 million, or 6.8 percent, from the
number who responded positively a year earlier to that same question, which was
included in a supplement to the Census Bureau's annual Current Population Survey
at the request of the USA Freedom Corps and the Corporation for National and
Community Service.
"At the time President Bush issued his call to service, some questioned
whether the nonprofit sector could absorb the additional wave of volunteers, and
put them to use effectively," said Elizabeth Boris, Director of the Center on
Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute. "This study helps us answer
that question. Together with the BLS study, we now know that charities not only
have already absorbed an influx of volunteers, but that they say they are
prepared to absorb an additional 5.9 million volunteers – and even more if they
get the help they need to effectively manage those additional volunteers."
Noting that nonprofit organizations attached particular importance to the
value of having a full-time volunteer coordinator, David Eisner, CEO of the
Corporation for National and Community Service, said, "This is precisely the
kind of help that many of our AmeriCorps members are providing to the nonprofit
sector. By using our members to help charities recruit, train, organize, and
manage volunteers, national service can be an engine of volunteer mobilization."
At the press conference, Eisner announced a new partnership with the Points of
Light Foundation that will provide 75 full-time AmeriCorps*VISTA members to
assist at Volunteer Center locations across the country, as well as new online
resources to help current and potential AmeriCorps programs improve their
volunteer management practices.
The study's findings also have important implications for private funders,
said Evern Cooper, president of The UPS Foundation and vice president of UPS
corporate relations. "Six years ago, The UPS Foundation launched its Volunteer
Impact Initiative to help nonprofit organizations improve the recruitment,
training, management, and retention of volunteers," Cooper said. "This research
confirms there is significant opportunity for increased funding for nonprofit
capacity-building, which leads to improved program and service delivery.
However, no single funder can address this issue alone. Through our
collaborative efforts with government, nonprofits, and businesses, we can build
stronger communities."
The research was conducted by Dr. Mark Hager, Senior Research Associate at
the Urban Institute's Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy, and Dr. Jeffrey
Brudney, a professor at the University of Georgia. A PDF copy of the report,
called "Volunteer Management Capacity in America's Charities and Congregations:
A Briefing Report," is available at
www.nationalservice.org.
USA Freedom Corps is a White House initiative to foster a culture of
citizenship, service, and responsibility, and to help all Americans answer the
President's Call to Service. For more information, visit
www.usafreedomcorps.gov.
The Corporation for National and Community Service provides opportunities for
Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve their communities and country
through three programs: Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America.
For more information, visit
www.nationalservice.org.
The Urban Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy research and
educational organization that examines the social, economic, and governance
challenges facing the nation. For more information, visit
www.urban.org.
Founded in 1951 and based in Atlanta, Ga., The UPS Foundation's major
initiatives currently include programs that support increased nationwide
volunteerism, family and workplace literacy, and hunger relief. In 2003, The UPS
Foundation donated more than $38 million to charitable organizations worldwide.
For more information, visit
www.community.ups.com.
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