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The Corporation's commitment to supporting the American culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility includes measuring the success and impact of our efforts. Performance reviews, research, and policy analysis help develop and cultivate knowledge that will enhance the overall effectiveness of the Corporation and of national and community service programs. The Corporation conducts and supports high quality, rigorous social science evaluation research designed to:
Recent Research Reports and Analysis
Volunteering in America 2008 - State and City Trends and Rankings
The detailed information in the report is designed to help national, state and local leaders better understand volunteering trends and demographics and use the data to develop effective strategies for recruiting and retaining volunteers.
Two new analysis were also included with the release of VolunteeringInAmerica.gov: Long-Distance Volunteering in America In areas impacted by natural disasters, where local volunteers and nonprofit organizations are sometimes hard-hit themselves and unable to serve at full capacity, visiting volunteers are often indispensable. Since the hurricanes of 2005 devastated the Gulf area in the South, out-of-state volunteers have significantly bolstered the capacity of communities to continue on the path to recovery. In fact in 2007, about a quarter of all the volunteers serving in Mississippi traveled to serve from out-of-state, and the same is true for a fifth of all the volunteers serving in Louisiana. Altogether, about six percent of all volunteers age 16 and older do at least some long-distance volunteering, serving at least 120 miles away from their home communities. Read more. How Do Volunteers Find the Time?: Evidence from the American Time Use Study Not surprisingly, volunteers and non-volunteers in general tend to spend their time in very similar ways, including in work, leisure, and other activities. However, there are some important differences, such as the amount of time each of these groups spends watching television. On average, those who have never volunteered watch 436 more hours of television than volunteers each year. Read more. Capitalizing on Volunteers’ Skills: Volunteering in America by Occupation The Corporation continues to put a strong emphasis on pro bono volunteering as a strategic and cost-effective way to tap into the skills of volunteers and reinvent the way they serve with nonprofits. Capitalizing on Volunteers’ Skills looks at the prevalence of volunteering among people in various occupations and, for the first time, shows how often they use their occupational skills when they volunteer. The brief is designed to help broaden and deepen public and private sector partnerships, and allow nonprofits to take full advantage of the skills their volunteers have to offer.
2005-2006 Senior Corps Performance Survey Findings
The results of the surveys provide helpful clues for effective recruitment of Baby Boomers as they continue to reach the age of eligibility to serve in all three programs and demonstrate the benefits that Senior Corps volunteers provide to those they serve.
Still Serving: Measuring the Eight-Year Impact of AmeriCorps on Alumni
Volunteering in America:
Volunteering in America: 2007 City Trends and Rankings supports our efforts to increase volunteering in communities by providing a first-time analysis of volunteer trends among major metropolitan (metro) areas. This report ranks and presents detailed profiles of volunteering for 50 of the largest metro areas in the United States. The information on volunteering at the local level can help local governments, community leaders, service organizations, and volunteers nationwide develop a volunteer growth strategy, set goals to increase the level of individual engagement in volunteer activities, and build the infrastructure of nonprofits and communities to support more volunteer opportunities.
Improving Lives and Communities: Perspectives on 40 Years of Service
AmeriCorps: Changing Lives, Changing America
This report examines the results from a longitudinal study of AmeriCorps members and surveys of members, alumni, and the organizations where members served to examine the impacts of national service on members’ civic engagement, education, employment, and life skills. Findings reveal that AmeriCorps alumni are more connected to their communities, continue to participate in community activities, and choose public service careers after their service with AmeriCorps.
The Health Benefits of Volunteering:
Volunteering in America:
Volunteering in America: 2007 State Trends and Rankings in Civic Life is the second annual study by the Corporation for National and Community Service that gives a detailed breakdown of America’s volunteering demographics, habits, and patterns by state and region. The 2007 report also provides the agency’s first-ever ranking of levels of civic engagement by state through a new Civic Life Index. This report is a valuable tool to help states and organizations increase volunteering towards the national goal of 75 million volunteers by the year 2010.
Leveling the Path to Participation: Volunteering and Civic Engagement Among Youth From Disadvantaged Circumstances
Keeping Baby Boomers Volunteering:
To better understand this dynamic, the Corporation for National and Community Service looked at data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2002-2006. The data trace the volunteer habits of the same sample of Baby Boomers over two consecutive years, as well as a similar sample of pre-Boomers. This is the first time that these data sets have been analyzed. Though much work remains to be done, the hope is that the findings contained herein will help nonprofits and others gain greater insight into the volunteer preferences of Baby Boomers so that turnover can be kept to a minimum and the greatest number of Boomers will remain engaged in their communities in their later years.
Volunteer Growth in America:
“Volunteer Growth in America” is based on statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The findings are encouraging while demonstrating that more engagement is needed to achieve a national goal of raising the number of volunteers from 65 million in 2005 to 75 million by 2010.
College Students Helping America
“College Students Helping America” is based on statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The report includes a state-by-state ranking of college student volunteering.
Volunteers Mentoring Youth: Implications for Closing the Mentoring Gap
In collaboration with the U.S. Census Bureau and the nonprofit coalition Independent Sector, the Corporation for National and Community Service in early 2005 conducted the Youth Volunteering and Civic Engagement Survey, the first major national study of volunteering by teenagers in more than a decade. The first brief based on the survey’s data explores the state of youth volunteering and the connections between youth volunteering and the primary social institutions to which teenagers are exposed – family, schools, and religious congregation. Among other findings, the analysis shows that the state of youth volunteering is robust – with 55% of youth participating in volunteer activities each year – and that the level of their volunteer commitment is directly related to the nature of the social institutions with which they interact. The second brief takes a closer look at the 38 percent of students nationwide – some 10.6 million students in total -- who ever participated in school-based service as part of school activity or requirement, and it constructs a Service Quality Index that rates school-based service based on the level of high-quality service-learning elements that are incorporated into it. Brief 2:
Brief 1:
Serving Country and Community: A Longitudinal Study of Service in AmeriCorps Results from a longitudinal study of AmeriCorps members demonstrate the early impacts of national service on members’ civic engagement, education, employment, and life skills. Findings reveal that AmeriCorps alumni are more connected to their communities, more knowledgeable about problems facing their communities, and more likely to participate in community activities. They also are more likely to choose public service careers.
We are pleased to announce the first public release of longitudinal data from the report entitled Serving Country and Community: A Longitudinal Study of Service in AmeriCorps. The datasets are being made available to researchers and practitioners who are interested in studying the effects of participating in AmeriCorps and of volunteering and service.
Volunteer Management Capacity Study, 2003 To gain an understanding of the current state of volunteer management in charities and congregations with social service outreach activities, the Corporation, the UPS Foundation, and the USA Freedom Corps embarked on the first national study of volunteer management capacity. The study, conducted in the fall of 2003 by the Urban Institute, was designed to assess the capacity of the nonprofit sector to engage volunteers in a way that provides the greatest possible impact and to provide meaningful volunteer opportunities. The study resulted in a series of briefs that explore various issues around volunteer management and recruitment that can be accessed through the links below. In addition, the study led to the creation of the Volunteer Input website to promote dialogue around ways to improve volunteer management capacity. Data from the study is also available for download.
Offer your comments and commit to helping implement strategies to strengthen volunteer management capacity. Data Sets: Volunteer Management Capacity in America’s Charities and Congregations, 2003 Data from the 2003 Volunteer Management Capacity Study contain information for each variable in the dataset, including variable and values labels and formats. The sets are available for public use in Microsoft Excel format. The following data dictionaries are supplemental to the data sets and provide all of the label information and values for each variable Survey of Volunteering in the United States The Volunteering in the United States survey has collected annual, national-level data on the prevalence of volunteering and the characteristics of volunteers since 2002. At the request of the Corporation, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) have administered the survey as a supplement of the Current Population Survey, a monthly survey of approximately 60,000 households that gathers information on employment and unemployment among the nation’s civilian noninstitutional population, age 16 and over. The Corporation plans to continue to fund the survey annually in order to gather important information on volunteering trends in the United States.
Data from the 2002 Volunteering in the United States report was updated to incorporate the Census 2000 based population controls subsequent to the release of the 2002 Volunteering in the United States report. The accompanying revised release tables for 2002 contain the re-weighted figures. Additional Research and Analysis
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