This indicator is part of Civic participation.

Indicator description:                                                           

Volunteerism requires both personal motivation and opportunities to act on that motivation, most often provided by nonprofit organizations in a community. This indicator compares the percentage of respondents to the Current Population Survey (US Department of Commerce), indicating that they volunteered for an organization in the prior year. The data are reported by Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). Since no data for El Paso, Colorado Springs, or Tucson were collected, Denver, Phoenix, and Las Vegas, NV were substituted. Also, this has been supplemented by the addition of the volunteer rate within the City of Albuquerque, determined through surveys of residents conducted by Research and Polling, Inc., under contract to the City of Albuquerque. These telephone surveys reached about 1500 households in both 2001 and 2005. Residents were asked if they had volunteered time to any community service activity in the prior 12 months and, if yes, what type of service was performed and for whom. Also reported in this indicator are the number of nonprofits extant within the Albuquerque area (Bernalillo County), compared to Austin, Oklahoma City, and Salt Lake City (all capital cities, which have large numbers of nonprofit organizations interfacing with state government and legislative bodies).

Why is this indicator relevant?

The United States has a strong tradition of volunteerism, both in terms of citizen participation and giving. In Albuquerque, volunteerism impacts all city Goal Areas and supplements many governmental and private sector services aimed at improving conditions in our community. Citizen volunteers care about our community and their fellow citizens. The Corporation for National and Community Service notes that cities with high rates of citizen engagement will come closer to solving some of the key challenges facing our society. Also, volunteerism is an end in itself; people who volunteer feel better about themselves and their community.

Data Sources:
Corporation for National and Community Service, Volunteering in America, 2007 City Trends and Rankings; U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, 2003-2006; Urban Institute, National Center for Charitable Statisitics Database, 2008.

What can we tell from the data?

• Residents of the City and the Albuquerque MSA volunteer at a higher rate than the national average. However, the Albuquerque metro area rate is lower than the MSA’s of Salt Lake City, Austin, Denver, and Oklahoma City. The City volunteerism rate is relatively high.
• Albuquerque residents have a competitive number of organizations in which to volunteer.

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