Did You Know?

American Volunteerism is on the Rise

The number of American volunteers increased from 59.5 million in 2002 to 65.4 million in 2005, according to a study from the Corporation for National and Community Service. At first glance, this increase appears to be a victory for non-profits that rely on a volunteer workforce. The study provides a closer look at this increase, and the information offers some insight into arts volunteering within the context of this national boom.

The study reveals that, despite the increase in volunteers, the national volunteering rate remained steady at 28.8% between 2003 and 2005. State volunteer rates ranged from 48% in Utah, to 18.8% in Nevada. The Corporation also noted that nearly a third of these people volunteered between 100 to 499 hours in 2005 and half of the volunteers reported working at least 50 hours.

Rank	State	Rate	Rank	State	Rate	Rank	State	Rate
1	Utah	48.0%	18	Michigan	32.1%	35	South Carolina	28.0%
2	Nebraska	42.8%	19	New Hampshire	32.0%	36	Massachusetts	27.0%
3	Minnesota	40.7%	20	Missouri	31.9%	37	Delaware	26.7%
4	Iowa	39.2%	21	Connecticut	30.8%	38	New Jersey	26.5%
5	Alaska	38.9%	21	Pennsylvania	30.8%	39	Mississippi	26.4%
6	Wyoming	38.8%	21	D.C.	30.8%	40	California	26.1%
6	South Dakota	38.8%	24	Ohio	30.7%	41	Georgia	25.9%
8	Kansas	38.6%	25	Maryland	30.3%	41	Tennessee	25.9%
9	Vermont	38.1%	26	Oklahoma	30.0%	43	Arkansas	25.6%
10	Montana	37.9%	27	Kentucky	29.8%	44	Hawaii	25.4%
11	Wisconsin	37.0%	28	Illinois	29.7%	45	Rhode Island	24.9%
12	Washington	36.8%	29	Indiana	29.5%	45	Arizona	24.9%
13	North Dakota	36.5%	30	North Carolina	29.1%	47	West Virginia	24.6%
14	Idaho	35.5%	31	Virginia	29.0%	48	Florida	24.1%
15	Oregon	33.6%	32	Alabama	28.9%	49	Louisiana	22.7%
16	Maine	33.2%	33	New Mexico	28.5%	50	New York	21.3%
17	Colorado	32.8%	34	Texas	28.3%	51	Nevada	18.8%

The Corporation found that only 3.3% of volunteers donate time to the combined category for arts, cultural, sports and hobby organizations. This combined category reported the second lowest percentage of volunteers, trailed only by public safety organizations. Religious organizations attracted over a third of the volunteers, while over a quarter of volunteers contributed to educational or youth service. According to The Corporation, the largest percentage of these volunteers coached or mentored for their organization and a slightly smaller percentage provided administrative and fundraising services. The lowest percentage of volunteers collected, made, or distributed clothing, crafts or goods other than food.