A Time to Serve
More than 61 million Americans volunteer in some way. Caring for family members, helping friends in a pinch, assisting at schools, churches and hospitals, usually close to home. For a smaller number, service is a way of life - a full-time job, a calling. "A Time to Serve", TIME Magazine's cover story for September 1st, digs into the case for national service and how vitally important volunteering is to our communities and the future of our country.  Read more.

Great Expectations: Boomers and the Future of Volunteering
Why do boomers and older adults volunteer? Why don't they? Where do they volunteer? And for how long? "Great Expectations: Boomers and the Future of Volunteering," offers an improved understanding of some of the unique characteristics of this volunteer demographic, and serves as a fresh resource for nonprofits in need of volunteers, especially those who can offer a lifetime of personal and professional skills. Read more.

Middle American Cities Lead US in Volunteering
A new federal report on volunteering in America’s largest metropolitan areas has found that the cities with the highest levels of volunteering are largely focused in middle America; and that high home ownership rates and educational levels equate to higher volunteer rates while long commuting times and high volunteer dropout rates have the opposite effect. "Volunteering in America: 2007 City Trends and Rankings" is the first report by the Corporation for National and Community Service to take a detailed look at volunteering habits and trends at the city level. Read more.

Study: Volunteers Enjoy Better Health

Volunteers help themselves to better health while helping others, according to a study released today by the Corporation for National and Community Service that reviews a compelling collection of recent scientific research.

The Health Benefits of Volunteering: A Review of Recent Research has found a significant connection between volunteering and good health. The report shows that volunteers have greater longevity, higher functional ability, lower rates of depression and less incidence of heart disease. Read the full report.


Study: Volunteer Opportunities Inadequate
More than half of Americans say they will not or may not increase their volunteer activities in the coming year, primarily due to a lack of opportunities that match their requirements, a new study says. Read more. 


Study: Volunteerism Drops in North Carolina
Driven in part by low volunteer-retention rates, the number of people volunteering in North Carolina dropped last year, mirroring a national trend, a new report says. Read a summary of the report. Read the full report.
 

Value of volunteer time jumps
The estimated value of volunteer time in the U.S. rose to $18.77 an hour last year, bringing to $152 billion the total value of time donated by American adults.
The 2006 hourly rate was calculated by Washington, D.C.-based Independent Sector, a coalition of nonprofit organizations, and was up from $18.04 an hour in 2005.
The estimate is based on average hourly-wage data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for all non-management, non-agricultural workers in the U.S. and includes a 12 percent markup for fringe benefits.

Are You Fishing for Volunteers?

3 key strategies for recruiting volunteers are explored in an Philanthropy Journal Article. Click here to read.

Report Shows Volunteering Strong in America, but 1 in 3 Volunteers Dropped Out in 2006

A new federal report found that 61.2 million Americans volunteered in 2006 - a figure that approaches historic highs - while pointing out that one in three Americans dropped out of volunteering between 2005 and 2006. Read more.

Study Shows Disadvantaged Teens Benefit from Volunteering

A new federal study has found that volunteering produces many positive benefits for teens from low-income backgrounds - they become empowered, are more likely to volunteer and become politically engaged, and believe they will graduate from college and make a difference in their communities. Read more.

Study Shows that Nonprofits Must Make Better Use of Baby Boomer Volunteers

The first-ever study to track volunteering among a large sample of Baby Boomers from year to year, Keeping Baby Boomers Volunteering, found that Americans born between 1946 and 1964 want higher-skill assignments to keep them engaged, and it advised nonprofit organizations to re-imagine roles for that emerging crop of volunteers. Read more.