Contact:
Kimberli Meadows, 202-729-3238
KMeadows@pointsoflight.org

POINTS OF LIGHT FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES STATE VOLUNTEERING RATES

Research Highlights Impact of Volunteer Center National Network

Using raw data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor for its monthly Current Population Survey (CPS), research staff at the Points of Light Foundation in partnership with researchers at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis's Center for Urban Policy and the Environment developed estimates of state volunteering rates. The CPS is a monthly survey of about 60,000 households that obtains information on employment and unemployment among the nation's civilian non-institutional population age 16 and over. Volunteers are defined as persons who did unpaid work (except for expenses) through or for an organization. The national average of people aged 16 and above who volunteer in the U.S. is 27.4 percent. The state rankings are as follows:

UT: 46.8%	WI: 35.8%	ME: 31.3%	KY: 29.3%	DC: 27.4%	FL: 23.0%
IA: 40.8%	KS: 35.7%	NH: 30.4%	IN: 29.2%	NJ: 26.1%	LA: 22.8%
NE: 40.3%	ND: 34.8%	PA: 30.4%	OK: 28.8%	NC: 25.7%	GA: 22.4%
MN: 39.3%	VT: 34.2%	OH: 30.2%	VA: 28.6%	WV: 25.5%	TN: 22.4%
MT: 38.3%	WA: 33.1%	CO: 30.1%	TX: 28.3%	MS: 25.5%	NY: 22.1%
SD: 37.8%	MD: 32.6%	AR: 29.7%	DE: 28.1%	CA: 25.0%	NV: 22.0%
AK: 37.2%	OR: 32.4%	CT: 29.5%	NM: 27.6%	AZ: 24.0%
WY: 37.0%	MI: 31.7%	SC: 29.3%	HI: 27.5%	MA: 23.4%
ID: 36.2%	MO: 31.6%	AL: 29.3%	IL: 27.4%	RI: 23.1%

"What this research uncovered is that in states where there are more Volunteer Centers in comparison to the overall population, there are higher rates of volunteering; in states where there is a lower proportion of Volunteer Centers to the population, volunteering rates are lower," said Christopher Cihlar, Ph.D., Director of Program Evaluation for the Points of Light Foundation.

Based on the analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor data, the Foundation believes that Volunteer Centers, at their current level of operation, account for 5% of the total volunteering population or 3.038 million volunteers each year. This is the first effort to assess the correlation between the presence of a Volunteer Center for and levels of volunteering in the U.S. and the beginning of an increasing level of analysis of the correlation between volunteering and its contributions to resolving serious social problems.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that, on average, an adult who volunteers spends fifty two hours a year volunteering and the current estimated dollar value of a volunteer hour is $17.19 according to the Independent Sector (www.independentsector.org). Thus, the volunteers added because of Volunteer Centers contribute approximately $2.71 billion annually in volunteer time. The methodology used to develop these estimates will lead to a considerably finer interpretation of data that, in the past, has been limited to national and regional assessments of volunteering. It will prove particularly helpful in predicting and measuring the specific actions and conditions that most constructively influence volunteering.

The ability to conduct this type of study is the direct result of an increasing recognition of the importance volunteers play in society and the availability of national representative data provided by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Research staff at the Points of Light Foundation, under the direction of Christopher Cihlar, Ph.D. and Rennie Dutton, Ph..D., working in partnership with Laura Littlepage and James Perry, Ph.D. of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis's Center for Urban Policy and the Environment, are committed to providing leadership to research on the sector.