Volunteers 'Give' More -US Research
12 November 2001 at 12:11 pm
A comprehensive study of giving and volunteering in the United States by the INDEPENDENT SECTOR shows that nearly nine out of ten (89% of) American families gave charitable contributions last year with an average contribution of $1,620 or 3.2 percent of their income.
According to Giving and Volunteering in the United States 2001, nearly half (44%) of adults volunteered their time last year, making up a volunteer workforce of 83.9 million people. This figure represents the equivalent of over 9 million full-time employees at a value of $239 billion!
Sara Meléndez, President and CEO of INDEPENDENT SECTOR says while attention in recent weeks has focused on the charitable response since the terrorist attacks of September 11, this study demonstrates that Americans are generous year-round even in more ordinary times.
The survey shows that 42 percent of Americans both gave and volunteered.
These Americans gave substantially more than non-volunteers, making household contributions of $2,295 last year compared to $1,009 by households that did not volunteer.
INDEPENDENT SECTOR has also released a survey on giving and volunteering in response to the events on September 11. That survey found that 70 percent of people donated time, money, or blood to a charity or Not for Profit organisation in the four weeks since the terrorist attacks.
The INDEPENDENT SECTOR is a diverse collection of more than 1 million charitable, educational, religious, health and social welfare organisations set up to enhance philanthropy and Not for Profit initiatives.
(Now that’s not a bad Peak Body!)
To check out the full report go to www.independentsector.org/media/GV01PR.html.
