POINTS OF LIGHT FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES STATE VOLUNTEERING RATES

Research Highlights Impact of Volunteer Center National Network

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 13, 2004) — The results of new research by the Points of Light Foundation and researchers at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis's Center for Urban Policy and the Environment revealed that, in 2003, Utah's residents continue to boast the highest rate of volunteering for the second straight year.

For the second time since the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor released raw data collected 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, unemployment and volunteering among the nation's civilian non-institutional population age 16-years and over. CPS defines volunteers as persons who did unpaid work (except for expenses) through or for an organization. The Points of Light Foundation found that in 2002, the national average of people aged 16-years and above who volunteer in the U.S. was 27.4 percent or 59.8 million people; in 2003, this number rose to 28.8% or 63.8 million people. For 2002 and 2003, the state volunteer rates are as follows:

	2003	2002		2003	2002		2003	2002		2003	2002
UT	49.9%	46.8%	ID	36.3%	36.2%	IL	29.7%	27.4%	MA	25.9%	23.4%
NE	43.2%	40.3%	ME	34.4%	31.3%	KY	29.1%	29.3%	TN	25.7%	22.4%
IA	40.3%	40.8%	CO	34.0%	30.1%	DC	28.5%	27.4%	DE	25.5%	28.1%
MN	40.2%	39.3%	OR	33.1%	32.4%	TX	28.5%	28.3%	FL	25.4%	23.0%
ND	40.0%	34.8%	CT	32.1%	29.5%	AR	28.1%	29.7%	CA	25.0%	25.0%
SD	39.7%	37.8%	IN	31.7%	29.2%	MS	28.0%	25.5%	HI	24.9%	27.5%
WY	39.5%	37.0%	MI	31.7%	31.7%	NJ	27.8%	26.1%	AZ	24.6%	24.0%
AK	39.4%	37.2%	NH	31.7%	30.4%	OK	27.7%	28.8%	WV	23.8%	25.5%
VT	38.5%	34.2%	PA	31.5%	30.4%	AL	27.7%	29.3%	NY	23.3%	22.1%
MT	38.3%	38.3%	MD	31.1%	32.6%	SC	27.3%	29.3%	RI	23.2%	23.1%
WA	37.7%	33.1%	OH	31.1%	30.2%	GA	26.8%	22.4%	LA	23.1%	22.8%
KS	37.7%	35.7%	VA	30.4%	28.6%	NM	26.8%	27.6%	NV	21.3%	22.0%
WI	37.2%	35.8%	MO	30.3%	31.6%	NC	26.2%	25.7%

*Volunteer rates ordered highest to lowest by state for 2003

For over a decade, the Points of Light Foundation has been a major advocate of volunteering. The results of this study provide strong evidence of the effectiveness of the Foundation's partnership with the Volunteer Center National Network, a group of more than 360-member organizations that connect millions of people with hundreds of thousands of volunteer opportunities each year.

"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 2003 Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor data (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/volun.nr0.htm), the Foundation believes that Volunteer Centers, at their current level of operation, account for 7.3% of the total volunteering population or 4.65 million volunteers each year. This estimation is part of an ongoing effort to assess the correlation between the presence of a Volunteer Center 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 $17.11 according to the Independent Sector (www.independentsector.org). Thus, the volunteers added because of Volunteer Centers contribute approximately $4.14 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 assesments 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., partnered 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 this sector.