Overview and Executive Summary: Trends Emerging From the National Survey of Volunteering and Giving Among Teenagers

This national survey is the second in a series of quadrennial surveys on volunteering and giving among teens in the United States. The series was launched by INDEPENDENT SECTOR in 1992. From July 20 to August 14, 1996, The Gallup Organization conducted in-home personal interviews with 1,007 teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 years old. The interviews were based on questionnaires developed by INDEPENDENT SECTOR for this survey. The sampling error for these results is plus or minus 4 percent. Respondents were asked a series of questions about their volunteering and giving patterns. Furthermore, they were asked questions about their motives for volunteering; the institutions where they volunteered; and their opinions and attitudes about other people and institutions. The purpose of this survey, and the series itself, is to provide trend data on the volunteer and giving behavior of young people; to chart the impact of major institutions, such as schools and religious institutions on encouraging such behavior; to chart teens’ attitudes on a variety of issues relating to their volunteering behavior; and to explore behavioral and motivational factors that influence volunteering and giving. 

The 1992 and 1996 surveys were conducted at different times of the year. The 1992 survey was conducted during the spring when young people were still attending school. The 1996 survey was conducted during the summer when students were generally out of school. As a result, the monthly volunteer rate cannot be compared across surveys. However, the annual rates can be compared. (Annual rates refer to the previous 12 months at the time of the respondents were asked about volunteering. Therefore, although annual estimates are reported as if they occurred during a given calendar year, they cover the previous 12 months over two calendar years, eg. 1995 and 1996; and 1991 and 1992). In spite of the seasonal differences, certain patterns have emerged from the two national surveys that provide insights useful to educators, voluntary organization and religious leaders, practitioners and policy-makers about the benefits teens gain from their volunteering and ways to increase teen volunteer participation. 

Overall Patterns of Teen Volunteering and Giving in 1996
In 1996, 59 percent of teenagers 12 to 17 years of age volunteered, about the same percentage as 1992. In the United States in 1995 there were 22.5 million teens from 12 to 17 years of age, and 20.5 million in 1991. In 1995, it is estimated that 13.3 million teens volunteered, up 7 percent from the 12.4 million that volunteered in 1991. The proportion of females volunteering was similar to that of males, about 60 percent. While the rate of volunteering remained steady among whites between 1992 and 1996, there was a drop in volunteer participation among black teenagers, falling from 53 percent in 1992 to 42 percent in 1996. By age, from 1992 to 1996, there was a decline ranging from 4 to 9 percent in volunteering among teens 14 to 16 years of age, but an increase of 8 percent among persons 17 years old. The percentage of teens volunteering at 12 and 13 years of age remained steady. 

TABLE 1: Teenage Volunteering and Giving 
Teens participate in both formal and informal volunteering. Informal volunteering involves helping neighbors or organizations on an ad hoc basis, such as baby-sitting for free, while formal volunteering involves regular work for an organization. Teen volunteers gave an estimated total of 2.4 billion hours in both formal and informal volunteering in 1995, about 17 percent higher than the total of 2.1 billion hours in 1991. The average hours volunteered per week in 1995 for all teenagers, including nonvolunteers, was 2.1 hours, up from 1.9 hours in 1991. Among volunteers, the average weekly hours volunteered also increased from 3.2 hours in 1991 to 3.5 hours in 1995. Teens who volunteered formally in 1995 gave a total of 1.8 billion hours, a 10 percent increase over the 1.6 billion hours they gave in 1991. These hours represented the equivalent of nearly 1.1 million full-time employees in 1995, compared with 1.0 million full-time employees in 1991. The total value of volunteer time was an estimated $7.7 billion in 1995, compared with $7.0 billion in 1991. 

Forty-one percent of teens contributed to charitable organizations in 1995, down 17 percent from the 50 percent of teens who reported contributions in 1991. In 1995, contributing teens gave an average of $82, up 46 percent (in current dollars) over the average contribution of $56 in 1991. By gender, from 1991 to 1995, the percentage of females reporting contributions dropped by 21 percent, from 55 to 43 percent and the percentage of males dropped by 13 percent. The percentage of teens contributing dropped most among blacks, falling from 48 percent in 1991 to 29 percent in 1995. The percentage of whites reporting contributions declined 13 percent, from 51 to 45 percent. 

Teens reported volunteering mainly to four major types of charities in both surveys: religion; youth development and recreation; informal volunteering and education. The major organization that teens contributed to was their church or synagogue (65 percent of all givers in 1995). 

Building the Habit of Volunteering: When Teens Began to Volunteer 
The age when young people start to volunteer seems to be very important to encouraging future participation. In 1995, over one out of three teenagers or six out of ten teen volunteers started volunteering by the age of 14. In 1991, the findings were similar. These findings reveal that volunteering is a habit that starts at an early age. They also reveal that volunteering is more likely to become a lifetime habit when children are exposed to concepts of caring, sharing and community at an early age. 

TABLE 2: Relationship Between Events in Childhood and Volunteer Behavior  
These findings are confirmed by the frequency of teens who reported certain events that occurred in their early childhood. Teens who reported that they did some volunteer work; that they were active in religious organizations; or that they were active in student government as children volunteered at a rate of 80 percent or higher. Those teens that reported that they did not do these things had the lowest volunteer rates. Teens were more than three times more likely to be currently volunteering if they had done some volunteer work as children than those who did not. 

Teens who saw adults they admired help others or who had one or both parents who volunteered had higher rates of volunteering. The volunteer rate among teens who reported that both parents volunteered was 78 percent, compared with 47 percent among teens who reported that neither parent volunteered. About 60 percent of teens could identify an adult who illustrated what it meant to be kind and caring. The volunteer participation rate among these teens was 68 percent. The volunteer rate among teens who could not name an adult was 46 percent. 

Volunteers are Not Made, But Asked
In both surveys, respondents were asked about how they first started to volunteer. These questions, along with several other questions probing respondents’ motives and attitudes, provide insights into the complex ways in which young people get involved as volunteers and/or contributors. 

In both survey years, the most frequently cited ways that volunteers reported first learning about their activities were that they were asked by someone; a family member or friend was engaged in the activity or benefited from it; or through participation in an organization. In 1996, the "through a teacher, school, or other school personnel" was added to the survey and emerged as the most frequently cited response. Respondents who were asked by someone most frequently reported that they were asked by a friend; a teacher or other school personnel; a family member or other relative; or someone at school. Religious organizations were on the top of the list among respondents who reported they found out through an organization. 

Both surveys demonstrated that respondents get involved with volunteering through close associations with people and institutions. These findings were further confirmed in both surveys when teens were asked if someone asked them to volunteer in the past year. In 1996, 51 percent of teens reported that they were asked to volunteer and 93 percent actually did. The results were stark if young people were not asked: among the 49 percent who were not asked, 24 percent actually volunteered. In other words, teens were nearly four times more likely to volunteer if asked than if they were not. The results in 1996 revealed that a lower percentage of teens were asked to volunteer in 1996 than in 1992. The largest decline among the number being asked was among blacks, persons of Hispanic origin, and teens 16 years of age. In the case of blacks and persons 16 years of age, when compared to 1992, it is clear that some of the decline in volunteering can be attributed to a decreased number from these groups who were asked. 

The Relationship of Institutions to Teen Volunteering 
Religious institutions and schools are the primary institutions through which teens get involved in volunteering. When asked how they got involved in their volunteer activities, teens found out from both their religious institution (53 percent) and their school (50 percent). Through their church, they volunteered for religious purposes and general human services. Through their schools they got involved in activities ranging from the environment to the arts to health services to youth development. Regardless of how they became involved, however, over eight out of ten were asked by someone at these institutions to volunteer. 

TABLE 3: Volunteer Behavior and Characteristics of Teens Who Were Asked To Volunteer  
Even though teens strongly preferred that they be allowed to choose service activities voluntarily, they do not feel strongly if community service should be required. Volunteer participation was somewhat higher among teens who reported that their schools encouraged volunteering (71 percent) than among those at schools that required a certain number of hours of community service (64 percent). This difference could be explained by the much lower percentage of students who reported that their school required community service (16 percent) compared with those whose schools only encouraged community service (59 percent). 

Schools have a major impact on certain benefits that teens reported are derived from volunteering. About 36 percent of teen volunteers whose school offered a course requiring community service reported that they took such a course. These students were far more likely to report that the benefits they derived from their volunteering included learning how to solve community problems, understanding more about good citizenship, becoming more aware of programs in their community, and learning more about how government and voluntary organizations work. They also learned to understand people that were different than themselves. These findings reveal the importance of formal course work as an accompaniment of schools’ encouragement and/or requirement of community service. 

Religious institutions have a profound association with the likelihood that young people will build the habits of not only volunteering, but, particularly, giving. Volunteer participation increased among young people based on their frequency of attendance at religious services, from 43 percent among those who never attended services to 74 percent among those who attended weekly. Seven out of ten teen volunteers attended religious services weekly or once or twice a month. Nearly three out of four teen contributors had the same attendance record. 

TABLE 4: Important Benefits Teens Gained from their Volunteering 
Teen respondents expressed ‘a great deal’ or ‘quite a lot’ of confidence in charitable institutions with which they were most acquainted, including organizations in youth development and recreation; private higher education; and religious institutions. Among other organizations in society, public higher education and public elementary and secondary education ranked highest in confidence. For the most part, teens who expressed confidence in institutions volunteered at higher rates than teens who reported having little or no confidence in various types of institutions. In both surveys, Congress and political organizations had the lowest confidence rankings of all institutions in society. 

Personal Motivations for Volunteering
Several questions were asked of teens to explore why they volunteered; their attitudes about themselves, others and their society; and their personal life goals. This was done to explore the relationship among personal attitudes and volunteering. 

Personal attitudes have a powerful impact on the level of volunteering. Teens who agreed strongly with the following statements related to their attitudes toward others and life in general had a much higher rate of volunteering (nearly 70 percent or higher ): "If we all volunteer time and effort, social problems like poverty and hopelessness can be overcome"; "I feel a moral duty to help those who suffer"; and, "It is in my power to do things that improve the welfare of others". Respondents who did not agree with these statements had a much lower level of volunteering. 

The most frequently cited reasons teens gave for volunteering in both surveys were that they felt compassion toward people in need; they could do something for a cause that was important to them; and they believed that if they helped others, others would help them. They ranked first compassion; then commitment; and finally, reciprocity in the treatment of others. Two other reasons were nearly as important: volunteering was an important activity to people they respected and that volunteering helped them gain a new perspective on things. 

Teens also reported benefits from volunteering. The primary benefits they derived from volunteering in both surveys were that they learned to respect others, to be helpful and kind, and to get along with and relate to other people. 

The Potential to Measurably Increase Volunteering and Giving Among Teens
A variety of indicators can be used to predict, with varying levels of accuracy, whether volunteering and giving can be measurably increased among teens. These indicators are based upon a variety of factors, including demographic patterns, motivations, general behaviors, and public or educational policies. 

Volunteering and giving could be measurably increased if volunteering increased among young children, blacks, persons of Hispanic origin and all persons of color. Findings in this report reveal that people are four times more likely to volunteer if they are asked, yet minority groups are not asked at the same rate as whites. This report also finds that children, if encouraged and involved early, are more likely to continue volunteering later in life. Volunteer participation can also be increased by encouraging involvement in youth groups, voluntary organizations, religious organizations and schools. 

Rates of volunteering can also be increased through the following: assuring that young people have positive adult role models, such as a parent who volunteers; increasing the opportunities for young people to volunteer; encouraging them to serve in student government; and seeing adults they admire, such as teachers, help others. 

Finally, young people need to develop positive self images that they can help others or that they can work together to solve community problems. Young people also need far more opportunities than they currently have to take courses requiring community service. These courses help them learn more about the skills of good citizenship and also learn how communities, governments and voluntary organizations work. The increased knowledge gained from these courses helps put the meaning of community service and its benefits to society and individuals into context. Without such knowledge, young people are forced to discover the meaning of their society and their ultimate responsibilities on their own. It seems that such responsibilities are too important to be left to chance.