Volunteering by Employment Status

Among the employed, 27.2 percent volunteered during the year ending in September 2015. By comparison, 23.3 percent of unemployed persons and 21.4 percent of those not in the labor force volunteered. Persons employed part time were more likely than full-time workers to have participated in volunteer activities - 31.1 percent versus 26.3 percent. The volunteer rate was little changed among employed and unemployed persons but declined for those not in the labor force.

Total Annual Hours Spent Volunteering

Volunteers spent a median of 52 hours on volunteer activities during the period from September 2014 to September 2015. Time spent on volunteer activities was similar for men (52 hours) and women (50 hours). Among those who volunteered, median annual hours spent on volunteer activities ranged from a high of 94 hours for those age 65 and over to a low of 36 hours for those under 35 years old.

Number and Type of Organizations

Most volunteers were involved with either one or two organizations - 72.0 percent and 18.3 percent, respectively. Individuals with higher educational attainment were more likely to volunteer for multiple organizations than were those with less education.

In 2015, the main organization - the organization for which the volunteer worked the most hours during the year was most frequently religious (33.1 percent of all volunteers), followed by educational or youth service related (25.2 percent. Another 14.6 percent of volunteers performed activities mainly for social or community service organizations.

Older volunteers were more likely to volunteer mainly for religious organizations than were younger volunteers. Of volunteers age 65 and over, 42.7 percent served mainlythrough or for a religious organization, compared with 25.4 percent of volunteers age 16 to 24.

Across all levels of educational attainment, volunteers were most likely to volunteer for religious organizations, followed by education or youth service organizations. Volunteering mainly for religious organizations decreased as education increased, from 52.7 percent of those with less than a high school diploma to 29.9 percent of those with a bachelor's degree and higher. Volunteering primarily for educational or youth service organizations increased with educational attainment; 19.9 percent of volunteers with less than a high school diploma volunteered for educational or youth service organizations, compared with 26.3 percent of volunteers with a bachelor's degree and higher.

Among volunteers with children under age 18, 45.1 percent of mothers and 36.8 percent of fathers volunteered mainly for an educational or youth service organization, such as a school or scouting group. Volunteers without children under age 18 were more likely than parents to volunteer for most other types of organizations.

Main Volunteer Activity for Main Organization

Collecting, preparing, distributing, or serving food was the activity volunteers performed most often for their main organization in 2015 - 11.3 percent of volunteers reported this as their main activity. Other activities performed frequently were tutoring or teaching (9.2 percent), fundraising (9.0 percent), and engaging in general labor (8.8 percent). However, main activities differed among men and women. Men who volunteered were most likely to engage in general labor (12.3 percent); coach, referee, or supervise sports teams (9.3 percent); or collect, prepare, distribute, or serve food (9.2 percent). Female volunteers were most likely to collect, prepare, distribute, or serve food (12.9 percent); tutor or teach (10.6 percent); or fundraise (9.9 percent).

The main types of activities volunteers performed also varied by educational attainment. Persons with a bachelor's degree and higher were more likely to provide professional or management assistance or to tutor or teach than volunteers with less education. Volunteers with less than a bachelor's degree were more likely to collect, prepare, distribute, or serve food or engage in general labor than those with at least a bachelor's degree.

Among volunteers in 2015, parents were more likely than those without children to primarily engage in activities often associated with children--including coaching, refereeing, or supervising sports teams; tutoring or teaching; and mentoring youth.

How Volunteers Became Involved with Main Organization

Between September 2014 and September 2015, the proportion of volunteers who became involved with their main organization after being asked to volunteer (41.2 percent) was about the same as the proportion who became involved on their own (41.6 percent) - that is, those who approached the organization. Those who were asked to volunteer were most often asked by someone in the organization.

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