Volunteer activity in Dallas

What does this indicator measure?

Measuring volunteer activity completely and accurately is difficult because most volunteer activity is not formally reported. As an alternative, this indicator reports the number of referrals made in 2005 by the Dallas-based Volunteer Center of North Texas. Additionally, this indicator reports general statistics about volunteering on a national level.

Why is this indicator important?
A March 2006 news release issued by the Independent Sector reported that the estimated value of a volunteer's time in 2005 was $18.04 per hour. The organization also reported that the total value of hours reported nationally in the United States in 2005 was equivalent to about $280 billion. The level of a population's citizens’ involvement in volunteering is indicative of several things. First and foremost, in a democratic society, together with other civic activity, volunteering increases awareness of "collective interests and breaks down the walls of insularity, leading to greater understanding and trust," according to Keeter, Zukin, Andolina, and Jenkins in The civic and political health of a nation: A generational portrait, published in 2002. A study of volunteering in Japan titled Community determinates of volunteer participation and the promotion of civic health: The case of Japan, written by M. A. Haddad and published in 2004, concluded that how well government and society legitimizes, funds, and organizes volunteers determines the level of volunteer participation in a community. Additionally, Keeter et al. (2002) point out that volunteerism may be an indication of whether or not there are good role models in a society.

How are we doing?
The counties within the Dallas Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA) have many volunteer opportunities. This type of activity is difficult to measure because much of it goes unreported. The Volunteer Center of North Texas is a resource that effectively links individuals and organizations looking for opportunities to corporations and nonprofits seeking volunteers. Their online volunteer database can be used to view the various types of volunteer activities occurring in the Dallas PMSA, which may be a somewhat representative measure of volunteering.

According to its Web site, the Volunteer Center of North Texas represents more than 1,800 nonprofit organizations, corresponding to 26 different causes. According to the volunteer center, about 81,000 referrals, which affected more than 325,000 people, were made in their fiscal year 2005 (November 1, 2004 through October 31, 2005). Dallas Indicators previously reported numbers for fiscal year 2002, noting that more than 77,000 referrals had been made, affecting about 300,000 people. There appears to be a trend toward the numbers of volunteer opportunities available (or at least publicized by this organization) increasing in the Dallas PMSA. The total numbers are approximately doubled when viewing data from single dates in November 2003 and January 2006. It is difficult to assess from available data whether this is due to more opportunities arising, or fewer people volunteering (resulting in opportunities remaining in the database for a longer time).

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The online volunteer database of the Volunteer Center of North Texas showed the following for January 2006:

Dallas County had nearly 2,500 volunteer opportunities, which was more than double the number of opportunities available in November 2003 (1,200).
The education category offered the highest number of volunteer opportunities, with 448 of the 2,485 listed opportunities being related to education. This was also more than double the number in November 2003 (218).
The mentoring and community development categories had the next highest numbers of volunteer opportunities (216 and 201 opportunities, respectively).
The lowest numbers of opportunities to volunteer were in the categories of adoption and teen pregnancy/parenting (6 and 21 opportunities, respectively).
For specific populations served, the highest number of opportunities involved serving the general public (432 opportunities).
Many opportunities involved serving families and children of various ages.
For specific populations served, the lowest number of opportunities involved serving animals and infants (28 and 65 opportunities, respectively).

The Bureau of Labor Statistics studies volunteerism at a national level. A September 2005 survey of the noninstitutionalized population showed the following:

Overall, about one fourth of men and one third of women volunteered.
Of the population ages 35 to 44, 34.5% volunteer—the most of any age bracket.
More than 30% of people ages 16 to 19 volunteer, but the rate of volunteerism falls to less than 20% for those ages 20 to 24.
Among racial/ethnic groups, 30.4% of Whites, 22.1% of Blacks, and 15.4% of Hispanics volunteer.
Volunteerism increases with level of education. College graduates volunteer at more than 2 times the rate (45.8%) of those who did not attend college (21.2%), and at more than 4 times the rate of those without a high school diploma (10.0%).
Married people volunteered more often than those who were never married (34.1% versus 23.0%, respectively) and people of other marital status (23.1%).
People with children under 18 were more likely to volunteer than those without children under 18 (37.0% versus 25.5%, respectively).
Volunteer rates were higher among employed people (31.3%) than unemployed people (26.4%) or those not in the labor force (24.4%), but part-time employees were more likely to volunteer (38.2%) than full-time employees (29.8%).