Volunteering
Date Updated: 08/16/2011
The August 2011 Corporation for National and Community Service report, Volunteering in America Issue Brief [pdf], summarizes volunteering at the national, state, and city level. The corresponding website, Volunteering in America, includes information on Fort Collins MSA as well as Boulder MSA, Colorado Springs MSA, Denver MSA, Greeley MSA, Pueblo MSA, Colorado, and the United States. The data were collected from a supplement to the 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 Current Population Surveys by the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Thus the data were organized by MSA or metropolitan statistical areas. Rates for mid-size cities (e.g., Fort Collins MSA) were calculated using a four-year average (2007-2010). The Fort Collins MSA includes the cities of Fort Collins and Loveland.
In 2010, 62.8 million volunteers throughout the United States provided approximately 8.1 billion hours of service to make an economic contribution of $173 billion. The current report provides detailed volunteer information by state, large cities, and mid-size cities. These regions are ranked on different measures of volunteering including volunteer rate and volunteer hours per capita. Volunteer rate represents the percentage of the population that volunteers. Volunteer hours per capita divides the total hours volunteered by the population of the selected region. For the fourth year in a row, Utah had the highest volunteer rate for states, Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, led large cities and Provo, UT, led mid-sized cities. See the rankings for Colorado and Colorado cities in the corresponding data graph below.
Some community factors have been found to influence volunteer rates. Five key elements have been identified: community attachment, commuting times, socioeconomic characteristics, volunteer retention, and the capacity of nonprofit organizations.
- Community attachment increases volunteer rates. Specifically, a higher percentage of the population owning their own homes increases the number of volunteers, higher percentages of apartment-style housing decreases volunteer rates, and high population density decreases volunteer rates due to the anonymity of residents.
- Longer commuting times reduces time available for volunteering.
- Volunteering rates increase as education levels increase, so communities with more college-educated residents have higher rates of volunteering. Also, communities with high levels of poverty have lower volunteer rates.
- Communities that show higher levels of volunteer retention (volunteers staying committed to organization over one year) have higher rates of volunteering.
- Communities with more nonprofit organizations, specifically numerous small nonprofits, have higher rates of volunteering. Obviously volunteer opportunities must be available for volunteers to provide service.
Beyond the benefits to organizations, volunteering also provides individual health benefits [pdf]. Volunteers have greater longevity, higher functional ability, lower rates of depression, and less incidence of heart disease than non-volunteers.
What this chart shows: Volunteer Rates and Volunteer Hours per Capita - Fort Collins MSA, Boulder, Denver, Greeley, Colorado, and the United States, 2007-2010 (4-year average)
Data Source: Corporation for National and Community Service
What the above data tell us:
Of the areas depicted above, the Fort Collins MSA had the highest number of hours volunteered per resident (58.3 per resident). Fort Collins-Loveland ranked 5th out of mid-sized cities in volunteer hours per capita, above that of Boulder, which ranked 10th. Denver ranked 24th in volunteer hours per capita among large cities and Colorado was 12th out of the states. For mid-sized cities, Fort Collins ranked 5th for volunteer rates, just below Boulder at 4th place; Denver was 13th out of large cities; and Colorado was 12th among the states.What this chart shows: Where Residents Volunteer, Fort Collins MSA, 2007-2010 (4-year average)
Data Source: Corporation for National and Community Service
What the above data tell us:
The majority of volunteers worked with educational organizations, followed by those volunteering for religious organizations. The remainder worked with social services, sports or arts, health, or civic organizations.What this chart shows: Top Four Volunteer Activities - Fort Collins MSA, 2007-2010 (4-year average)
Numbers will not add to 100 because volunteers often perform multiple activities.
Data Source: Corporation for National and Community Service
What these data tell us:
Slightly more than a quarter of volunteers in Larimer County performed general labor duties between 2007 and 2010. Less than a quarter of volunteers performed management or professional duties or acted as tutors. However, the largest percentage of volunteers in the County (31.5%) performed fundraising duties.What this chart shows: Intensive Volunteers (100 Hours or More Annually), Fort Collins MSA, Boulder, Denver, Greeley, Colorado and United States - 2007-2010 (4-year average)
*Rate calculated on 3-year average from 2008-2010
Data Source: Corporation for National and Community Service
What these data tell us:
Of the entities shown above, Boulder had the highest percentage of volunteers providing 100 or more volunteer hours per year.Retired individuals are the main contributors of 100 or more hours a year.
Metropolitan Statistical Areas have at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more population, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties.
Volunteer is a person 16 years and older who serves through or with an organization without pay at any point during the 12 month period during September of one year to September of the following year.
Related Information on COMPASS -
Other Resources -
- Corporation for National and Community Service
- Directors of Volunteers in Agencies (DOVIA of Larimer County)
- Giving and Volunteering in the United States - Independent Sector
- Student Leadership Involvement and Community Engagement (SLiCE) - Colorado State University
- United Way of Larimer County
- The Volunteer Center - A program of United Way of Larimer County
Data Tables:
Volunteer Rate and Volunteer Hours per Capita, 2007-2010 (4-year average)
|
Volunteer Rate |
Ranking |
Total Number of Volunteers |
Total Hours Volunteered (in millions) |
Estimated $$ Contribution** |
Volunteer Hours/ Resident |
Ranking |
|
|
Fort Collins MSA |
42.2 | 5th | 106,900 | 14.8 | $320 million | 58.3 | 5th |
|
Boulder |
44.8 | 4th | 133,900 | 16.2 | $350.2 million | 54.3 | 10th |
|
Denver* |
29.6 | 14th | 577,850 | 81.0 | $1.8 billion | 39.4 | 24th |
|
Greeley |
30.4 | 35th | 64,700 | 7.1 | $153.5 million | 33.3 | 44th |
|
Colorado |
32.4 | 13th | 1.3 million | 164.0 | $3.5 billion | 43.6 | 12th |
|
United States |
26.4 | n/a | 62.2 million | 8.1 billion | $173 billion | 34.3 | n/a |
*Data based on 2010 only
**Based on hourly wage of $21.62 (Colorado) and $21.36 (United States)
Where Fort Collins Residents Volunteer, 2007-2010 (4-year average)
|
Educational |
Religious |
Social Services |
Sports/Arts |
Health |
Civic |
Other |
|
38.6% |
19.7% |
16.5% |
4.7% |
8.2% |
4.5% |
7.8% |
Top Four Volunteer Activities, Fort Collins MSA, 2007-2010 (4-year average)
|
Fundraise |
General Labor |
Professional/ Management |
Tutor/Teach |
|
31.5% |
28.5% |
23.7% |
23.0% |
Intensive Volunteers (100 Hours or More Annually), 2007-2010 (4-year average)
|
Intensive Hours |
|
|
Fort Collins MSA |
32.5 |
|
Boulder |
39.3 |
|
Denver* |
28.7 |
|
Greeley |
32.5 |
|
Colorado* |
32.3 |
|
United States* |
33.8 |
*Data based on 3-year average from 2008-2010