Volunteer Facts
A few Volunteer facts picked up from the Volunteer Canada web site:
- From 1997 to 2000 there has been a drop from 31% to 27% of Canadians volunteering through non profit organizations
- Over the same period there has been an increase in the average hours contributed from 149 hours in 1997 to 162 hours in 2000.
- 5% of Volunteers contributed 34% of the total hours contributed by Canadian Volunteers.
- Another 20% of Volunteers contributed 39% of the total hours given by Canadian Volunteers.
- Therefore 25% of the Volunteers contributed 73% of the total hours given by Canadian Volunteers.
- This 25% of Volunteers is made up of less than 7% of Canadians.
- Good news- In Atlantic Canada the percentage of the population that Volunteered is larger than the national average. The Atlantic Volunteers, on average, also contributed more hours than the national average.
- A breakdown of the types of organizations that Canadians Volunteer in:
- (26% of Volunteer hours) Arts, Culture, and Recreation organizations
- (20% of Volunteer hours) Social Services organizations
- (16% of Volunteer hours) Religious organizations
- (11% of Volunteer hours) Education and Research organizations
- (9% of Volunteer hours) Health organizations
- 30% of Volunteers got involved because they were asked
- 16% of Volunteers approached the organizations on their own. This group gave approximately 50% more hours on average than those who were asked to Volunteer by the organization.
Age
- 30% of Canadians between the age of 35 and 54 Volunteered in 2000
- 18% of Canadians 65 and over Volunteered (this is the lowest rate of participation by age group). However this group contributed the highest number of hours on average over the year.
- 29% of Youth between the age of 15 and 24 Volunteered at above the national average rate of 27%.
- 18% of youth Volunteers were required to participate by their school, employer or the government
Education
- Volunteering tended to increase with the amount of formal education.
- Canadians with a degree(39%) were the most likely to Volunteer
- Canadians with higher levels of education also contributed more hours.
- Canadians with some post secondary contributed the most with an average of 173 hours.
Gender
- Women(28%) Volunteered at a higher rate than men (25%) in 2000
- Men (170 hrs) contributed more hours than women (155hrs)in 2000
- Rates of volunteering dropped for men (from 29% to 25%) and women (from 33% to 28%) however the average number of hours contributed rose in women (140 to 155hrs) and men (160 to 170 hrs).
Labour Force
- 67% of Volunteers were employed in 2000
- Employed Canadians volunteered at a higher rate than those Canadians unemployed and those not in the labour force
- Canadians employed part-time (33%) Volunteered at the highest rate.
- The volunteers not in the labour force (30%) contributed the most hours on average (193hrs) followed by the 4% of volunteers who were unemployed who contributed on average 175hrs.
Household Size and Composition
- 32% of Canadians in a household with children under the age of 18 volunteered.
- Canadians without children in the household contributed at a rate of 24%
- Volunteers with children in the household contributed on average 150 hours
- Canadians without children in the household contributed on average 168 hours.
Source: http://www.volunteer.ca/volcan/eng/iwork/trends-invol.php?display=3,2,4
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