The State of Volunteering
in Canada
National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating - 2000
The results of the NSGVP contain both good news and bad news. The good news is that 6.5 million Canadians are engaged in volunteering and these volunteers come from all age groups, all backgrounds, and all communities. The bad news is that, between 1997 and 2000, one million fewer Canadians contributed to a formal volunteer activity - a 13 percent decline. This is an alarming trend.
The volunteering rate declined independent of age, sex, marital status, education, labour force status and income. Despite the adoption of mandatory community service in some high school education systems, the volunteering rate among those aged 15-24 declined from 33 percent in 1997 to 29 percent in 2000.
Further, in spite of a 2.5 percent increase in the Canadian population and a
9 percent increase in the average number of hours per volunteer between 1997 and 2000, the decline in the overall volunteering rate resulted in an absolute decline in the total number of volunteer hours - from 1.11 billion hours in 1997 to 1.05 billion hours in 2000. To put this in perspective, this decline of 56 million volunteer hours is equivalent to the loss of 29,000 full-time jobs. While these numbers speak for themselves, they do not explain why this decline has occurred.
In 2000, 73 percent of Canadians did not volunteer at all, at least in the formal system. The survey findings also show that only seven percent of Canadians contribute almost three-quarters of all volunteer effort. This central core of 'super' volunteers is highly homogenous: they are older, university educated, higher income, parents, and actively religious. While these people represent a remarkable cohort of Canadians, dependence on such a small number is neither wise, nor sustainable, in the longer term. Effort is needed to deepen and extend the pool of volunteers.
The survey does provide some insights into motivation and obstacles to volunteering. For example, in the recent survey, 62 percent of volunteers cited potential employment prospects as their reason for volunteering. Only about half said that in 1997.
The single most important factor people give for volunteering is a belief in the cause supported by the organizations. This is followed by: putting skills to use; being personally affected by the cause; and exploring one's own strengths. These factors remained stable over the three-year period, suggesting that other factors contributed to the marked decline in volunteering.
The reasons given for not volunteering have remained relatively constant: lack of time and unwillingness to make a year-round commitment. The survey also indicates that many non-volunteers in Canada have never been asked to volunteer. Many people indicate that they don't know how to get involved in their community. A clear need exists to promote and celebrate volunteerism to help Canadians from all backgrounds become more aware of volunteering opportunities, and to help organizations reach out to potential volunteers.
Although the survey provides a useful snapshot of volunteer participation, it also leaves many questions unanswered. The survey points to the need for more analysis to answer such questions as: why volunteering is down and giving is up; why a small proportion of people are carrying an increasingly heavy volunteer load; and whether mandatory community service programs are proving effective.
