1) The Sacramento Business Journal reports that volunteering in Sacramento has increased, and that is very good news, though other areas of the country are still doing better.
An excerpt.
“More Sacramento-area residents volunteered and donated more hours to nonprofits last year since 2005, according to a closely watched report released Tuesday.
“Almost 415,000 residents in the region donated time to nonprofits last year, with the average person volunteering 40.1 hours per year — both are the highest rates since the 423,000 volunteers and 56.7 hours in 2005, the height of the boom market. However, a lower percentage of Sacramento-area residents volunteered last year, 25.8 percent compared to 28 percent in 2008 and 29.3 percent in 2005, the highest-ever percentage of participation.
“The average annual hours donated and the percentage of participation in the Sacramento region are higher than the statewide average, but pale compared to many other cities and states.”
2) The national volunteering picture is noted in the news release from the Corporation for National and Community Service.
An excerpt.
“Washington, DC – Despite difficult economic times, the number of Americans volunteering in their communities jumped by 1.6 million last year, the largest increase in six years, according to a report released today by the Corporation for National and Community Service.
“The Corporation's annual Volunteering in America report found that 63.4 million Americans volunteered through a formal organization last year, giving more than 8.1 billion hours of volunteer service worth an estimated $169 billion.
“Americans have responded to tough economic times by volunteering in big numbers,” said Patrick Corvington, the Corporation's CEO. “What we're seeing is the depth of the American spirit and generosity at its best. People are turning toward problems, working with their neighbors to find solutions to real problems, from homelessness to the dropout crisis.”
“Previous research would suggest that volunteering should drop during an economic downturn, because volunteer rates are higher among job-holders and homeowners. Instead, volunteering increased at the fastest rate in six years, and the volunteer rate went up among all race and ethnic groups.”
About
- David H. Lukenbill
- I am a California native, married, we have one daughter and live close to the American River with two cats and all the wild critters we can feed. I am a management consultant to nonprofit organizations and have an Associates of Arts degree in Administration of Justice from Sacramento City College, a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Public Administration degree, also from the University of San Francisco.