29/04/2010 – Level of volunteering stalls
Published yesterday, the Government’s Communities and Local Government department's fifth citizenship survey, shows that levels of charitable giving and volunteering are continuing to decline. The survey covers the year ending March 2009.
Of 10,000 people surveyed in England and Wales, a small decline is shown in the numbers of people in England who participate in formal volunteering at least once a month, falling from 29 per cent in 2005 to 27 per cent in 2007/08 and 26 per cent in 2008/09.
Survey findings include:
• Donors gave an average of £17.70 in the previous month, which is the same figure as in 2007/08, allowing for inflation.
• 58 per cent of people cite work commitments as the reason for not formally volunteering.
• People who regularly volunteer are more likely to give to charity.
• Formal volunteers spent an average of 12.6 hours volunteering in the previous month, up from 11 hours in 2007/08.
• People with degrees are more likely to be formal volunteers.
• Women are more likely to volunteer than men, with 28 per cent taking part in formal volunteering at least once a month, compared with 23 per cent of men.
• Informal volunteers spent an average of 7.7 hours volunteering in the previous four weeks, the same figure as in 2007/08. The most common activity is "giving advice."