Volunteers themselves also benefit from their volunteer activities, according to the 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating NSGVP.1 Top benefits of volunteering M
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Nonprofit and voluntary organizations, individuals, and society
as a whole benefit from the activities of volunteers Volunteers themselves also benefit from their volunteer activities, according
to the 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP).1
Top benefits of volunteering
More than three quarters (79%) of volunteers said that their volunteer activities helped them with their interpersonal skills, such as understanding people better, motivating others, and dealing with difficult situations
Just over two thirds (68%) of volunteers said that volunteering helped them to develop better communication skills Sixty three percent reported increased knowledge about issues related to their volunteering
The effects of volunteering more
The percentage of volunteers who reported gaining specific skills as a result of volunteering increased steadily with the number of hours they contributed For example, over three quarters (78%) of volunteers who contributed 188 or more hours during 2000 reported gaining communication skills, compared to just over half (52%) of those who contributed
19 hours or less Similar, but less pronounced, patterns are seen with other skills
Job skills as a motivation to volunteer
Volunteering is often seen as an opportunity to acquire job-related skills and improve job opportunities Almost one quarter (23%) of volunteers said that they volunteered for this reason
The desire to improve job opportunities is a much more common motivation for volunteering among younger and unemployed volunteers than it is among other volunteers
Over half (55%) of volunteers aged 15 to 24 said that they volunteered to improve their job opportunities This dropped
to 27% among those aged 25 to 34 Forty-two percent* of unemployed volunteers gave this reason for volunteering, compared to only 22% of volunteers who were employed or not in the labour force
www.givingandvolunteering.ca
The Benefits of
Volunteering
1 NSGVP estimates are based on reports of charitable giving and volunteering over a one-year period by Canadians aged 15 and older.
* Sample size limitations affect the reliability of this estimate.
66%
52% 52%
88%
78% 74%
62%
66%
78%
64% 74%
81%
0%
50%
100%
Interpersonal Skills Communication Skills Increased Knowledge
20 - 71 Hours 72 - 187 Hours
1 - 19 Hours
188+ Hours
55%
27%
18%
13%
8%* 0%
35%
70%
15 – 24 25 – 34 35 – 44 45 – 54 55 – 64
% of Volunteers
Percentage Who Reported Gaining Skills by Average Number of Hours Volunteered
Volunteered to Improve Job Opportunities,
by Age
79%
68%
63%
57%
45%
33%
0%
50%
100%
Interpersonal Skills Communication Skills Increased Knowledge
Managerial Skills Fundraising Skills Technical or Office Skills
% of Volunteers
Percentage Who Reported Gaining Skills from Volunteer Activities
42%*
0%
30%
60%
Employed Unemployed Not in Labour Fource
Volunteered to Improve Job Opportunities,
by Employment Status
Trang 2Volunteering and employment-rrelated benefits
Generally, the same groups that are most likely to volunteer to improve their job prospects are also more likely to say that volunteering increased their skills and improved their job prospects
For example, volunteers aged 15 to 24 were more likely than older volunteers to report gaining increased communication skills (82%) and interpersonal skills (77%) from their volunteer activities However, those aged 55 to 64 were more likely than other volunteers to report gaining knowledge from their volunteer activities
Unemployed volunteers were more likely than other volunteers to report gaining communication skills
Three quarters (75%) of unemployed volunteers reported gaining communication skills, compared to 68% of employed volunteers and 66% of volunteers who were not in the labour force Similar, but less pronounced, patterns were seen with other skills
Just under half (49%) of employed volunteers aged 15
to 24 said their volunteer activities gave them new skills that they could apply directly to their job
Additionally, almost one quarter (24%) of volunteers aged 15 to 24 said that their volunteer activities had helped them in the past to obtain employment
Perhaps the most compelling finding regarding the effectiveness of volunteer activity in helping people
to obtain employment is that 28% of unemployed volunteers (and 16% of employed volunteers) said that their volunteering had helped them obtain a job in the past and 62% of unemployed volunteers believed that it would help them to find a job in the future
www.givingandvolunteering.ca
The Benefits of Volunteering Page 2
NSGVP
2 0 0 0
We welcome your feedback about this research product and how you made use
of it Please e-mail us at ccccpprreesseeaarrcchh@ @ccccpp ccaa.
For more information on the 1997 and 2000 National Survey for Giving, Volunteering and Participating, including full text of the
highlight report, Caring Canadians,
Involved Canadians, please visit
www.givingandvolunteering.ca.
Canadian Centre for Philanthropy Research Program
425 University Ave., Suite 700 Toronto, ON M5G 1T6 tel 416.597.2293 fax 416.597.2294
We would like to acknowledge the support of our funder, Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC), for the production of this fact sheet.
© 2004, Canadian Centre for Philanthropy
77%
75%
82%
63%
68%
79%
0%
50%
100%
Interpersonal Skills Communication Skills Increased Knowledge
Unemployed Employed
Not in the Labour Force
49%
35% 37% 36%
24%
21%
29%* 12% 12%*
8%* 0%
50%
100%
15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64
Volunteer activities helped
to obtain employment (All Volunteers)
Learned new skills that can
be applied to job (Employed Volunteers)
Percentage Who Report Gaining Skills,
by Employment Status
Job-RRelated Benefits, by Age
82%
77%
62%
71%
64%
67% 64%
74%
61%
69% 75%
59% 60% 81% 80%
62% 65%
78%
0%
50%
100%
Interpersonal Skills Communication Skills Increased Knowledge
15 -24
25 - 34
35 - 44 45 - 54
55 - 64
65 +
Percentage who Report Gaining Skills, by Age