Moving ahead or falling behind? Volunteer promotion and data collection

Substantial efforts have been expended to promote civic engagement during the 1990s and early 2000s. Yet as significant as volunteerism is economically, socially, and philosophically to the United States, surprisingly little in the way of longitudinal research has been carried out to assess the impact of these promotional activities. Few areas of civic engagement offer reliable trend data. We examine the available data in three areas: individual volunteering, volunteering to stipended government programs, and employee volunteering. We find modest but steady increases in volunteer numbers in all three areas, but point out numerous methodological problems that limit the reliability of present longitudinal data. We conclude by calling for a renewed financial investment in national volunteering surveys with a broader focus than current efforts.