Glossary

  1. Activities
  2. Additional Cities
  3. Adult
  4. Attending Public Meetings Rate
  5. Baby Boomers
  6. Charitable Donation Rate
  7. College Students
  8. Commuting Time Average
  9. Current Population Survey (CPS)
  10. Intensive Volunteer Rate
  11. Current Population Survey (CPS) Volunteer Supplement
  12. Large Cities
  13. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)
  14. Mid-Size Cities
  1. Millennial Generation
  2. National Service
  3. Older Adults
  4. Organizations
  5. Pooled Volunteer Rate
  6. Technical Note
  7. Teenagers
  8. Three-year moving average
  9. Volunteer
  10. Volunteer Hours Per Resident
  11. Volunteer Rate
  12. Volunteer Retention
  13. Working with Neighbors Rate
  14. Young Adults
  1. Activities: Activities are the specific tasks the volunteer did for his or her main organization. Examples include tutoring, fundraising, and general labor.
  2. Additional Cities: Major cities for this report were selected based on population of the surrounding metropolitan areas, as well as the number of metropolitan area residents in the CPS sample. All volunteer data for cities are collected from the metropolitan area in which the city is located, including metro area residents outside the city limits. For metropolitan areas that met these population requirements, but did not have enough respondents in the CPS sample, no city volunteer statistics were published. The additional cities on this Web site represent metropolitan areas with populations of less than 1 million people but greater than 100,000, and have CPS samples large enough to provide reliable estimates of a limited number of volunteer statistics. See the Technical Note for more information about city data.
  3. Adult: Individuals aged 16 years old and older. The Current Population Survey (CPS) also collects labor force and volunteering data for 15-year-old respondents. As in most other publications that use data from the CPS, 15-year-old respondents are excluded from the volunteer statistics published here.
  4. Attending Public Meetings Rate: Calculated from the CPS Volunteer Supplement question, which has been asked since 2006: "Since September 1,[last year], have you attended any public meetings in which there was discussion of community affairs?"
  5. Baby Boomers: Individuals born between 1946 and 1964.
  6. Charitable Donation Rate: The percentage of individuals who donated $25 or more in value of either cash or donated goods. This percentage was calculated by looking at the number of people who responded "yes" to the following question on the CPS Volunteer Supplement: "During the past 12 months, did you donate money, assets, or property with a combined value of more than $25 to charitable or religious organizations?"
  7. College Students: Individuals aged 16-24 years old who are enrolled in college at the time of the survey.
  8. Commuting Time Average: The average number of minutes spent traveling from home to work for residents who don't work at home only.
  9. Current Population Survey (CPS): Each September since 2002, the CPS administers its Supplement on Volunteering (Volunteer Supplement) to adult respondents. The CPS Volunteer Supplement collects information on the incidence of volunteering, the characteristics of volunteers, and civic life indicators in the United States as the September supplement to the Current Population Survey.
  10. Current Population Survey (CPS) Volunteer Supplement: Each September since 2002, the CPS administers its Supplement on Volunteering (Volunteer Supplement) to adult respondents. The CPS Volunteer Supplement collects information on the incidence of volunteering, the characteristics of volunteers, and civic life indicators in the United States.
  11. Intensive Volunteer Rate: The percentage of people who served more than 100 hours for or through one or more organizations during the year prior to the CPS Survey Volunteer Supplement.
  12. Large Cities: Major cities for this report were selected based on population of the surrounding metropolitan areas, as well as the number of metropolitan area residents in the CPS sample. All volunteer data for cities are collected from the metropolitan area in which the city is located, including metro area residents outside the city limits. For metropolitan areas that met these population requirements, but did not have enough respondents in the CPS sample, no city volunteer statistics were published. The large cities on this Web site represent the 50 largest metropolitan areas in terms of estimated 2008 population, plus Rochester, NY (ranked 51st in metro area population). See the Technical Note for more information about city data.
  13. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA ): All city statistics published here are collected from Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), including from residents living outside the city limits. MSAs carry the name of one or more principal cities, the most heavily urbanized cities in the area; the names of the principal cities are used as designations for the city data published here. The federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is responsible for determining and publishing the boundaries of MSAs. In order for an area to be designated an MSA , the area has to have at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more in population, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the urban core as measured by commuting ties. The MSA definitions used in the CPS Volunteering Supplements can be found in the Appendix to OMB Bulletin #03-04, issued June 30, 2003. Since then, OMB's periodic updates have changed the names and principal cities for some MSAs, but the same county-based geographic definitions described in OMB Bulletin #03-04 remain in place today.
  14. Mid-Size Cities: Major cities for this report were selected based on population of the surrounding metropolitan areas, as well as the number of metropolitan area residents in the CPS sample. All volunteer data for cities are collected from the metropolitan area in which the city is located, including metro area residents outside the city limits. For metropolitan areas that met these population requirements, but did not have enough respondents in the CPS sample, no city volunteer statistics were published. The mid-size cities on this Web site are located in metropolitan areas with population of less than 1 million people but greater than 100,000, according to 2008 Census population estimates. See the Technical Note for more information about city data.
  15. Millennial Generation: Individuals born in 1982 and after who are at least 16 years old. The Current Population Survey (CPS) also collects labor force and volunteering data for 15-year-old respondents. As in most other publications that use data from the CPS, 15-year-old respondents are excluded from the volunteer statistics published here.
  16. National Service: National service refers to the Corporation's National Service Programs. National service participants in Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs provide dedicated volunteer service in local communities and the nation to address issues such as education, the environment, public safety, and disaster relief.
  17. Older Adults: Individuals aged 65 years old and older.
  18. Organizations: Organizations are established associations, societies, or nonprofits who share a common interest. Examples include youth groups, civic organizations, churches, synagogues, and other religious institutions.
  19. Pooled Volunteer Rate: The volunteer rate, calculated using combined data from two or more successive CPS Volunteer Supplement samples.
  20. Technical Note: This document provides background information on data sources and survey instruments, addresses issues of statistical reliability, and defines terms used in the report.
  21. Teenagers: Individuals aged 16 to 19 years old. The Current Population Survey (CPS) also collects labor force and volunteering data for 15-year-old respondents. As in most other publications that use data from the CPS, 15-year-old respondents are excluded from the volunteer statistics published here.
  22. Three-year moving average: Shows data that combines responses from the 2006, 2007, and 2008 volunteer supplements to increase the reliability of the estimates.
  23. Volunteer: Persons who performed unpaid volunteer activities at any point during the 12-month period, from September 1 of the prior year through the survey week in September of the survey year. Volunteers answer "yes" to one of the following questions: "Since September 1st of last year, have you done any volunteer activities through or for an organization?" and "Sometimes people don't think of activities they do infrequently or activities they do for children's schools or youth organizations as volunteer activities. Since September 1st of last year, (have you/has he/has she) done any of these types of volunteer activities?"
  24. Volunteer Hours Per Resident: Volunteer hours per resident are calculated as the total volunteer hours served divided by the population aged 16 and over, as estimated from the CPS, for that specific area.
  25. Volunteer Rate: The percentage of individuals who responded on the Current Population Survey's Volunteer Supplement that they had performed unpaid volunteer activities at any point during the 12-month period that preceded the survey for or through an organization.
  26. Volunteer Retention: The proportion of volunteers who also perform volunteer service in the following year. Since the CPS Volunteer Supplement samples overlap by 50% in successive years, volunteer retention rates are calculated using matched pairs of CPS Volunteer Supplement datasets, so that year-1 and year-2 statistics are available for individual respondents.
  27. Working with Neighbors Rate: Calculated from the CPS Volunteer Supplement question, which has been asked since 2006: "Since September 1, 2008, have you worked with other people in your neighborhood to fix or improve something?"
  28. Young Adults: Individuals aged 16 to 24 years old.