ISSUE BRIEF: 

Capitalizing on Volunteers’ Skills: 

Volunteering by Occupation in America 

September 2008 

Background 

Each year more than 60 million people volunteer their time and talents to 

nonprofit organizations across America. These volunteers work to tackle 

some of our nation’s most difficult challenges such as literacy, 

healthcare, hunger and homelessness, keeping young people in school, 

disaster relief and recovery and so much more. The Corporation for 

National and Community Service (the Corporation) creates opportunities 

for Americans to meet these critical needs through service, helps 

strengthen the capacity of communities and organizations to use 

volunteers effectively, and works to engage more Americans in a lifetime 

of volunteering and service. 

While volunteers already make valuable contributions to their community 

and country, nonprofit organizations can greatly enhance their use of 

volunteers, improve volunteer retention, and gain greater benefit to their 

operations by taking a fresh look at their volunteer infrastructure and 

management. There is an opportunity for nonprofits to expand and even 

reinvent their concept of how volunteers can contribute to their 

organizations and communities in order to use them more effectively. All 

too often volunteers are assigned to activities that do not fully capitalize 

on their individual skills and talents. In order to help nonprofits more 

effectively gain from the potential value of volunteers’ skills and to 

encourage more adults to use their skills in their volunteer activities, 

especially in employee volunteer programs, the Corporation has 

launched a new initiative called A Billion + Change. 

Founded by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation 

and led by the Corporation for National and Community Service, A Billion 

+ Change is a three-year campaign to recast pro bono service— once 

the sole purview of law firms— as a cross-sector solution with the 

potential to transform the 21st century. The campaign’s goal is to 

generate $1 billion worth of skilled expertise to help nonprofits meet 

community needs while providing technical assistance and resources to 

participating nonprofits and companies. 

In support of A Billion + Change and the Corporation’s goal to help 

nonprofits effectively use volunteers, this brief seeks to analyze the 

extent to which volunteers are already utilizing their professional and 

occupational skills in their volunteer service assignments and determine 

potential opportunities to better tap into those skills and talents. 

Capitalizing on Volunteers’ Skills is based on data from the 2005, 2006, 

and 2007 Volunteer Supplements to the Current Population Survey 

(CPS). The annual surveys are administered through the Census 

Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics through a partnership with the 

Corporation. 
Capitalizing on Volunteers’ Skills: Volunteering by Occupation in America 

2

Introduction 

Americans are looking for ways to use their education and personal 

skills to make a positive impact in their communities. Research has 

shown that nonprofits that provide a variety of options to potential 

volunteers and match them to appropriate skills-based activities are 

more likely to see greater returns on their investment and are more 

likely to keep their volunteers serving year after year.1

 

Many businesses and corporations have begun to forge strong 

partnerships with nonprofit organizations to benefit their communities 

and help their employees find ways to provide skills-based and pro 

bono service. Through these partnerships, companies also gain 

significant benefits including stronger reputations and increased 

visibility in communities, and a greater sense of fulfillment and 

commitment among employees. 

Unfortunately, these nonprofit-corporate relationships are still in the 

minority, which poses a challenge as individuals seek opportunities to 

use their skills when they volunteer. This study reveals four key 

findings: 

 Most volunteers do not perform service activities that relate to 

their professional or occupational skills. 

 The legal profession is a leading example of a field where its 

professionals use their skills when performing their volunteer 

activities. 

 Many volunteers engage in fundraising, which though very 

important, may detract from opportunities to use their skills in 

other much-needed activities. 

 Volunteers who use their skills when they serve appear to be 

more likely to continue serving year to year. 

Volunteer Rates 

When analyzing the differences in skills-based volunteering habits among volunteers in various 

occupations,2

 it is important to note that volunteer rates vary widely among those occupations. Though 

the national average volunteer rate is 27.2 percent, occupational rates vary anywhere from 50.3 percent 

for education, training, and library professionals to 15.8 percent for construction and extraction laborers 

(see Appendix Table A-1)3

. Management, professional, and related occupations tend to have higher 

volunteer rates than others. This trend may be explained in part by disparities in income among the 

occupational groups as well as the differing levels of education typically acquired for each, as adults with 

higher income and higher education levels are generally more likely to volunteer. 

 

1

 This information is from the Corporation’s Volunteer Management Capacity Study released in partnership with the Urban Institute. 

See “Balancing Act: The Challenges and Benefits of Volunteers,” authored by Mark A. Hager and Jeffrey L. Brudney, at 

http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/Balancing_Act.pdf and “Volunteer Management Practices and Retention of Volunteers” by the 

same at http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/Management_Brief.pdf. 2

 The 22 occupational groups used here to categorize the American labor force are defined by the Standard Occupational 

Classification (SOC) system, which is published by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and developed in consultation with

agencies that produce and work with labor force data. For more details about the latest version of the SOC system, see the 1998 

OMB document (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/socfr5.pdf). We have placed the 22 occupational groups into broad 

categories that are based on the six-category grouping system recommended by OMB. The “Management, Professional, and 

Related” category here is equivalent to the same category in the OMB grouping system. We have combined the categories of 

“Service Occupations” and “Sales and Office Occupations” used in the OMB six-category grouping system into one category called 

“Service, Sales and Office.” We also combined the categories “Natural Resources, Construction, and Maintenance Occupations” 

and “Production, Transportation, and Material-Moving Occupations” used in the OMB six-category grouping system into one 

category called “Labor.” 

3

 The national average volunteer rate uses pooled data from 2005-2007 and includes individuals who are not in the labor force. 

OCCUPATION: For adult CPS 

respondents in the labor 

force, a categorical 

description of the job they 

held in early September (the 

week before the volunteer 

survey) for which they 

worked the largest number 

of hours. About 5 percent of 

survey respondents are 

unemployed, and are 

classified by their last job. 

VOLUNTEER:A person who 

performed unpaid activities 

for an organization at any 

point during the 12-month 

period covered by the CPS 

volunteer survey. 

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY: The 

specific task a volunteer did 

for an organization. 

Examples include tutoring, 

fundraising, and serving 

food. 

SKILLS-BASED VOLUNTEER

ACTIVITY:A volunteer task in 

which the individual serving 

uses the same skills that 

they use in their paid 

occupation. 
Capitalizing on Volunteers’ Skills: Volunteering by Occupation in America 

3

Key Findings 

Most volunteers do not perform service activities that relate to their professional 

or occupational skills. 

Of the 22 occupational groups included in this study, each has a number of volunteers performing every 

one of the activities identified in the survey. It is not surprising to see that some medical professionals 

coach youth sports for their volunteer activity, or that an artist might serve food at a soup kitchen, since 

volunteers have a variety of skills, interests and goals in addition to the ones they use for their paid work. 

The CPS data show how often volunteers participate in each activity, including those activities that relate 

to their occupational skills. 

Most volunteers in every occupational group do not perform volunteer service activities that are directly 

related to their professional skills and abilities (see Tables A-2 and A-3 in the Appendix). If most 

volunteers tended to use their professional skills while volunteering, we would expect to see many, or 

most, volunteers within each occupational group performing particular activities that they also use while 

working for pay. On the contrary, there is considerable variety within each occupational group in the 

types of activities volunteers perform. Table A-2 shows that across all occupational groups, a majority of 

volunteers do not perform any single particular activity. Furthermore, the most common activities for 

volunteers in general also tend to be the most common activities for volunteers within each occupational 

group. Finally, as Table A-3 shows, volunteers within each occupational category specialize in a variety 

of volunteer activities; in none of the occupations do we see more than a quarter of volunteers 

specializing in the same main activity. 

In order to look at the issue more precisely, we identified several occupations where the key professional 

skills had an obvious match within the list of volunteer activities. For example, volunteers who work as 

“education, training, and library professionals” would be considered skills-based volunteers if their service 

activity involved “tutoring or teaching.” Table 1 below shows that in the eight occupations with clear 

linkages to specific volunteer activities,4

 few volunteers use their occupational skills in their main activitythe service activity that they spend the most time performing as a volunteer.

Table 1: Percentage of Volunteers Serving in Related Skills-Based Activities 

 

4

 Most of the occupations do not link clearly to a corresponding activity that could be considered “skills-based.” However, for

eight of the occupations, linkages were logically clear enough for reporting. 

Occupation Related Skills-based Activity Percentage of Volunteers 

Performing Activity as 

Main Activity 

Arts, design, entertainment, 

sports, media 

Engage in music, performance, or 

other artistic activities 

11.4% 

Education, training, and library Tutor or teach 19.7% 

Food preparation and serving 

related 

Collect, prepare, distribute, or serve 

food 

15.1% 

Health care practitioner and 

technical 

Provide counseling, medical care, 

fire/EMS, or protective services 

11.4% 

Legal Provide professional or 

management assistance, including 

serving on a board or committee 

23.3% 

Management Provide professional or 

management assistance, including 

serving on a board or committee 

15.5% 

Office and administrative support Provide general office services 6.9% 

Sales and related Fundraise or sell items to raise 

money 

14.2% 
Capitalizing on Volunteers’ Skills: Volunteering by Occupation in America 

4

Most volunteers participate in multiple activities when they serve. For instance, a mentor might also serve 

as a tutor or a sports coach and might also provide some administrative support to the organization 

through which he or she serves. Because of this, we also looked at the activities volunteers participate in 

as any part of their volunteering through their main organization. Table 2 below shows that of the eight 

occupations with clear linkages to corresponding volunteer activities, none exceeds a rate of 37 percent 

serving in the related activity as one of their volunteer tasks. 

Table 2: Percentage of Volunteers Serving in Related Skills-Based Activity 

as One of Their Activities 

The legal profession is a leading example of a field where its professionals use 

their skills when performing their volunteer activities. 

The findings in Tables 1 and 2 show that legal professionals have a higher likelihood of performing their 

corresponding activity of providing professional or management service. About 36 percent of legal 

professionals provide professional or management services for at least one of their volunteer activities 

and 23.3 percent provide such services as their main volunteer activity. It is likely that the American Bar 

Association played a role in the growth of skills-based service among this group by encouraging and 

eventually codifying the decree that “a lawyer should aspire to render at least (50) hours of pro bono 

public legal services per year.”5

 Additionally, legal professionals have one of the highest rates of service 

performed of all occupations at 47.1 percent.

Many volunteers engage in fundraising, which though very important, may 

detract from opportunities to use their skills in other much-needed activities. 

Fundraising or selling items to raise money is the most popular volunteer activity6 for 11 of the 17 nonlabor occupations. In fact, it is also one of the top three activities for every occupation, including the labor 

occupations. This is not surprising, considering that almost all nonprofits report that they are in need of 

investment capital for a variety of reasons including technology, program development, and improved 

infrastructure.7

 However, it may be that the tendency to engage volunteers in this critical function may be 

 

5 For more information on pro bono in the legal sector go to http://www.abanet.org/. 6 These percentages refer to the activity performed by the largest number of volunteers in each occupational group. In contrast,

Table A-2 shows the percentage of volunteers in each occupation who report that a given activity is their “main” activity. 7 Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Civil Society Studies Institute for Policy Studies Listening Post Project, Communique No. 5.

Occupation Related Skills-Based Activity Percentage of Volunteers 

Performing Activity as One of 

their Activities 

Arts, design, entertainment, 

sports, media 

Engage in music, performance, or 

other artistic activities 

20.7% 

Education, training, and library Tutor or teach 35.0% 

Food preparation and serving 

related 

Collect, prepare, distribute, or serve 

food 

29.7% 

Health care practitioner and 

technical 

Provide counseling, medical care, 

fire/EMS, or protective services 

18.3% 

Legal Provide professional or 

management assistance, including 

serving on a board or committee 

36.1% 

Management Provide professional or 

management assistance, including 

serving on a board or committee 

27.4% 

Office and administrative 

support 

Provide general office services 16.2% 

Sales and related Fundraise or sell items to raise 

money 

31.9% 
Capitalizing on Volunteers’ Skills: Volunteering by Occupation in America 

5

limiting the opportunity for volunteers to use their occupational skills to make additional useful 

contributions to the overall health and success of non-profits. Finding ways to incorporate the 

occupational skills of volunteers may make the volunteer experience more fulfilling and increase nonprofits’ ability to retain their volunteers. Table 3 below shows all occupations’ top volunteer activity and 

the rate at which volunteers participate in each. 

Table 3: Top Activities Performed as a Part of Service 

Occupation #1 Activity Performed by Volunteers in 

Occupation 

Percentage of 

Volunteers in 

Occupation 

Performing #1 

Activity 

Management, Professional, 

and Related 

Management Fundraise or sell items to raise money 30.8% 

Business and financial 

operations 

Fundraise or sell items to raise money 33.4% 

Computer and mathematical 

science 

Fundraise or sell items to raise money 25.0% 

Architecture and engineering Engage in general labor; supply transportation to 

people 

26.7% 

Life, physical, and social Fundraise or sell items to raise money 27.9% 

Community and social service Tutor or teach, & Mentor youth 29.0% 

Legal Provide professional or management assistance, 

including serving on a board or committee 

36.1% 

Education, training, and library Tutor or teach 35.0% 

Arts, design, entertainment, 

sports, media Fundraise or sell items to raise money 27.7% 

Healthcare practitioner and 

technical Fundraise or sell items to raise money 28.7% 

Service, Sales and Office 

Healthcare support Fundraise or sell items to raise money 30.2% 

Protective service Fundraise or sell items to raise money 28.1% 

Food preparation and serving 

related 

Collect, prepare, distribute, or serve food 29.7% 

Building and grounds cleaning 

and maintenance 

Collect, prepare, distribute, or serve food 27.0% 

Personal care and service Fundraise or sell items to raise money 28.0% 

Sales and related Fundraise or sell items to raise money 31.9% 

Office and administrative 

support Fundraise or sell items to raise money 32.7% 

Labor 

Farming, fishing, and forestry Engage in general labor; supply transportation to 

people

36.0% 

Construction and extraction Engage in general labor; supply transportation to 

people

36.6% 

Installation, maintenance, and 

repair 

Engage in general labor; supply transportation to 

people

29.5% 

Production Engage in general labor; supply transportation to 

people

28.7% 

Transportation and materials 

moving 

Engage in general labor; supply transportation to 

people

28.9% 
Capitalizing on Volunteers’ Skills: Volunteering by Occupation in America 

6

Interestingly, providing general labor or transportation is the most likely volunteer activity for workers in all 

the labor occupations. While the relationship between each labor occupation and this activity is not 

explicitly clear, this general trend could be a sign that adults in labor occupations are doing more skillsbased volunteering than adults in most other occupations. 

Volunteers who use their skills when they serve appear to be more likely to 

continue serving from year to year. 

Because such a small group of volunteers serve in their corresponding skills-based activity, our sample 

size is not large enough to make conclusive comparisons between those volunteers who do and those 

who do not participate in skills-based activities in most occupations. Table 4 shows the retention rates for 

each of the eight occupations with corresponding skills-based activities. For volunteers in almost all of 

the eight occupational groups, the retention rate is higher when people use their skills while volunteering 

compared to when they do not. Within two of those occupational groups, the difference is significant: 

volunteers who use these skills at their volunteer assignment are more likely to continue serving the next 

year than volunteers from the same occupation who do not. 

Table 4: Skills-Based Activity Retention vs. Non-Skills-Based Activity Retention 

Occupation Activity Retention Rate for 

Volunteers not 

Performing 

Activity 

Retention Rate 

for Volunteers 

Performing 

Activity 

Difference 

Arts, design, 

entertainment, sports, 

media 

Engage in music, 

performance, or other 

artistic activities 

66.9% 76.3% NS 

Education, training 

and library 

Tutor or teach 62.7% 64.1% NS 

Food preparation and 

serving related 

Collect, prepare, 

distribute, or serve 

food 

55.6% 47.4% NS 

Healthcare 

practitioner and 

technical 

Provide counseling, 

medical care, 

fire/EMS, or protective 

services 

64.5% 72.2% NS 

Legal Provide professional 

or management 

assistance, including 

serving on a board or 

committee 

69.5% 76.8% NS 

Management Provide professional 

or management 

assistance, including 

serving on a board or 

committee 

69.5% 82.3% + 

Office and 

administrative 

support 

Provide general office 

services 61.2% 75.6% + 

Sales and related Fundraise or sell items 

to raise money 63.4% 61.4% NS 
Capitalizing on Volunteers’ Skills: Volunteering by Occupation in America 

7

Conclusion and Implications

Volunteers with particular occupational skills can sometimes be 

challenging to find. 

Of course, a limitless supply of volunteers with the skills a particular 

community or organization needs simply does not exist. For instance, 

nonprofits in need of business and financial operations skills will find 

that only 5.5 percent of people who volunteer are professionals in this 

field. While this is all the more reason to appreciate those skills and 

strive to make real use of them, it is also reason to consider alternative 

strategies for engaging the skilled volunteers needed. By forging strong 

partnerships, some nonprofits have been able to share volunteers 

among themselves. Such a cooperative agreement gives volunteers a 

broader menu of service options and gives nonprofits additional 

opportunities for recruiting volunteers with particular skills. 

Taking advantage of volunteers’ skills can greatly benefit 

nonprofits by increasing the value of volunteers’ contributions. 

While it can be a struggle for nonprofits to identify skills-based volunteer 

opportunities and to train volunteers appropriately to fill skills-based 

positions, the potential return on the investment can be substantial. By 

utilizing the skills of volunteers nonprofit organizations stand to benefit 

from hundreds, even thousands of dollars of value from each volunteer 

every year. For example, a traditional volunteer activity such as stuffing 

envelopes for a mail campaign might be worth about minimum wage 

(the federal minimum wage is currently set at $6.55 per hour). If that 

volunteer serves 50 hours in a year, that amounts to a little less than 

$330 of volunteer value gained by the nonprofit. However, if that 

volunteer is a management professional who uses their skills to 

manage the same mail campaign, each hour is worth an average of 

$46.22. Multiplied by the same 50 hours, that is a total of over $2300 of 

volunteer value for the nonprofit.8

 

Some nonprofits have already begun to make this shift. For example, 

Goodwill Industries of San Francisco welcomed a team of Harvard 

Business School Community Partners to their organization—not to sort clothes in their thrift store, but to 

evaluate new business opportunities that might generate increased revenue and new job opportunities for 

Goodwill clients. By putting the skills of these business development specialists to use, Goodwill greatly 

increased these volunteers’ value to the organization. Nonprofits interested in following in the footsteps 

of Goodwill might consider involving volunteers in activities like business planning, human resources and 

organizational development, information technology, logistics, communications, etc. 

Professional associations and corporations can be key players in building momentum for 

service among professionals in their field. 

The legal community provides a great example of how a professional association can lead its 

membership toward service that makes an impact on communities. By calling on lawyers across America 

to provide at least 50 hours of pro bono service each year, the American Bar Association has set a 

standard for all professionals in the field. Not only has this strong focus on pro bono activities fostered 

competition among firms that has spurred greater service, it has also encouraged the number of pro bono 

 

8 This estimate is based on the average hourly wage for management professionals, according to wage data from the Occupational 

Employment Statistics (OES) survey report, published May 2008 and. available at 

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ocwage.pdf. Of the 23 major occupational groups in the Standard Occupational Classification 

(SOC) system, only military specific occupations are not represented in the OES survey.

BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL

OPERATIONS PROFESSIONALS’

AVERAGE HOURLY WAGE:

$30.01.

Many nonprofit leaders 

agree that organizations 

could benefit from the 

contributions of volunteers 

who are focused on strategic 

and business planning, as 

well as finance and 

accounting. By matching 

professionals in the field to 

these activities, nonprofits 

gain a great return on their 

volunteer investments. 

COMPUTER AND

MATHEMATICAL SCIENCE

PROFESSIONALS’ AVERAGE

HOURLY WAGE: $34.71.

A number of nonprofit 

leaders also identify that 

information technology is an 

area in which organizations 

tend to lack expertise. 

Again, matching volunteers 

who have these skills with 

activities like Web site 

design, data systems 

design, etc. can greatly 

increase the approximate 

value of their service to the 

organization. 
Capitalizing on Volunteers’ Skills: Volunteering by Occupation in America 

8

support organizations to grow by leaps and bounds and build the infrastructure for effective service.9 

Public Architecture has similarly urged that all architectural firms pledge at least one percent of their 

billable hours to pro bono service and is already finding many firms rising to the challenge and even 

surpassing the one percent mark.10 Professional associations of all kinds can do much to establish skillsbased service in a field as a norm and encourage pro bono and skills-based growth. 

Just as professional associations have the opportunity to challenge and support their members in pro 

bono activities, corporations can afford their employees the same opportunity. Corporate social 

responsibility today goes way beyond not causing harm, instead it seeks to be a driver of good in 

communities across the country and around the world. Skills-based volunteering programs allow 

corporations to demonstrate this enhanced social responsibility by joining hand-in-hand with nonprofits to 

build their capacity, and simultaneously giving employees an opportunity to use their skills in new ways 

that lead to fulfillment and personal satisfaction. 

Methodology 

The data for this brief were collected through the Current Population Survey’s (CPS) 2005, 2006, and 

2007 September Volunteer Supplements. The CPS is a monthly survey of about 60,000 households 

(approximately 100,000 adults), conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics 

in order to obtain information on employment and unemployment among the nation’s non-institutionalized 

civilian population age 16 and over. Volunteers are defined as individuals who performed unpaid 

volunteer activities through or for an organization 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. For more 

information about the volunteer supplement, see the Technical Note at 

http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/volunteer_study_07.pdf. For more information about the occupational 

categories used in this brief, please see footnote 2. 

 

9 Segal, Debbie, and Steven Scudder. “Pro Bono: No longer Random Acts of Kindness.” 2005. 10 www.theonepercent.org.
APPENDIX 

List of Appendix Tables 

Table A-1: Volunteer Rates, Market Shares, Sample Sizes 

Table A-2: Main Volunteer Activity (At Main Organization) 

Table A-3 Percentage of Volunteers Performing Each Activity (At Main Organization) 

Table A-4: Volunteer Retention 

Table A-5: Dollar Value of Hours Served 

Table A-6: Organization Type (Main Organization) 
TABLE A-1: VOLUNTEER RATES, MARKET SHARES, SAMPLE SIZES 

Volunteer

Nonvolunteer % of Volunteers % of Non- Volunteers % of All Adults Volunteer 

Group Average (or Total) 27.2% 72.8% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 80,960 

Management, Professional, and Related 

Occupations 41.5% 58.5% 48.6% 28.4% 34.3% 28,706 

Management 40.1% 59.9% 13.9% 8.6% 10.2% 8,465 Business and financial operations 40.5% 59.5% 5.5% 3.4% 4.0% 3,208 Computer and mathematical science 34.6% 65.4% 2.7% 2.1% 2.3% 1,503 Architecture and engineering 36.5% 63.5% 2.4% 1.7% 1.9% 1,367 Life, physical, and social science 38.4% 61.6% 1.3% 0.8% 1.0% 783 Community and social service 49.6% 50.4% 2.6% 1.1% 1.5% 1,542 Legal 47.1% 52.9% 1.8% 0.8% 1.1% 1,067 Education, training, and library 50.3% 49.7% 9.7% 4.0% 5.6% 5,734 Arts, design, entertainment, sports, media 40.7% 59.3% 2.7% 1.6% 1.9% 1,552 Healthcare practitioner and technical 37.0% 63.0% 5.9% 4.1% 4.7% 3,485 

Service, Sales, and Office Occupations 26.3% 73.7% 37.6% 43.4% 41.7% 21,747 

Healthcare support 22.2% 77.8% 1.7% 2.4% 2.2% 1,020 Protective service 29.6% 70.4% 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 1,112 Food preparation and serving related 19.7% 80.3% 3.6% 6.1% 5.4% 2,026 Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance 17.1% 82.9% 2.4% 4.7% 4.0% 1,420 Personal care and service 28.8% 71.2% 3.3% 3.3% 3.3% 1,910 Sales and related 27.9% 72.1% 10.7% 11.4% 11.2% 6,147 Office and administrative support 30.0% 70.0% 13.9% 13.4% 13.6% 8,112 

Labor Occupations 16.8% 83.2% 13.8% 28.2% 24.0% 8,096 

Farming, fishing and forestry 16.6% 83.4% 0.4% 0.8% 0.7% 310 Construction and extraction 15.8% 84.2% 3.6% 7.9% 6.7% 2,208 Installation, maintenance, and repair 20.0% 80.0% 2.6% 4.3% 3.8% 1,459 Production 16.8% 83.2% 3.8% 7.7% 6.6% 2,125 Transportation and material moving 16.0% 84.0% 3.4% 7.4% 6.2% 1,985 

Volunteer Rates 

% of Groups
TABLE A-2: MAIN VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY (AT MAIN ORGANIZATION) 

Coach, 

referee, or 

supervise 

sports 

teams

Tutor 

or 

teach

Mentor 

youth

Be an 

usher, 

greeter, 

or 

minister

Collect, 

prepare, 

distribute

, or serve 

food

Collect, 

make, or 

distribute 

clothing, 

crafts, or 

goods, other 

than food

Fundraise or 

sell items 

to raise 

money

Provide 

counseling, 

medical care, 

fire/ EMS, or 

protective 

services

Provide 

general 

office 

services

Provide 

professional or 

management 

assistance, 

including serving

on a board or 

committee

Engage in 

music, 

performance

, or other 

artistic 

activities

E

lab

tra

n 

Average 5.8% 10.8% 5.7% 4.2% 9.0% 3.2% 10.9% 3.0% 4.6% 7.8% 4.3% 

Management, 

Professional, and 

Related 

Occupations 6.9% 12.2% 6.4% 3.9% 6.2% 2.4% 11.6% 3.4% 3.6% 12.1% 4.4% 

Management 8.6% 9.4% 5.1% 4.0% 6.1% 2.3% 13.1% 2.3% 3.3% 15.5% 2.9% Business and financial operations

7.1% 9.0% 5.0% 4.1% 7.1% 2.1% 13.8% 2.0% 5.2% 13.3% 3.0% 

Computer and mathematical science

9.8% 12.1% 7.0% 4.1% 5.4% 2.9% 10.1% 0.5% 5.3% 9.0% 4.8% 

Architecture and engineering 8.9% 8.8% 6.6% 4.5% 7.1% 1.4% 10.2% 2.2% 2.5% 13.1% 3.7% Life, physical, and social science 7.0% 12.6% 6.5% 3.2% 3.9% 2.1% 11.5% 4.0% 3.0% 14.4% 2.6% Community and social service 3.9% 11.9% 9.6% 6.3% 6.0% 2.6% 8.1% 6.0% 2.9% 11.5% 4.2% Legal 5.6% 8.2% 4.9% 3.4% 5.3% 3.2% 11.7% 3.1% 2.8% 23.3% 2.2% Education, training, 

and library 5.9% 19.7% 8.7% 3.8% 6.2% 2.2% 9.2% 2.0% 3.6% 8.4% 6.7% Arts, design, entertainment, sports, media

7.3% 9.3% 5.2% 1.9% 4.4% 2.8% 12.6% 2.0% 3.1% 10.8% 11.4% 

Healthcare practitioner and technical

3.4% 13.4% 6.3% 3.8% 7.1% 3.1% 12.2% 11.4% 3.1% 7.4% 3.3% 

Service, Sales, 

and Office 

Occupations 5.8% 10.5% 6.1% 4.0% 10.2% 3.5% 12.8% 2.8% 4.7% 5.4% 4.1% 

Healthcare support 4.2% 11.9% 5.6% 2.8% 9.9% 3.3% 12.8% 6.7% 5.4% 3.3% 3.9% Protective service 12.0% 9.3% 7.1% 3.0% 4.2% 2.1% 9.5% 12.0% 2.0% 4.7% 1.4% Food preparation and serving related 5.0% 10.3% 7.6% 3.7% 15.1% 4.0% 11.8% 2.0% 3.2% 2.0% 4.7% Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

5.3% 7.5% 4.8% 5.3% 12.9% 2.9% 8.5% 3.8% 2.3% 3.9% 4.1% 

Personal care and service 5.2% 14.6% 6.8% 3.7% 10.8% 4.0% 11.5% 2.1% 3.7% 4.2% 4.6% Sales and related 7.1% 9.7% 6.4% 4.0% 8.1% 3.0% 14.2% 2.2% 3.7% 8.2% 4.1% Office and administrative support

4.6% 10.8% 5.3% 4.2% 10.9% 3.9% 13.5% 1.8% 6.9% 4.9% 4.2% 

Labor 

Occupations 11.3% 7.3% 5.4% 5.2% 8.5% 2.2% 9.0% 3.4% 1.6% 3.7% 4.2% 

Farming, fishing and forestry 8.3% 8.9% 2.7% 0.4% 6.6% 6.8% 10.1% 6.2% 0.5% 4.2% 4.7% Construction and extraction 14.9% 5.7% 4.9% 5.6% 5.3% 1.8% 7.9% 3.1% 1.0% 4.1% 3.2% Installation, maintenance, and repair

12.7% 8.2% 6.8% 5.3% 7.1% 1.8% 10.4% 4.4% 1.5% 3.4% 4.7% 

Production 9.1% 8.6% 5.5% 4.6% 10.2% 2.8% 9.8% 2.5% 1.8% 4.3% 4.8% Transportation and material moving 9.4% 6.8% 5.1% 6.0% 11.3% 1.8% 8.2% 3.9% 2.2% 2.6% 4.0% 

Main Volunteer Activity
TABLE A-3 PERCENTAGE OF VOLUNTEERS PERFORMING EACH ACTIVITY (AT MAIN ORGANIZATION) 

Coach, 

referee, or 

supervise 

sports 

teams

Tutor 

or 

teach

Mentor 

youth

Be an 

usher, 

greeter, or 

minister

Collect, 

prepare, 

distribute, 

or serve 

food

Collect, make, 

or distribute 

clothing, crafts, 

or goods, other 

than food

Fundraise or 

sell items 

to raise 

money

Provide 

counseling, 

medical care, 

fire/ EMS, or 

protective 

services

Provide 

general 

office 

services

Provide 

professional or 

management 

assistance, 

including serving 

on a board or 

committee

Eng

m

perf

ce

o

ar

act

Average 8.7% 20.5% 17.2% 12.6% 24.5% 14.5% 27.9% 7.0% 12.3% 17.4% 10

Management, 

Professional, and 

Related 

Occupations 9.8% 23.2% 19.9% 12.4% 21.3% 13.3% 29.4% 8.6% 12.1% 23.8% 11

Management 11.5% 19.5% 17.6% 12.8% 20.9% 12.3% 30.8% 6.6% 11.7% 27.4% Business and financial operations

8.8% 17.6% 16.2% 11.6% 22.7% 12.7% 33.4% 5.6% 14.0% 23.4% 

Computer and mathematical science

11.4% 19.9% 18.1% 11.4% 19.5% 11.0% 25.0% 3.6% 14.2% 19.4% 

Architecture and engineering 12.6% 20.2% 20.4% 15.6% 19.7% 10.0% 24.7% 4.9% 9.6% 24.4% Life, physical, and social science 10.4% 21.3% 17.3% 9.1% 15.7% 8.5% 27.9% 6.9% 11.2% 25.6% Community and social service 6.6% 29.0% 29.0% 20.3% 23.7% 17.1% 27.1% 19.4% 14.9% 26.4% Legal 7.3% 15.1% 13.4% 8.0% 15.0% 10.3% 27.6% 11.9% 10.0% 36.1% Education, training, and library 10.6% 35.0% 27.3% 12.5% 23.7% 16.1% 29.6% 7.5% 13.5% 22.0% Arts, design, entertainment, sports, media

9.6% 20.0% 16.4% 9.2% 17.1% 11.0% 27.7% 3.9% 11.8% 20.0% 

Healthcare practitioner and technical

5.9% 22.4% 17.2% 11.3% 22.7% 15.2% 28.7% 18.3% 9.1% 16.4% 

Service, Sales, 

and Office 

Occupations 9.1% 20.1% 18.1% 11.6% 26.2% 15.2% 30.7% 6.4% 12.6% 14.2% 11

Healthcare support 7.8% 22.1% 17.2% 10.1% 29.1% 19.1% 30.2% 12.2% 12.9% 12.6% Protective service 18.2% 18.2% 21.5% 8.9% 17.7% 11.7% 28.1% 19.3% 9.1% 17.2% Food preparation and serving related 9.5% 17.9% 19.2% 10.4% 29.7% 14.9% 27.9% 4.5% 9.0% 6.5% Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

8.7% 18.0% 15.3% 13.4% 27.0% 13.3% 22.9% 6.4% 6.6% 10.6% 

Personal care and service 7.9% 26.9% 20.5% 10.1% 26.3% 16.9% 28.0% 6.1% 11.9% 11.9% Sales and related 10.6% 19.5% 17.7% 11.3% 23.1% 13.4% 31.9% 5.2% 11.1% 17.4% Office and administrative support

7.0% 19.9% 17.7% 12.6% 28.5% 16.5% 32.7% 5.3% 16.2% 14.7% 

Labor 

Occupations 15.3% 16.8% 17.4% 14.6% 22.8% 11.1% 25.1% 7.4% 5.9% 11.3% 9

Farming, fishing and forestry 13.2% 24.1% 15.3% 14.4% 31.8% 19.3% 31.8% 8.9% 6.0% 15.1% Construction and extraction 18.3% 14.7% 16.5% 14.1% 17.6% 9.4% 24.4% 7.6% 4.8% 12.2% Installation, maintenance, and repair

16.7% 18.4% 19.4% 13.8% 22.1% 10.4% 26.7% 8.5% 6.4% 12.0% 

Production 12.4% 17.9% 18.0% 14.3% 26.4% 12.7% 26.3% 5.8% 6.5% 12.3% Transportation and material moving 14.6% 15.5% 16.4% 16.1% 23.7% 10.6% 22.7% 7.8% 6.1% 8.5% 

Percentage of Volunteers Performing Each Activity
TABLE A-4: VOLUNTEER RETENTION 

Year 1 Vol Rate Year 2 Vol Rate Retention Rate

Average 31.7% 29.9% 65.8%

Management, Professional, and Related 

Occupations 45.5% 43.1% 70.3%

Management 43.8% 42.3% 71.1%Business and financial operations 43.3% 40.2% 67.7%Computer and mathematical science 37.7% 35.6% 67.2%Architecture and engineering 37.9% 37.5% 68.8%Life, physical, and social science 44.1% 38.5% 66.0%Community and social service 52.4% 52.6% 74.7%Legal 51.3% 47.7% 75.2%Education, training, and library 56.0% 52.9% 73.6%Arts, design, entertainment, sports, media 45.7% 39.7% 67.7%Healthcare practitioner and technical 42.3% 39.6% 66.3%

Service, Sales, and Office Occupations 30.9% 28.8% 62.8%

Healthcare support 28.5% 24.9% 59.4%Protective service 34.2% 30.8% 61.8%Food preparation and serving related 23.7% 19.7% 54.5%Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance 20.6% 19.9% 60.3%Personal care and service 33.7% 31.9% 63.5%Sales and related 32.3% 30.7% 63.8%Office and administrative support 34.0% 32.2% 64.7%

Labor Occupations 20.0% 18.4% 57.4%

Farming, fishing and forestry 18.1% 19.3% 61.7%Construction and extraction 19.7% 17.9% 57.2%Installation, maintenance, and repair 24.1% 21.2% 57.4%Production 19.7% 18.1% 56.9%Transportation and material moving 18.2% 17.5% 57.9%
TABLE A-5: DOLLAR VALUE OF HOURS SERVED 

Note: (a) Wage data come from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey report, published May 2008 and 

available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ocwage.pdf. Of the 23 major occupational groups in the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system, only military specific occupations are not represented in the OES survey. 

Number of 

Workers

Total Hours 

Volunteered

Mean Wage (July 

1, 2007) (a)

Dollar Value of 

Hours Served

Average 134,354,280 5,312,856,246 $19.58 $122,024,247,017

Management, Professional, and Related 

Occupations 38,699,420 2,657,154,513 $31.22 $82,965,032,656

Management 6,003,930 778,917,092 $46.22 $36,001,547,977Business and financial operations 6,015,500 277,857,264 $30.01 $8,338,496,493Computer and mathematical science 3,191,360 121,241,829 $34.71 $4,208,303,896Architecture and engineering 2,486,020 115,256,106 $33.11 $3,816,129,681Life, physical, and social science 1,255,670 62,405,769 $29.82 $1,860,940,032Community and social service 1,793,040 211,041,618 $19.49 $4,113,201,128Legal 998,590 110,074,549 $42.53 $4,681,470,555Education, training, and library 8,316,360 539,763,242 $22.41 $12,096,094,253Arts, design, entertainment, sports, media 1,761,270 149,491,924 $23.27 $3,478,677,079Healthcare practitioner and technical 6,877,680 291,105,120 $31.26 $9,099,946,051

Service, Sales, and Office Occupations 63,332,980 1,925,131,617 $14.02 $26,986,668,687

Healthcare support 3,625,240 79,932,449 $12.31 $983,968,447Protective service 3,087,650 125,931,177 $18.63 $2,346,097,828Food preparation and serving related 11,273,850 160,520,397 $9.35 $1,500,865,709Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance 4,403,900 147,200,269 $11.33 $1,667,779,048Personal care and service 3,339,510 158,940,397 $11.53 $1,832,582,777Sales and related 14,332,020 558,139,851 $16.94 $9,454,889,076Office and administrative support 23,270,810 694,467,077 $15.00 $10,417,006,150

Labor Occupations 32,321,880 730,570,117 $16.52 $12,072,545,675

Farming, fishing and forestry 448,000 19,417,134 $10.89 $211,452,586Construction and extraction 6,708,200 199,435,032 $19.53 $3,894,966,181Installation, maintenance, and repair 5,390,090 147,301,580 $19.20 $2,828,190,336Production 10,146,560 187,492,161 $15.05 $2,821,757,023Transportation and material moving 9,629,030 176,629,718 $14.75 $2,605,288,341
TABLE A-6: ORGANIZATION TYPE (MAIN ORGANIZATION) 

Civic, political, 

professional or 

international

Educational or 

youth service

Environmental or 

animal care

Hospital or 

other health Public safety Religious

Social or 

community 

service

Sport, h

cultural 

Average 6.0% 26.7% 1.8% 8.0% 1.3% 35.7% 13.3% 

Management, Professional, and Related Occupations 6.8% 28.1% 2.1% 8.4% 0.9% 33.2% 13.1% 3.9

Management 7.9% 26.2% 2.3% 8.1% 1.2% 32.1% 14.8% Business and financial operations 7.5% 24.7% 1.7% 9.4% 0.8% 31.7% 16.1% Computer and mathematical science 6.9% 28.8% 2.7% 4.1% 0.9% 34.7% 13.7% Architecture and engineering 7.9% 27.1% 2.9% 4.1% 1.2% 35.8% 13.1% Life, physical, and social science 8.5% 30.8% 5.4% 9.9% 1.4% 23.6% 12.4% Community and social service 5.2% 21.0% 0.7% 7.1% 0.4% 45.7% 14.3% Legal 15.6% 24.3% 2.9% 7.3% 0.6% 22.5% 16.1% Education, training, and library 4.7% 36.8% 1.4% 5.4% 0.4% 35.6% 9.6% Arts, design, entertainment, sports, media 6.5% 25.4% 3.9% 8.2% 0.5% 27.5% 15.1% Healthcare practitioner and technical 4.1% 26.7% 1.3% 17.6% 1.5% 34.3% 9.4% 

Service, Sales, and Office Occupations 5.3% 29.0% 1.8% 8.8% 1.7% 34.1% 12.7% 3.2

Healthcare support 3.2% 29.5% 2.5% 15.9% 0.9% 33.4% 10.5% Protective service 8.8% 31.7% 1.2% 7.6% 11.3% 21.2% 11.8% Food preparation and serving related 4.3% 36.3% 1.6% 8.8% 1.2% 26.8% 14.1% Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance 5.0% 26.6% 1.3% 4.8% 3.2% 44.2% 8.3% Personal care and service 3.8% 34.2% 1.7% 8.2% 1.2% 34.9% 10.0% Sales and related 6.2% 27.4% 2.0% 8.4% 1.3% 32.4% 14.7% Office and administrative support 5.1% 27.1% 1.9% 9.3% 0.7% 37.3% 12.6% 

Labor Occupations 6.4% 26.4% 1.6% 4.2% 3.3% 38.0% 12.5% 3.6

Farming, fishing and forestry 8.2% 26.5% 3.5% 2.5% 5.7% 36.1% 8.1% Construction and extraction 6.7% 25.5% 1.9% 3.5% 3.5% 39.0% 12.3% Installation, maintenance, and repair 6.2% 27.6% 1.3% 4.5% 3.5% 34.9% 12.4% Production 5.6% 26.6% 1.7% 4.5% 2.4% 39.3% 13.0% Transportation and material moving 6.8% 26.5% 1.2% 4.7% 3.7% 38.2% 12.5% 

Organization Type (Main Organization)