KEEPING BABY BOOMERS VOLUNTEERING 

A Research Brief on Volunteer Retention and Turnover 
Corporation for National and Community Service, 

Office of Research and Policy Development Authors 

John Foster-Bey, Senior Advisor 

Robert Grimm, Jr., Director 

Nathan Dietz, Research Associate and Statistician 

The mission of the Corporation for National and Community Service is to improve lives, 

strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. Each 

year, the Corporation provides opportunities for more than two million Americans of all ages and 

backgrounds to serve their communities and country through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn 

and Serve America. For more information, please visit www.nationalservice.gov. 

Upon request, this material will be made available in alternative formats for people with disabilities. 

March 2007 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE Of
 CONTENTs
 

2 Executive Summary and Introduction 

5 Are Boomers Different From Past 

Generations? 

7 Volunteer Retention, Turnover, and 

Recruitment Rates 

8 Explaining Differences in Volunteer 

Retention and Turnover Rates 

9 High Attachment to Volunteering 

9 Finding the Right Fit 

11 Changing Family Status and Work 

Commitment 

13 Pathways to Consistent Volunteering 

14 Conclusion and Implications 

16 Appendix 

20 References 
 

 

2 EXECUTIVE sUMMARY 

INTRODuCTION 

Baby Boomers—the generation of 77 million 

Americans born between 1946 and 1964—represent 

a potential boon to the volunteer world. Based on 

U.S. Census data, the numbers of volunteers age 

65 and older will increase 50 percent over the next 

13 years, from just under 9 million in 2007 to more 

than 13 million in 2020. What’s more, that number 

will continue to rise for many years to come, as 

the youngest Baby Boomers will not reach age 65 

until 2029. 

The volunteer potential of Baby Boomers is vital to the 

nonprofit world, not just because of the generation’s 

size but also because of Boomers’ relatively high 

education levels, health, and wealth. Boomers today 

are entering their later years with a broad range of 

skills, talents, and experience—as well as with a set 

of attitudes, expectations, and needs that is decidedly 

different from previous generations. Harnessing those 

skills, and accommodating those expectations, will be 

critical to solving a wide range of social problems in 

the years ahead. 

To attract Baby Boomers to volunteering, experts on 

aging agree that nonprofit groups and others must 

boldly rethink the types of opportunities they offer— 

to “re-imagine” roles for older American volunteers 

that cater to Boomers’ skills and desire to make their 

mark in their own way. This is vitally important to 

ensuring that the potential of this vast resource is 

tapped to its fullest. 

While much attention has focused on how to recruit 

Baby Boomers into the ranks of volunteers, relatively 

little attention has been paid to ensuring that those 

who choose to volunteer one year continue to do 

so the next. The importance of volunteer retention 

should not be underestimated. Despite their reputation 

for self-centeredness, Baby Boomers today have the 

highest volunteer rate of any age group. They also, as 

this report notes, volunteer at higher rates than past 

generations did when they were the same age. Because 

three out of every ten Boomer volunteers choose not 

to volunteer in the following year, a key aspect of 

keeping Boomer volunteer rates high is to learn how 

to retain existing Boomer volunteers. 

To better understand this dynamic, the Corporation 

for National and Community Service looked at data 

collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of 

Labor Statistics from 2002-2006. The data trace the 

volunteer habits of the same sample of Baby Boomers 

over two consecutive years, as well as a similar sample 

of pre-Boomers. 

This is the first time that these data sets have been 

analyzed. Though much work remains to be done, the 

hope is that the findings contained herein will help 

nonprofits and others gain greater insight into the 

volunteer preferences of Baby Boomers so that turnover 

can be kept to a minimum and the greatest number of 

Boomers will remain engaged in their communities in 

their later years. 

KEY FINDINGS 

Baby Boomers in their late 40s to mid-50s have 

higher volunteer rates than past generations had at 

the same ages. 

Surprisingly, given many of the concerns raised about 

their lack of civic engagement, Baby Boomers age 46 

to 57 are volunteering at higher rates than members 

of either the Silent or Greatest Generations. The 

differences in volunteering seem to be the result of 

several factors, but two are noteworthy. First, Baby 

Boomers have higher education levels compared to 

older generations. Second, Baby Boomers in their 40s 

and 50s are more likely to have school-aged children 

at home than older generations were at the same age. 

Research shows that the propensity to volunteer rises 

with increases in education. There is also evidence that 

adults with children under 18 years of age residing 

with them are more likely to volunteer than adults 

without school-aged children at home. 

Holding age constant, Baby Boomers appear 

to have different volunteer interests than past 

generations. 

Between 1989 and 2003-2005, there has been a change 

in the types of organizations that 41 to 59-year-old 

adults volunteered with. In both 1989 and 2003­

2005, 41 to 59-year-old volunteers were most likely 

to volunteer with religious organizations. However, 

in 1989, the second most popular type of volunteer 

organization for the Silent and Greatest Generations 
EXECUTIVE sUMMARY 3 

was civic, political, business, and international. By 

2003-2005, the second most-popular type of volunteer 

opportunity for Baby Boomers appears to have been 

educational or youth service organizations. 

On average, 69 percent of Baby Boomers who 

volunteered in the first year also volunteered in the 

second year. This means that 31 percent of Baby 

Boomers who volunteered in the first year did not 

volunteer in the second year. Unfortunately, volunteer 

recruitment efforts tended to fall short of fully 

replacing those volunteers who chose not to continue 

volunteering. On average, only 83.2 percent of the 

volunteers who chose not to continue were replaced 

with new volunteers. 

 Each year, approximately 3 out of every 10 Baby

Boomer volunteers dropped out of volunteering. 

 Volunteers with the highest attachment to 

volunteering also have the highest retention rates. 

The likelihood of volunteering year after year increases 

as volunteer hours and volunteer weeks rise: for 

volunteers who serve 12 or more weeks per year, 

the volunteer retention rate is 79 percent, versus 53 

percent for volunteers that serve two weeks or less per 

year. The greater the time commitment a Baby Boomer 

makes to volunteering during one year, the more likely 

he or she is to volunteer in the following year. 

 Volunteer retention is related to the type and 

nature of volunteer activity. 

For those volunteers who perform only one activity for 

their main volunteer organization, volunteer retention 

rates are highest for Baby Boomers whose volunteer 

activities are professional and managerial, engaging 

in music or some other type of performance, and 

tutoring, mentoring, and coaching (74.8%, 70.9%, 

and 70.3% respectively). Volunteer retention is lowest 

for volunteers who engage in general labor or supply 

transportation (55.6%). 

 Volunteer retention rates are related to the ways 

Baby Boomers become volunteers. 

Among volunteers who are asked to volunteer, those 

who are asked by the volunteer organization have the 

highest retention rates, while those asked by their 

employer to volunteer have the lowest retention rates 

(70.5% vs. 53.9%). 
 

 

 

4 EXECUTIVE sUMMARY 

IMPlICATIONS 

It is important to remember that in general, anything 

that keeps people volunteering year after year 

(volunteer retention) will increase overall volunteer 

rates. Volunteer turnover should be seen as just as 

undesirable as turnover among paid employees. For 

most businesses and nonprofits, a 30 percent employee 

turnover rate would be an indication of a workplace 

problem. The same should be true for volunteers. Two 

models of volunteer retention that might be considered 

are the donor model and the employee model. 

Most charitable organizations attempt to maintain 

repeat donors, especially large donors. To get repeat 

gifts from large donors, charitable organizations 

must spend time cultivating the donor and making 

him or her feel connected to the organization and its 

mission. Some of the same tools and approaches used 

to encourage a large donor to make a repeat gift might 

be helpful if applied to volunteers. In a sense, through 

their time commitments, volunteers are making a huge 

in-kind donation to the resources and mission of the 

organization. Moreover, research suggests there is a 

strong connection between volunteering and giving. 

Thus, it makes sense to find ways of encouraging 

substantial volunteering because it will produce 

substantial in-kind gifts and could simultaneously 

produce considerable monetary gifts. 

The employment model assumes that volunteers 

should not be seen as just free labor. Instead, they 

should be approached as a key resource and an integral 

part of the organization’s success. Most employers 

recognize that employee turnover imposes both direct 

and indirect costs. The same is true of volunteers. 

The loss of a volunteer imposes search costs to find a 

replacement. When replacements are found, the new 

volunteers must be trained and supervised. They must 

get to know the work and mission of the organization. 

They have to form productive work relationships 

with the paid and unpaid members of a charitable 

organization’s staff. The human resources field has 

developed a host of insights and tools for reducing 

employee turnover and our recent reports on volunteer 

management capacity in nonprofit organizations 

illustrate that many of those tools (such as offering 

training and professional development opportunities) 

would be helpful in reducing volunteer turnover. 

METHODOlOGY 

The data for this report is drawn from the Current 

Population Survey’s (CPS) volunteer supplements 

for 1974, 1989, and 2002 to 2006. The CPS is a 

monthly national household survey administered by 

the U.S. Census Bureau (Census) for the Bureau of 

Labor Statistics (BLS). The CPS is the primary source 

of employment information on our nation’s labor 

force. In addition to the main CPS, supplements are 

also periodically administered on a variety of topics, 

such as voting and food security. The volunteer 

supplement is an annual set of questions administered 

to the CPS survey households specifically aimed at 

gaining information on Americans’ volunteering 

behavior—i.e., volunteering through or with an 

organization. Since 2002, the volunteer supplement 

has been administered on an annual basis. Prior 

to 2002, the last volunteer supplements had been 

administered in 1989. 

The monthly CPS is administered to between 50,000 

and 60,000 households. At any one time, about 

half the respondents have been in the survey for two 

consecutive Septembers. This means it is possible 

to follow respondents over a two-year period. Since 

2002, there have been four waves of respondents that 

have been in the survey for two years in a row. Each 

of these waves forms a separate two-year panel of 

respondents. This report will use the survey responses 

from these four two-year panels to analyze volunteer 

retention and turnover among Baby Boomers and 

volunteers born before 1946. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KEEPING BABY BOOMERs VOLUNTEERING 5 

ARE BOOMERS DIFFERENT FROM PAST 

GENERATIONS? 

In order to determine what to expect in the way of 

volunteering behavior from Baby Boomers as they age, 

we should start by comparing Baby Boomers to older 

generations1

 (the Silent Generation and the Greatest 

Generation). Research has found that volunteering is 

affected by age.2 Volunteering rates tend to peak for 

adults in their mid 30s to mid 50s and decline for 

adults 60 and older. In order to fairly compare across 

generations, it is important to consider these lifecycle 

effects by controlling for age. A comparison of the 

volunteer rates for all three generational groups at the 

same point in the lifecycle provides an indication about 

whether Baby Boomers are volunteering more or less 

compared to other generations at the same point in life. 

Figure 1. Volunteer Rates: All Generations Measured at Ages 46-57 

25.3% 

23.2% 

30.9% 

Volunteer Rate Lower Limit Upper Limit 

0% 

5% 

10% 

15% 

20% 

25% 

30% 

35% 

Baby Boomers 

(born 1946-1964) 

Silent Generation 

(born 1931-1945) 

Greatest Generation 

(born 1910 -1930) 

Note: Figure 1 shows the estimated volunteer rates along with their 99 

percent confidence interval. That is, we are 99 percent confident that the real 

volunteering rate lies between the upper limit (represented by the dashed line) 

and the lower limit (represented by the solid line) – the narrower the distance 

between the upper and lower limit, the more precise the estimate. When the 

confidence intervals for two different estimates overlap, there is no statistical 

difference between the two. When there is no overlap, there is a statistically 

significant difference between the two estimates. 

1 The Silent Generation was born between 1931 and 1945, and the 

Greatest Generation was born between 1910 and 1930. 

2

 See Hendricks and Cutler, 2004. 

Figure 1 shows the volunteer rates for Baby Boomers 

compared to generations born before 1946 (the 

Silent and Greatest Generations), holding age 

constant so that all survey data were collected while 

the respondents were ages 46 through 57. The 

chart illustrates that Baby Boomers today are in fact 

volunteering at higher rates than members of either 

the Silent Generation or the Greatest Generation at 

the same age. 

35% 

30% 30.9%

25.3% 

25% 23.2%

20% 
 

 

6 KEEPING BABY BOOMERs VOLUNTEERING 

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Sport, hobby, Other 

cultural, or arts 

Social or 

community 

service 

Hospital or Religious 

other health 

Educational 

or youth 

service 

Civic, political, 

professional, or 

international 

2003-2005

1989

Figure 2. Volunteer Rates by Organization for 41 to 59-year-olds in 1989 and 2003-2005 

Another indication of generational differences in 

volunteering between Baby Boomers and older 

volunteers is the type of organizations each cohort 

volunteered with. Figure 2 compares the types of 

organizations that 41 and 59-year-olds volunteered 

with in 1989 and in 2003-2005.3

 Between 1989 and 

2003-2005, there was considerable change in where 41 

to 59-year-olds chose to volunteer. The most popular 

volunteer venue in 1989 and in 2003-2005 was 

religious organizations. However, in 1989 the second 

most-popular volunteer setting was civic, political, 

professional, or international organizations, while in 

2003-2005 it was educational or youth service organizations. This suggests that the older generation was 

more oriented toward civic groups and political forms 

of engagement, while the Baby Boomers at the same 

age were more interested in youth and children’s issues. 

These generational differences in volunteering, while 

interesting, are challenging to explain. Does it mean 

that one generation is more civically engaged or more 

service-oriented than another? While it is difficult to 

directly answer this question, it is possible to identify 

factors and characteristics that can be used to predict 

differences in volunteering rates. Two major predictors 

of volunteering are educational achievement and the 

presence of children under 18. Generational differences 

in these characteristics might help to explain 

volunteering variations between generations. 

First, as education levels rise, so 

does the propensity to volunteer.

4 

On average, Baby Boomers are 

more educated than either the 

Silent or Greatest Generations. 

The differences in generational 

volunteering rates reflect to a large 

extent differences in educational 

achievement. Second, individuals 

who reside with their own children 

under 18 tend to have higher 

volunteer rates than individuals 

who do not reside with their 

own children.5 

School-aged children appear to be 

a primary factor for adult volunteering. Baby Boomers are getting 

married and having children later 

than older generations. The result 

is that many of them have schoolaged children well into their 40s and 50s. This propensity for Baby Boomers to have young children later in 

life compared to older generations contributes to the 

difference in volunteer rates. 

The higher volunteer rates for Baby Boomers after 

controlling for age should dispel some people’s 

concerns about whether Baby Boomers could ever be 

as civically engaged as their parents and grandparents. 

Moreover, it may also mean that volunteering rates 

may be higher for Baby Boomers as they age than 

lifecycle effects would have predicted. To put it another 

way, Boomers may hit their peak volunteer years 

later in life compared to past generations and could 

maintain high volunteer rates at a much older age. 

3 Unlike the 1989 and 2003-2005 volunteer supplements, the 1974 

volunteer supplement did not have information on volunteer 

organizations, thus it was not possible to directly compare the 

Silent and Greatest Generations to the Baby Boomers when all 

three groups were 46-57. However, it was possible to use the 1989 

and 2003-2005 volunteer supplements to analyze volunteering 

by organizational type. Therefore the comparisons are between 

volunteers who were 41-59 in 1989 to those who were the same 

age in 2003-2005. While there is some overlap in generations, in 

1989 most 41-59-year-olds were part of the Silent Generation, 

while in 2003-2005 most were Baby Boomers. 

4

 See Wilson, 2000. 

5

 See Wilson and Musick, 1997. 
 

 

 

KEEPING BABY BOOMERs VOLUNTEERING 7 

VOluNTEER RETENTION, TuRNOVER, AND 

RECRuITMENT RATES 

We could substantially miss the full volunteer potential 

of Baby Boomers if we do not focus on how to keep 

them volunteering. It is possible to be very successful 

in recruiting new volunteers but have the Baby Boomer 

volunteer rate remain stable or even decline. This is 

because current volunteers may choose not to continue 

volunteering after their initial experiences. As a result, 

high volunteer turnover can substantially dampen the 

overall volunteer rate. 

As such, a better understanding of the dynamics 

associated with volunteer retention and turnover 

for Baby Boomers could provide important insights 

into how to increase Baby Boomers’ involvement 

with volunteering. The remainder of this report will 

examine volunteer retention and turnover, including 

comparing volunteer retention and turnover for Baby 

Boomers to volunteers born before 1946 (the Silent 

and Greatest Generations). 

To start our discussion of what keeps people 

volunteering, let’s examine the overall volunteer 

retention, turnover, and recruitment rates for Baby 

Boomers compared to older generations. Because the 

CPS data keeps a large subset of its respondents in 

the survey for two years, it is possible to follow the 

volunteer behavior of an individual respondent for 

two years. This allows us to analyze what percentage of 

individuals volunteer for two years in a row as opposed 

to those who only volunteer in one year but fail to 

volunteer in the next. The data essentially provides the 

ability to calculate: 

Volunteer Retention Rates: the percentage of 

volunteers in a given year that choose to volunteer 

in the next year. 

Volunteer Turnover (attrition) Rates: the percentage 

of volunteers in year one that choose not to 

volunteer in the next year. 

Volunteer Recruitment/Replacement Rates: the 

percentage of volunteers in year two who were 

non-volunteers in year one. In essence these are the 

volunteers in year two who replaced those volunteers 

that volunteered in year one but not in year two. 
 

8 KEEPING BABY BOOMERs VOLUNTEERING 

Table 1. Volunteer Retention, Turnover, and Recruitment Rates for Baby Boomers and Pre-Baby Boomers 

Population Wave 

2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 Average 

Baby Boomers 

Volunteer Retention 69% 68% 71.5% 67.5% 69% 

Volunteer Replacement 28.9% 28% 26.3% 25.4% 27.2% 

Volunteer Turnover 31% 32% 28.5% 32.5% 31% 

Year One Volunteer Rate 35.2% 36.3% 36.7% 35.2% 36% 

Year Two Volunteer Rate 34.1% 34.3% 35.6% 31.9% 34% 

Change in Volunteer Rate -1.1% -2% -1.1% -3.3% -1.9% 

Pre-Baby Boomer 

Volunteer Retention 71.8% 71.6% 71.5% 68.9% 71% 

Volunteer Replacement 27.7% 28.6% 27.9% 25.4% 27.5% 

Volunteer Turnover 28.2% 28.4% 28.5% 31.1% 29% 

Year One Volunteer Rate 27.5% 28.6% 28.9% 28.5% 28.3% 

Year Two Volunteer Rate 27.2% 28.6% 28.7% 26.3% 27.7% 

Change in Volunteer Rate -0.2% 0.1% -0.3% -2.2% -0.6% 

Table 1 presents all three rates along with the volunteer 

rate for each two-year wave of respondents beginning 

in 2002. For example, in the 2002-2003 wave, Baby 

Boomer volunteers had a 69 percent retention rate 

between 2002 and 2003, a 31 percent turnover rate, 

and 28.9 percent of volunteers in 2003 were nonvolunteers in 2002. As a result, the volunteer rate for 

this wave was 35.2 percent in 2002, but it declined 

slightly to 34.1 percent in 2003 primarily because of 

the turnover or attrition rate. 

Table 1 shows that, while Baby Boomers and 

older generations have roughly the same volunteer 

recruitment rates, Baby Boomers have higher volunteer 

turnover or attrition rates than older generations. 

This may indicate that as Baby Boomers age their 

volunteer retention rates will increase. However, 

as suggested above, there are definite generational 

differences in volunteering between Baby Boomers and 

older generations. It is possible that these generational 

differences may be more important than lifecycle 

effects in predicting volunteer retention as Baby 

Boomers age. 

Table 1 also highlights the importance of volunteer 

turnover on the overall volunteer rates. For Baby 

Boomers, the average volunteer attrition rate from 

2002 to 2006 was 31 percent compared to 29 percent 

for older volunteers. At the same time, Baby Boomers’ 

volunteer replacement rate was almost four percentage 

points lower than their volunteer turnover rate. This 

explains why two-year volunteering rates dropped more 

for Baby Boomers than for older volunteers. In short, 

this highlights how important the volunteer turnover 

or attrition rate is to the overall volunteer rate. 

ExPlAINING DIFFERENCES IN VOluNTEER 

RETENTION AND TuRNOVER RATES 

The key to designing effective interventions to reduce 

volunteer turnover and increase retention is to increase 

our understanding of the factors related to both 

turnover and retention. This section will examine 

several possible explanations for variations in volunteer 

retention: high attachment to volunteering, finding 

the right fit, changing family and work status, and 

differences in the pathways to volunteering. 
KEEPING BABY BOOMERs VOLUNTEERING 9 

Figure 3. Volunteer Retention Rates by Volunteer Hours 

for Baby Boomers and Older Volunteers 

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Pre-Baby

Boomer

Baby

Boomers

500 hours 

or more 

100 to 499 

hours 

50 to 99 

hours 

15 to 49 

hours 

1 to 14 

hour(s) 

 High Attachment to Volunteering 

One explanation for why some people continue 

to volunteer and others drop out of volunteering, 

centers on the notion that some individuals develop 

a high attachment to volunteering.6

 How much an 

individual volunteers, is jointly determined by a 

volunteer’s individual preferences and the available 

volunteer opportunities. A volunteer who has 

developed a high attachment to volunteering will 

be invited into greater service opportunities with an 

organization and most likely also search out additional 

opportunities to volunteer. 

This attachment can be seen in three indicators: 

1) how many hours are volunteered annually; 2) how 

many weeks are volunteered annually; and 3) how 

many organizations individuals volunteer for. If this is 

the case, we might expect to see volunteers with high 

values on the hours and weeks volunteered and the 

number of volunteer organizations to have a higher 

propensity to volunteer two years in a row than those 

with lower values. 

Consistent with the notion that volunteer retention is 

related to higher attachment to volunteering, retention 

rates are higher as volunteer hours increase (see figure 

3). That is, the more hours a volunteer devotes to 

volunteering in the first year, the more likely he or she 

is to volunteer the next year. The same effect is seen 

for volunteer weeks and for the number of volunteer 

organizations one volunteers with (see table A-1, 

Appendix.). 

The findings indicate that busy volunteers—those who 

appear to be most highly attached to their volunteer 

work—were more likely to be retained as volunteers 

than episodic or occasional volunteers. Therefore, the 

volunteers who put in the fewest hours and weeks, 

and work with the smallest number of organizations 

also have the highest volunteer attrition rates. These 

patterns hold for Baby Boomers and older volunteers as 

well. (See figure 3, and tables A-1and A-2, Appendix.) 

The data seems to confirm that, as volunteers increase 

their commitment to volunteering they increase their 

interest in volunteering. Indeed, one could argue that 

there is something of a virtuous circle that encourages 

those who commit the most to volunteering to commit 

more. Given the results for older generations, we have 

every reason to believe that these patterns are likely to 

hold as Baby Boomers age. These findings suggest that 

volunteer organizations should work with volunteers 

in the same way they work with donors to cultivate a 

strong sense of commitment to the organization and 

its goals. 

 Finding the Right Fit 

As with paid employment, volunteers do not have 

perfect knowledge about the benefits and costs of 

potential volunteer opportunities. Individuals may 

accept volunteer opportunities that do not suit them, 

either because the duties assigned to them are not 

a good fit, or because they find that they are not 

compatible with the volunteer organizations. 

6

 See Wilson and Musick, 1997. 
 

 

 

 

10 KEEPING BABY BOOMERs VOLUNTEERING
 

Figure 4. Volunteer Retention Rates by Type of Volunteer Organization 

for Baby Boomers and Older Generational Cohorts 

50% 60% 70% 80% 

Pre-Baby 

Boomers 

Baby 

Boomers 

Environmental 

or animal care 

Public safety 

Religious 

Educational or 

youth services 

Civic, political, 

professional, 

international 

Sport, hobby, 

cultural, arts 

Social or 

community 

service 

Hospital 

or health 

Other 

Figures 4 and 5 show the volunteer retention rates 

for Baby Boomers and older generations by the type 

of volunteer organization and volunteer activity in 

the first year of volunteering. Baby Boomers and 

older generations who volunteer in environmental or 

animal care, public safety, and religious organizations 

have the highest volunteer retention rates (see figure 

4). This is an interesting finding in that there is 

something about these three fields that cuts across 

generations and ages. Volunteering with religious 

organizations is consistently high among almost all 

types of volunteers—including Baby Boomers and 

older volunteers. So it is not surprising that volunteer 

retention would be high among individuals who 

volunteer through religious organizations. 

However, interpreting these findings should be undertaken with some caution. The actual percentage of 

volunteers retained in environmental and public safety 

organizations is among the lowest of all types 

of organizations (2% and 1.3%, respectively). Even 

though volunteers in these fields are highly committed, 

few individuals choose to volunteer primarily with 

these types of organizations. Unfortunately, it is 

difficult to ascertain whether these types of organizations are highly adept at retaining their volunteers or 

whether individuals who decide to volunteer in these 

sectors are already highly committed to the goals of 

the organizations. 

On the other hand, Baby Boomers volunteering at 

hospitals and health facilities had the lowest volunteer 

retention rates, while volunteer retention rates for 

earlier generations (born before 1946) were lowest 

for those who volunteered in educational and youth 

services organizations (see figure 4). These findings 

seem consistent with the different pathways that lead 

these two generations into volunteering. Because 

Baby Boomers are younger and also are more likely 

to have school-aged children still at home, they are 

likely to be more attached to volunteering in school 

and educational settings. Unlike Baby Boomers, older 

volunteers are more likely to have friends or relations 

experiencing health problems. This reality might make 

it more likely they would enter or pursue volunteer 

opportunities in the healthcare field. 

The number and type of volunteer activities also seem 

to be related to volunteer retention. For Baby Boomers 

and volunteers born before 1946, the volunteer 

retention rate rises with the number of volunteer 

activities, which may indicate higher attachment 

to volunteering and support the contention that 

volunteers who are given a variety of tasks are more 

likely to choose to continue volunteering (see tables 

A-1 and A-2, Appendix.). 

What may be most interesting, though, is that 

volunteer retention is also related to the type of 

volunteer activity a person performs. Figure 5 

looks at Baby Boomers and older volunteers who 

only perform one volunteer activity7

 for their main 

volunteer organization. Certain activities are clearly 

related to higher volunteer retention. Professional 

or management activities have the highest volunteer 

7

 48 percent of Baby Boomers and over 50 percent of volunteers 

born before 1946 only perform one volunteer activity. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KEEPING BABY BOOMERs VOLUNTEERING 11
 

Figure 5. Volunteer Retention Rates by Volunteer Activities for 


Baby Boomers and Older Generational Cohorts Who Only Perform 


One Volunteer Activity, (2002-2006)
 

Provide general labor or 

supply transportation 

Collect, make, or
 

distribute clothing
 

Fundraise or sell
 

items to raise money
 

Collect, prepare, 

distribute, or serve food 

Any other type
 

of activity/specify
 

Be an usher,
 

greeter, or minister
 

Provide counseling,
 

medical care, fire/EMS
 

Provide general
 

office services
 

Coach, tutor,
 

teacher, mentor
 

Engage in music,
 

performance, or other
 

Provide professional or
 

management services
 

Baby

Boomers

Pre-Baby

Boomers

50% 60% 70% 80%

retention rates for both Baby Boomers and older 

volunteers, while general labor and supplying 

transportation have the lowest retention rates (see 

figure 5). However, after accounting for these 

similarities there is considerable variation between 

what activities seem to be related to Baby Boomer 

volunteer retention and what activities are related to 

older generations’ volunteer retention. For instance, 

retention rates are higher for Baby Boomers who 

engage in volunteer activities related to music and 

performance, and tutoring, mentoring, and coaching 

than they are for older volunteers. On the other hand, 

retention rates are higher for older volunteers who 

collect, make or distribute clothing, and collect, make, 

distribute, prepare, and serve food than for Baby 

Boomers doing the same tasks. (See figure 5.) 

These results suggest it may be more promising to 

recruit Baby Boomers into certain types of volunteer 

activities. Moreover, the popularity of activities appears 

to be related to age differences and possibly differences 

in generational perspectives. For community programs 

that primarily provide volunteer opportunities that 

appear to be less attractive to Baby Boomers (and 

maybe to older volunteers as well), it may be 

imperative to consider strategies for making these 

activities more attractive to Boomers or to reconsider 

how they will utilize volunteers. 

 Changing Family Status and Work Commitment 

Changes in family status and employment, while 

sometimes welcomed, are almost always disruptive to 

some extent. Given this, it seems reasonable to expect 

that such changes may affect volunteering behavior. 

To investigate the relationship between volunteer 

retention and changes in family status we look at the 

change in the presence of one’s own children under 

18-years-old residing in the household over two years. 

Four conditions were examined: 1) individuals with no 

children of their own in the first year but with children 

of their own in the second; 2) individuals with children 

under 18 years of age in the first year but not in the 

second year; 3) individuals with children under 18 years 

of age in both the first and the second year; and 4) no 

children under 18 years of age residing in the household 

in either the first or the second year. 

For volunteers born before 1946, there was no 

significant difference in volunteer retention rates 

between respondents falling into each of the four 

categories. For Baby Boomers volunteer retention rates 

were affected by changes in the presence of children 

under 18 in the household.8 When no children resided 

in a household, the arrival of a new child to the 

household by far had the greatest impact on depressing 

8 For volunteers born before 1946 there was no significant difference 

in volunteer rates between these four groups, mainly because only 

two percent of these older adults ever had their own children under 

18 living with them. 
 

 

 

 

 

12 KEEPING BABY BOOMERs VOLUNTEERING
 

Figure 6. Volunteer Retention Rates by Changes in the 

Presence of Children under 18 Years in the Household 

for Baby Boomers (2002-2006) 

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Baby

Boomers

Kids In 

Year 2 No 

Kids Year 1 

Kids In 

Year 1 No 

Kids Year 2 

No Kids 

Year 1 

or Year 2 

Kids In 

Year 1 

and Year 2 

the volunteer retention rate. The second condition that 

was most likely to depress volunteer retention was a 

household that previously had children under 18 no 

longer having such children. (See figure 6.) 

Both these findings seem reasonable. The arrival of a 

new child produces considerable disruptions and the 

requirement to reallocate time to the new arrival. On 

the other hand, the presence of children is a predictor 

of volunteering. When one’s children either leave home 

or are no longer school-aged, some of the motivation 

for volunteering is reduced. One finding that is 

particularly interesting is that, among Baby Boomers, 

volunteers who do not have children have the second 

highest volunteer retention rate. This suggests that 

Baby Boomers face few barriers to volunteering, 

and might be induced to increase their volunteering 

commitments with the right incentives. 

Changes in employment status also appear to predict 

volunteer retention for Baby Boomers and volunteers 

born before 1946. It appears that moving out of the 

workforce is most likely to reduce volunteer retention 

among Baby Boomers, while losing one’s job is most 

likely to reduce volunteer retention for volunteers born 

before 1946. (See figure 7.) 

Interestingly, some studies have suggested that 

Baby Boomers may be more likely to volunteer as 

they reduce their work hours.9

 In particular, some 

speculation exists that Baby Boomers moving from 

full-time to part-time work will increase their 

volunteering.10 The speculation is that this increase 

in leisure time will create an opportunity to recruit 

more Baby Boomers into volunteering or lead them 

to increase the time they already devote. It seems 

reasonable that volunteer retention might also be 

positively affected by a reduction in work hours and 

an increase in leisure time. 

While some evidence exists of the link between 

reduced work hours and increased volunteering,11 

the evidence compiled for this report does not seem 

to support this conclusion for volunteer retention. 

Holding employment status constant, decreasing 

work hours does not lead to higher volunteer 

retention. Indeed, increasing work hours seems to 

slightly increase Baby Boomers’ and older volunteers’ 

propensity to be retained as a volunteer (see tables A-1 

and A-2, Appendix.). While the differences are relatively 

modest in practical terms, they are statistically significant 

for Baby Boomers. 

Given these findings, it might suggest the need for 

some caution in speculating about the impact that 

retirement or reduced working hours might have 

on volunteering for Baby Boomers. The underlying 

assumption in the assertion that reduced work 

commitments will result in more volunteering is that 

volunteering is a substitute for working. While this 

seems perfectly reasonable, the volunteer retention 

findings in this report suggest that working and 

volunteering may not be substitutes for each other. 

Instead, it may be that work provides the social and 

institutional networks that present opportunities for 

volunteering. As work is reduced, those networks 

and connections that lead to volunteer opportunities 

are either eliminated or diminished, leading to less 

9 See Mutchler, Burr, and Caro, 2003. See Wilson and 

Musick, 1999. 

10 See Harvard, 2004. 

11 See Mutchler, Burr, and Caro, 2003; Freeman, 1997; and 

Wilson and Musick, 1999 for discussions of changes in 

work hours and volunteering. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

KEEPING BABY BOOMERs VOLUNTEERING 13
 

Figure 7. Volunteer Retention Rates by Changes in Workforce Status, 

Baby Boomers and Pre-Baby Boomers (2002-2006) 

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Pre-Baby

Boomers

Baby

Boomers

No change Lost job

in labor 

force status 

Not working 

to working 

Moved out 

of workforce 

volunteer retention—and maybe even less overall 

volunteering. On the other hand, if many Baby 

Boomers decide to retire later and work full-time 

longer than past generations, as some speculate, that 

could translate into higher volunteer retention and 

volunteering rates for older Americans. 

 Pathways to Consistent Volunteering 

The pathways into volunteering also appear to be 

an important predictor of volunteer retention. Baby 

Boomers who became volunteers by approaching 

an organization on their own had slightly higher 

volunteer retention rates than volunteers who were 

asked by someone to volunteer (see table A-1 and A-2, 

Appendix.).12 While the actual differences in retention 

rates are small, they are still statistically significant. 

Moreover, a one-percentage point difference in retention 

rates could represent as many as 200,000 more 

volunteers. Since it is not entirely clear what motivates 

some volunteers to seek out their own volunteer 

opportunities while others wait to be asked, this creates 

something of a dilemma for organizations seeking 

long-term volunteers but this reality may illustrate the 

value of marketing your volunteer opportunities. 

It may be more possible to influence the volunteer 

retention rates of Baby Boomers who volunteer because 

someone asks them to volunteer. It turns out that who 

asks you to become a volunteer is related to volunteer 

retention. For example, Baby Boomer volunteers who 

were asked by someone in the volunteer organization 

had the highest volunteer retention rates. On the other 

hand, volunteers who originally became volunteers 

because their boss or employer asked them to volunteer 

had the lowest volunteer retention rates (see table A-1, 

Appendix.). 

This finding is particularly interesting in light of the 

growing popularity of employment-based volunteer 

recruitment programs. It would appear that volunteers 

might feel less commitment to their volunteer activity 

if they feel pressured into doing it by their employer. 

This stands in stark contrast to being approached and 

asked to volunteer by someone in the organization 

where the volunteer activity will take place. Being 

asked by the organization seems to produce a much 

higher level of commitment to volunteering. This 

suggests that it may be important to find ways of 

differentiating between using the workplace as a venue 

for volunteer recruitment and being or at least feeling 

pressured to volunteer by one’s boss. 

12 See Freeman 1997 for discussion of relationship of being asked to 

actual volunteering. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

14 CONCLUsION AND IMPLICATIONs
 

Holding age constant, Baby Boomers appear to be 

more likely to volunteer than their parents as they 

reach early and late middle age. The combination of 

a higher propensity to volunteer and the large size of 

the Baby Boomer generation indicates a huge potential 

source of new volunteers for community service 

activities in the future. As Baby Boomers age, there is a 

strong possibility that they will volunteer in extremely 

large numbers over the next 10 to 15 years—exhibiting 

volunteer rates and numbers that exceed earlier 

generations of older Americans. In fact, the Corporation 

used Census data to demonstrate that the number of 

older American volunteers (age 65+) is expected to 

increase by 50 percent by 2020 (from almost 9 million 

in 2007 to over 13 million in 2020). 

However, the volunteer rate, like the employment 

rate, masks a lot of dynamism and volatility in the 

supply and demand for volunteers. An initial decision 

to volunteer does not mean that an individual will 

volunteer on a continuous basis. Indeed it appears that 

on average from 2002 to 2006, about 30 percent of 

all Baby Boomers who chose to volunteer in one year 

decided not to volunteer in the next. For example, 

an estimated 17.4 million Baby Boomers volunteered 

in 2005 and again in 2006. At the same time, an 

estimated 8.4 million Baby Boomers who volunteered 

in 2005 did not volunteer in 2006. While the good 

news is that most volunteers choose to volunteer at 

least two years in a row, a 30 percent attrition rate 

among employees in most industries in the private or 

government sectors would be considered very high 

given that the average employment turnover rates for 

2006 were about 23 percent. (www.nobscot.com/ 

survey/index.cfm) 

While many volunteers who leave volunteering are 

replaced by new recruits, the recruitment of new 

volunteers, unfortunately, does not make up for the 

loss of volunteers through attrition. On average, for 

Baby Boomers, over the four-year period from 2002­

2006, the volunteer turnover rate was 30 percent while 

the volunteer replacement rates—the percentage of 

volunteers who were non-volunteers the year before— 

was only 26 percent (See table 1). A potential lesson is 

that the best way to keep volunteer rates high is to find 

ways of retaining existing volunteers. 

What are some of the ways to increase volunteer 

retention? First, keep volunteers engaged. It appears 

that volunteers with a high attachment to their 

volunteer work also have high volunteer retention 

rates. Volunteer managers should focus on finding 

ways to cultivate greater interest and involvement 

among existing volunteers. This report indicates that 

the more time a volunteer spends volunteering with 

an organization and the more volunteer activities a 

volunteer is involved with, the more likely she or he is 

to keep volunteering. 

Second, one place to develop committed volunteers 

is among volunteers who are already volunteering 

(perhaps episodically) with another organization. The 

volunteer rate tends to increase with the number of 

volunteer organizations, at least until the volunteer 

reaches five organizations. Sixty-three percent of all 

volunteers only volunteer with one organization. This 

suggests a real opportunity to increase volunteering 

among Baby Boomers by asking people who are already 

engaged to do more. 

Third, the types of volunteer activities undertaken and 

where those activities take place have implications for 

volunteer retention among Baby Boomers. Certain 

organizations and activities are more likely to retain 

volunteers than other organizations and activities. 

For example, volunteers to religious organizations 

are above average in their volunteer retention, while 

volunteers to healthcare are below average—suggesting 

that healthcare organizations may need to find 

more effective approaches for retaining volunteers. 

Volunteers doing professional or management 

tasks also have above average retention rates, while 

volunteers that provide general labor or supply 

transportation have below average retention rates. 
 

 

 

 

CONCLUsION AND IMPLICATIONs 15
 

Given these findings, in order to retain Baby Boomers 

as volunteers, organizations should find ways of letting 

potential volunteers know about the more attractive 

volunteer opportunities available. But volunteer 

programs must also begin to consider how to make less 

attractive opportunities more inviting. Organizations 

with below average volunteer retention rates, such as 

healthcare, social and community organizations, and 

sports, hobby and art and cultural organizations, must 

find ways to increase the long-term commitment of 

Baby Boomers to volunteering with organizations. 

Same is true of volunteer activities, such as general 

labor and supplying transportation, which also have 

below average volunteer retention rates. 

Fourth, volunteer retention is higher for volunteers 

recruited directly by a nonprofit or community-based 

organization. Volunteers asked by their employer or 

boss to volunteer have substantially lower volunteer 

retention rates compared to other forms of recruiting 

volunteers. This suggests that it is critical to 

differentiate between using the workplace as a venue 

for volunteer recruiting and making volunteering a 

work commitment. An individual that is pressured— 

or feels pressured—to volunteer by an employer may 

respond to the initial request but is far less likely to 

make a long-term commitment. 

Finally, it is important to remember that in general, 

anything that pushes up volunteer retention rates 

among any groups will increase overall volunteer 

rates. Volunteer turnover should be seen as just as 

undesirable as turnover among paid employees. For 

most businesses and nonprofits, a 30 percent employee 

turnover rate would be an indication of a workplace 

problem. The same should be true for volunteers. Two 

models of volunteer retention that might be considered 

are the donor model and the employee model. 

Most charitable organizations attempt to retain repeat 

donors, especially large donors. To get repeat gifts 

from large donors, charitable organizations must spend 

time cultivating the donor and making him or her feel 

connected to the organization and its mission. Some 

of the same tools and approaches used to encourage 

a large donor to make a repeat gift might be helpful 

if applied to volunteers. In a sense, through their 

time commitments, volunteers are making a huge 

in-kind donation to the resources and mission of the 

organization. Moreover, research suggests there is a 

strong connection between volunteering and giving.13 

Thus, it makes sense to find ways of encouraging 

substantial volunteering because it will produce 

substantial in-kind gifts and could simultaneously 

produce considerable monetary gifts. 

The employment model assumes that volunteers 

should not be seen as just free labor. Instead, they 

should be approached as a key resource and an integral 

part of the organization’s success. Most employers 

recognize that employee turnover imposes both direct 

and indirect costs. The same is true of volunteers. 

The loss of a volunteer imposes search costs to find a 

replacement. When a replacement is found the new 

volunteers must be trained and supervised. They must 

get to know the work and mission of the organization. 

They have to form productive work relationships 

with the paid and unpaid members of a charitable 

organization’s staff. The human resources field has 

developed a host of insights and tools for reducing 

employee turnover and our recent reports on volunteer 

management capacity in nonprofit organizations 

illustrate that many of those tools (such as offering 

training and professional development opportunities) 

would be helpful in reducing turnover among 

volunteers.14 

13 See Lee, Piliavin and Call, 1999; Brooks and Lewis, 2001; 

and Freeman 1997 for discussions of the relationship between 

charitable giving and volunteering. 

14 See Volunteer Management Capacity series, 2004. 
 

 

 

 

16 APPENDIX
 

Table A-1 Volunteer Retention and Volunteer Turnover Rates for Baby Boomers, 2002-2006 

FACTORS 

1 to 14 hour(s) 

15 to 49 hours 

50 to 99 hours 

100 to 499 hours 

500 hours or more 

Episodic volunteers (0-2 weeks per year) 

Occasional volunteers (3-11 weeks per year) 

Regular volunteers (12 or more weeks per year) 

Coach, tutor, teacher, mentor 

Be an usher, greeter, or minister 

Collect, prepare, distribute or serve food 

Collect, make, or distribute clothing 

Fundraise or sell items to raise money 

Provide counseling, medical care, fire/EMS 

Provide general office services 

Provide professional or management 

Engage in music, performance, or other 

General labor, supply transportation 

Any other type of activity/specify 

1 organization 

2 organizations 

3 organizations 

4 organizations 

5 or more organizations 

HOW YOu BECAME A VOluNTEER 

Approached the organization 

Was asked 

Some other way 

ASKED BY 

Boss or employer 

Friend, relative or coworker 

2-Year Retention 

Rate 

52.1% 

64.7% 

73.8% 

79.9% 

83.2% 

52.8% 

63.6% 

78.6% 

70.3% 

62.6% 

58.8% 

58.5% 

58.5% 

63% 

64.3% 

74.8% 

70.9% 

55.6% 

60.2% 

62.4% 

76.7% 

84.9% 

90.6% 

90.6% 

69.6% 

68.3% 

69.9% 

53.9% 

66% 

1-Year Turnover 

Rate 

Significant 

Relationship 

47.9% ** 

35.3% ** 

26.2% ** 

20.1% ** 

16.8% ** 

47.2% ** 

36.4% ** 

21.4% ** 

29.7% ** 

37.4% NO 

41.2% ** 

41.5% NO 

41.5% ** 

37% NO 

35.7% NO 

25.2% ** 

29.1% ** 

44.4% ** 

39.8% ** 

37.6% ** 

23.3% ** 

15.1% ** 

9.4% ** 

9.4% ** 

30.4% NO 

31.7% * 

30.1% NO 

46.1% ** 

34% ** 

** - Significant at 1 percent level 

* - Significant at 5 percent level 

NO - Not significant 
 

 

 

APPENDIX 17
 

Table A-1 Volunteer Retention and Volunteer Turnover Rates for Baby Boomers, 2002-2006 

FACTORS 

ASKED BY 

Someone in the org/school 

Someone else 

Work Hours Increased 

Work hours Decreased 

Work Hours remained stable 

Civic, political, professional, international 

Educational or youth services 

Environmental or animal care 

Hospital or health 

Public safety 

Religious 

Social or community service 

Sport, hobby, cultural, arts 

Other 

Total 

Moved out of workforce 

Lost job 

No change in labor force status 

Not working to working 

Total 

Kids in year 2 no kids year 1 

Kids in year 1 no kids year 2 

Kids in year 1 and year 2 

No kids year 1 or year 2 

Total 

One Volunteer Activity 

Two Volunteer Activities 

Three Volunteer Activities 

Four Volunteer Activities 

Five or more Volunteer Activities 

Total 

2-Year Retention 

Rate 

70.5% 

63.9% 

71.6% 

68.4% 

68.4% 

67.5% 

69% 

77% 

63.2% 

73.4% 

72% 

66.1% 

66.9% 

62.6% 

69% 

60.5% 

70.2% 

69.3% 

67.6% 

69% 

54.4% 

62.2% 

73.3% 

65.6% 

69% 

63.5% 

69.1% 

73% 

76.9% 

82.1% 

69% 

1-Year Turnover 

Rate 

Significant 

Relationship 

29.5% ** 

36.1% NO 

28.4% ** 

31.6% NO 

31.6% ** 

32.5% NO 

31% NO 

23% ** 

36.8% ** 

26.6% NO 

28% ** 

33.9% ** 

33.1% NO 

37.4% ** 

31% — 

39.5% ** 

29.8% NO 

30.7% ** 

32.4% NO 

31% — 

45.6% ** 

37.8% ** 

26.7% ** 

34.4% ** 

31% — 

36.5% ** 

30.9% NO 

27% ** 

23.1% ** 

17.9% ** 

31% — 

** - Significant at 1 percent level 

* - Significant at 5 percent level 

NO - Not significant 
 

 

 

 

18 APPENDIX
 

Table A-2 Volunteer Retention Rates and Volunteer Turnover Rates By Selected Characteristics 

For Volunteers Born Before 1946 (2002-2006) 

FACTORS 

1 to 14 hour(s) 

15 to 49 hours 

50 to 99 hours 

100 to 499 hours 

500 hours or more 

Episodic volunteers (0-2 weeks per year) 

Occasional volunteers (3-11 weeks per year) 

Regular volunteers (12 or more weeks per year) 

Coach, tutor, teacher, mentor 

Be an usher, greeter, or minister 

Collect, prepare, distribute or serve food 

Collect, make, or distribute clothing 

Fundraise or sell items to raise money 

Provide counseling, medical care, fire/EMS 

Provide general office services 

Provide professional or management 

Engage in music, performance, or other 

General labor, supply transportation 

Any other type of activity/specify 

1 organization 

2 organizations 

3 organizations 

4 organizations 

5 or more organizations 

HOW YOu BECAME A VOluNTEER 

Approached the organization 

Was asked 

Some other way 

ASKED BY 

Boss or employer 

Friend, relative or coworker 

2-Year Retention 

Rate 

51.1% 

65% 

73.3% 

82% 

84.8% 

52.6% 

65.3% 

78.8% 

66.2% 

65.1% 

69.3% 

68.3% 

56.7% 

51.9% 

70.4% 

76.5% 

60.7% 

52.2% 

63.4% 

65% 

80.5% 

89.2% 

90.1% 

91% 

73.4% 

69.3% 

70.7% 

65.1% 

69% 

1-Year Turnover 

Rate 

Significant 

Relationship 

48.9% ** 

35% ** 

26.7% ** 

18% ** 

15.2% ** 

47.4% ** 

34.7% ** 

21.2% ** 

33.8% NO 

34.9% NO 

30.7% * 

31.7% NO 

43.3% ** 

48.1% * 

29.6% * 

23.5% ** 

39.3% NO 

47.8% ** 

36.6% NO 

35% ** 

19.5% ** 

10.8% ** 

9.9% ** 

9% ** 

26.6% ** 

30.7% ** 

29.3% NO 

34.9% NO 

31% NO 

** - Significant at 1 percent level 

* - Significant at 5 percent level 

NO - Not significant 
 

 

 

APPENDIX 19
 

Table A-2 Volunteer Retention Rates and Volunteer Turnover Rates By Selected Characteristics 

For Volunteers Born Before 1946 (2002-2006) 

FACTORS 2-Year Retention 

Rate 

1-Year Turnover 

Rate 

Significant 

Relationship 

ASKED BY 

Someone in the org/school 69.7% 30% NO 

Someone else 72.7% 27.3% NO 

Work Hours Increased 73% 27% NO 

Work hours Decreased 70.4% 29.6% NO 

Work Hours remained stable 72.5% 27.5% NO 

Civic, political, professional, international 71.8% 28.2% NO 

Educational or youth services 64.4% 35.6% ** 

Environmental or animal care 76.2% 23.8% NO 

Hospital or health 67.4% 32.6% ** 

Public safety 73.1% 26.9% NO 

Religious 72.9% 27.1% ** 

Social or community service 72.1% 27.9% NO 

Sport, hobby, cultural, arts 70.3% 29.7% NO 

Other 66.5% 33.5% NO 

Total 71% 29% — 

Moved out of workforce 70.1% 29.9% NO 

Lost job 42.2% 57.8% ** 

No change in labor force status 71.2% 28.8% NO 

Not working to working 71.8% 28.2% NO 

Total 71% 29% — 

Kids in year 2 no kids year 1 62.6% 37.4% NO 

Kids in year 1 no kids year 2 74.9% 25.1% NO 

Kids in year 1 and year 2 64.5% 35.5% NO 

No kids year 1 or year 2 71.1% 28.9% NO 

Total 71% 29% — 

One Volunteer Activity 64.4% 35.6% ** 

Two Volunteer Activities 70.9% 29.1% NO 

Three Volunteer Activities 77.3% 22.7% ** 

Four Volunteer Activities 82.5% 17.5% ** 

Five or more Volunteer Activities 85.2% 14.8% ** 

Total 71% 29% — 

** - Significant at 1 percent level 

* - Significant at 5 percent level 

NO - Not significant 
 

20 REfERENCEs
 

Brooks, Arthur C. and Gregory B. Lewis, “Giving, Volunteering, 

and Mistrusting Government,” Journal of Policy Analysis and 

Management, Vol. 20, No. 4. (Autumn, 2001), pp. 765-769. 

Corporation for National and Community Service, Volunteer 

Management Capacity Study Series. 2004. 

Harvard School of Public Health-MetLife Foundation Initiative 

on Retirement and Civic Engagement, Reinventing Aging: Baby 

Boomers and Civic Engagement (2004). 

Hendricks, Jon and Stephen J. Cutler, “Volunteerism and 

Socioemotional Selectivity in Later Life,” The Journal of 

Gerontology”, Vol. 59b, No. 5 (September 2004), pp. S251-S257. 

Freeman, Richard B. “Working for Nothing: The Supply of 

Volunteer Labor,” Journal of Labor Economics, Vol. 15, No. 1, Part 

2: Essays in Honor of Yoram Ben-Porath. (January, 1997), pp. 

S140-S166. 

Lee, Lichang, Jane Allyn Piliavin, and Vaughn R. A. Call, “Giving 

Time, Money, and Blood: Similarities and Differences?,” Social 

Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 62, No. 3 (September, 1999), pp. 276-290. 

Mutchler, Jan E., Jeffrey A. Burr, and Francis G. Caro, “From Paid 

Worker to Volunteer: Leaving the Paid Workforce and Volunteering 

in Later Life”, Social Forces, Vol. 81, No. 4 (June 2003), pp. 

1267-1293. 

Wilson, John and Marc A. Musick, “Who Cares? Toward an 

Integrated Theory of Volunteer Work,” American Sociological 

Review, Vol. 62, No. 5 (Oct., 1997), pp. 694-713. 

Wilson, John and Marc A. Musick, “Work and Volunteering: The 

Long Arm of the Job,” Social Forces, Vol. 76, No. 1 (Sep., 1997), 

pp. 251-272. 

Wilson, John and Marc A. Musick, “Attachment to Volunteering,” 

Sociological Forum, Vol. 14, No. 2 (June, 1999), pp. 243-272. 

Wilson, John and Marc A. Musick, “The Effects of Volunteering 

on the Volunteer,” Law and Contemporary Problems, Vol. 62, No. 4. 

Wilson, John, “Volunteering,” Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 26 

(2000), pp. 215-240. 
 

ACKNOWlEDGMENTS 

We would like to thank the following staff at the Corporation for 

National and Community Service for their valuable contributions 

to this report: Jan Newsome, Peter Shifter, Kimberly Spring, 

and LaMonica Shelton, who were helpful in shaping the final 

direction of the report and reviewed drafts. We are also grateful 

for our partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau 

of Labor Statistics. 

THE OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND POlICY DEVElOPMENT 

The Office of Research and Policy Development (RPD) is part 

of the CEO’s Office within the Corporation for National and 

Community Service. RPD’s mission is to develop and cultivate 

knowledge that will enhance the mission of the Corporation and of 

volunteer and community service programs. 

RElATED RESEARCH REPORTS ON VOluNTEERING 

Volunteer Growth in America: A Review of Trends Since 1974. 

December 2006. Provides an in-depth look at volunteering over the 

past 30 years, with particular attention paid to changing historical 

volunteer patterns by select age groups. The report analyzes data on 

volunteering collected by the Census Bureau in 1974 and 1989. 

College Students Helping America. October 2006. Identifies key trends in volunteering among college students 

ages 16 to 24, looks at the demographics and select civic behaviors of college students who volunteer, discusses 

future implications for volunteering given the changing college environment, and provides state rankings for 

volunteering among college students. 

Volunteering in America: State Trends and Rankings. June 2006. Presents a national, regional, and state-by-state 

analysis of volunteering trends. 

Volunteers Mentoring Youth: Implications for Closing the Mentoring Gap. May 2006. Provides a greater 

understanding of the characteristics and traits that distinguish individuals whose volunteering includes mentoring 

youth from volunteers who do not mentor. 

Youth Helping America Series. Educating for Active Citizens: Service-Learning, School-Based Service, and Youth 

Civic Engagement. March 2006. Takes a closer look at participation in school-based service among middle school 

and high school aged youth, paying particular attention to the relationship between different service-learning 

experiences and civic attitudes and outcomes. 

Youth Helping America Series. Building Active Citizens: The Role of Social Institutions in Teen Volunteering. 

November 2005. Explores the state of youth volunteering and the connections between youth volunteering and 

the primary social institutions to which teenagers are exposed – family, schools, and religious congregations. 

To read or download our reports, visit www.nationalservice.gov. 
CORPORATION FOR NATIONAl AND COMMuNITY SERVICE 

1201 NEW YORK AVENuE, NW 

WASHINGTON, DC 20525 

Tel: (202) 606-5000 

TTY: (202) 606-3472 

e-mail: info@cns.gov 

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