People volunteer in different ways and at different times of the year. Volunteering not only benefits the organization, but is good for the volunteer, too. Volunteering provides a variety of personal benefits and satisfaction, in addition to the benefits received by nonprofit organizations and society as a whole. It is not simply the act of volunteering that makes volunteers the backbone of the independent sector . They are also a major financial support for the sector.
Volunteers are more likely than nonvolunteers to give to the sector.
Contributing households with a volunteer gave more than two and a half times more on average than those without a volunteer. Formal volunteering involves regular work for an organization. The biennial surveys describes how socio-economic conditions and tax laws affect the charitable behavior of Americans. They also chart public attitudes about a variety of issues that affect the climate for giving and volunteering, and explore behavior and motivational factors that influence giving and volunteering. Copies of the Executive Summary are available from Independent Sector .