AFS paid staff also handle membership, financial administration, and special projects supported by grants. But these activities and the total budget are small compared to all the efforts and activities of the many AFS volunteers. In addition, each Section and Chapter has officers, committees, and task forces. In the U.S., about half the population volunteers for some organization, more than any other country in the world. Fewer young people volunteer and those who do volunteer contribute an average of 0.7 hours per week compared with 2.7 hours a week in 1991.
Studies report that people in general spend fewer and fewer hours volunteering in organizations.
The reasons for the declining commitments are strongly correlated to the increased pressures in paid jobs. With fewer volunteers investing significant blocks of time, the result is particularly problematical for some organizations. Some volunteer groups are going to extraordinary lengths to combat the problem of diminishing time commitments by breaking volunteer work into smaller blocks that can be completed in less time. Some tasks are being reduced to the level they can be done during coffee breaks, sometimes via e-mail. The economic ramifications of this trend are alarming.