73% of Older Americans Volunteer, Survey Finds

By Cassie J. Moore

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Seventy-three percent of adults age 44 to 79 volunteered for an organization in the past year, but significant barriers remain to tapping the full potential of those "experienced Americans," according to a report commissioned by the AARP.

Civic Entreprises, a public-policy consulting firm in Washington, surveyed more than 1,000 Americans in that age group to learn about their involvement in charity efforts.

Although 45 percent of the survey respondents said they were very or somewhat likely to increase the amount of time they spend volunteering in the next few years, organizing people of that age may prove difficult, as more than 70 percent of respondents said they preferred not to volunteer on a regular schedule.

The same percentage said that lack of time was a significant barrier to their volunteering, and more than half said another significant barrier was their need to make money.

Almost half of the respondents said there was a lack of available information about volunteering opportunities, and 68 percent of those who did not volunteer in the past year said they had not been invited to do so.

Lesser barriers to volunteering included not being able to find a group that fit with their interests or skills, restrictions due to health problems, and a lack of transportation.

'Civic Highway'

The report makes many recommendations based on the findings.

Although Web sites such as VolunteerMatch and Idealist.org exist to provide information about volunteering opportunities, the report nevertheless recommends that the Corporation for National and Community Service offer a "significant grant to the best consortium of organizations that will develop volunteer-matching and social-networking technologies" to overcome the perceived lack of information.

Not only would this "civic highway" connect older Americans to volunteer opportunities online, it would also get information out to people by telephone, at churches and other religious institutions, and at local town-hall meetings on public issues and other civic activities.

Many older Americans said they would consider volunteering if they were offered an education award they could use for themselves or give away to a young person. Other incentives were also considered helpful: 42 percent of those surveyed said that access to group health insurance also would be a large or moderate incentive, and 21 percent said a monthly stipend or voucher would be an incentive.

The report also recommended that volunteers who drive their cars for volunteer activities be reimbursed for their mileage at 58.5 cents per mile, which is the business rate of reimbursement, instead of 14 cents per mile, which is the current nonprofit rate. (Several bills are pending in Congress that would raise the mileage rate for charitable activities.)

Survey respondents expressed the most interest in volunteering as mentors or tutors to young people and in helping the elderly live independently. The report says efforts should be developed to cater to both those needs — and therefore motivate the largest number of older volunteers possible.

Among the other findings:

• Fifty-five percent of Americans age 44 to 79 believe they will leave the world in worse condition than they inherited it, while only 20 percent believe they are leaving the world in better condition. Those most actively engaged in volunteering feel less pessimistic.

• Fifty-two percent of older Americans said their desire to "help people in need" was a very important motivating factor in their volunteering. Forty-eight percent said the desire to "stay healthy and active" was a primary motivator.

• The rate of volunteering is highest among those who attend religious services regularly (86 percent); college graduates (85 percent); professionals (84 percent); those with annual incomes over $75,000 (83 percent); and evangelical Christians (80 percent).

• Eighty-three percent of Republicans said they volunteered for an organization in the last year, while only 67 percent of Democrats said the same. Sixty-nine of those who identified as independents said they volunteered in the past year.

• Baby boomers, those born from 1946 to 1964, were most likely to increase their volunteer hours in coming years, according to the survey.

• A majority (53 percent) of older Americans are unimpeded by health concerns or demands to care for relatives in their home — with 75 percent not limited by physical or health conditions and a similar percentage said they did not have to care for a child or grandchild younger than 18. in their homes.

Readers can download a copy of the report "More to Give: Tapping the Talents of the Baby Boomer, Silent, and Greatest Generations" on the AARP Web site.