ServiceNation
August 31, 2009
Posted on Aug 28, 2009 It is very unfortunate, but not that surprising. A very tough economy is causing families to struggle, which in turn means less time to volunteer and engage in civic activities, leading to a danger of “civic foreclosure.” That is the message of the always informative Civic Health Index, which was just released by our ServiceNation partner, the National Conference on Citizenship. Here is the bottom line from the report: The survey’s results reflect the hard choices Americans have made during the downturn, with 72 percent of respondents saying they have cut back on time engaged in civic participation, which includes time spent volunteering, participating in groups or performing other civic activities in their communities. Public perception supports this finding, as 66 percent of Americans say they feel other people are responding to the current economic downturn by looking out for themselves, with only 19 percent saying people around them are responding to the recession by helping each other more. The report has caught the attention of the New York Times, which concludes “That finding undercuts anecdotal reports of volunteers’ flooding nonprofit groups as unemployment has increased and suggests the challenges faced by the Obama administration, Congress and foundations working to encourage greater volunteer service and civic participation.” We don’t think that is quite, or completely, right. There has been a dramatic increase–which has been well-documented–in applications for paid national service positions. But as the report indicates people are finding it hard to find as much time for traditional community volunteering. The Chronicle of Philanthropy also digs into the report and does a good job of sorting out the trends it reveals with the help of David Smith, NCOC’s Executive Director: The report’s findings seem contrary to those in a study released last month by the Corporation for National and Community Service, which showed that roughly a million more people volunteered in 2008 than in the previous year. Mr. Smith, whose organization works closely with the corporation, said that the drop-off in volunteerism has taken place since the corporation completed its research last fall. Historically, recessions have prompted an increase in volunteerism, Mr. Smith said, but only to the point that the unemployment rate reaches a “threshold.” “When you hit a threshold of 9 or 10 percent, all of a sudden people move from saying, ‘This is the time to rise up and help my community,’ to, ‘Times are really tough and I need to focus on making sure my family has what it needs to get through this hard time,” he said. Smith, and ServiceNation lead organizer John Bridgeland, CEO of Civic Enterprises, who helped with the report, lay it all out in an article on the Huffington Post, and highlight some interesting findings: Even though they are disproportionately affected by the economic downturn, people with the least means are giving the most and serve as the example in these tough economic times. When looking beyond traditional volunteering, 39 percent of those making less than $50,000 helped in other ways such as providing food and shelter compared to only 27 percent of those from higher income brackets. Overall, 50 percent of Americans gave food or money to someone in need who is not a relative, 17 percent allowed a relative to live in their home, and more than one in ten extended this hospitality to non-relatives. As specific needs emerged, low-income Americans in particular emerged to meet them. Participation in religious groups played a major role in keeping us engaged during the economic free-fall, with 40 percent of those who attend religious services frequently reporting an increase in their civic engagement, matched only by those who spend a great deal of time with their friends. The 9/11 Generation, more commonly known as Millennials, continued to show strong civic habits, outpacing Baby Boomers and leading the way in volunteering and social networking, using new technologies to bridge traditional civic gaps across economic and educational divides. There’s a lot to think about here, and its definitely worth reading through the full report. Since the report also touches on how Facebook is playing an important role in civic engagement, here is a superstar panel on the topic from last year’s Annual Conference on Citizenship: