Indy Ranks High for Volunteerism

According to a new federal report, Indianapolis ranked ninth among major U.S. metropolitan areas for its average number of hours served annually per resident—45.9. While Indianapolis’ volunteer rate ranks it 28th in the nation, the report found that Indianapolis had approximately 349,000 volunteers, who served an average of 57.8 million hours per year.
Volunteering in America: 2007 City Trends and Rankings, released today by the Corporation for National and Community Service, is the first report of its kind to look at volunteering trends in 50 of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States.

  • Indianapolis volunteers contributed $1,085,000,000 worth of service per year, based on the Independent Sector’s value of an hour of volunteer time.
  • Indianapolis had an average volunteer rate of 27.7 percent between 2004 and 2006, compared with 29.6 percent in Indiana.
  • On average, Indianapolis had approximately 349,000 volunteers, who served 57.8 million hours per year between 2004 and 2006.
  • The highest percentage of volunteers, 30.8 percent, was involved in fundraising or selling items to raise money.

Volunteer rates between the 50 major metro areas varied widely—from 14.4 percent to 40.5 percent. Indianapolis may find itself at this point near the middle of the ranking in part because, like its volunteering rate, many of the area’s other community characteristics are near the average. For instance, Indianapolis’s home ownership rate (which is closely related to community attachment) of 62.4 percent is close to the national metropolitan area median of 60.9 percent.
Based on data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, this report presents volunteer rates and rankings of the 50 U.S. major metropolitan areas as well as average volunteer hours served annually per resident in each city. The volunteer rankings are based on a three-year average from 2004-2006. The report was produced by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that administers AmeriCorps, Senior Corps and other programs.

Note: As seen in the Indianapolis Star

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