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The survey of characteristics of those who gave and volunteered in the past year provided an opportunity to understand the demographic characteristics of those more likely to volunteer or give. Among contributing households, the demographic profile included individuals who reported they volunteered and attended religious services. Those who attended religious services
contributed a higher percentage of their average household income than those who did not attend (2.3% compared with 1.3%). By age, respondents 75 years of age or older gave nearly 5% of their household income, not surprising due to the fact that many had low incomes and were contributing from accumulated wealth. By occupation, retirees reported giving a higher than average
proportion of their household income (2.5%) to charitable causes. By level of education, college graduates reported the highest participation of all groups (81%) and gave an average of 2% of their household income.
Characteristics of Contributors and Noncontributors 1998
As the level of education and household income increased, so did both the volunteer and contributing rate. In 1998, 42% of households with an average income under $20,000 reported volunteering during the year while 68% of households with an average income between $40,000 and $49,999 did so. In addition, college graduates were between 50 and 60% more likely to volunteer than those respondents with only a high school diploma.
While the percentage of people reporting volunteer work increased in all demographic groups, the following groups showed an increase of 5 percentage points or higher between 1995 and 1998:
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women (up 10 percentage points) |
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African-Americans (up 11 percentage points) |
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Hispanics (up 6 percentage points) |
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persons between the ages of 35 and 44 years of age (up 12 percentage points) |
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individuals with household incomes between $40,000 and $49,999 (up 15 percentage points) |
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divorced or separated individuals, and those living with a partner (up 12 and 16 percentage points, respectively) |
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part-time workers (up 13 percentage points) |
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individuals who were not employed (up 10 percentage points) |
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