NCoC: Giving and Volunteering

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Giving and Volunteering

Service to community and to others are critical ways individuals give back to community. Acts of service including formal volunteering through and organization, and less formal ways of helping others, such as working with neighbors to fix a community problem. Another way many people choose to give back is through charitable giving and philanthropy.

NCoC believes to address community issues and challenges in any area, research must be collected, discussion must occur, and solutions must be proposed. Here, you can see research, discussion, and solutions associated with giving and volunteering. This is meant to help explain and animate that focus area, as well as facilitate the process of moving from information to action within it.

Giving & Volunteering Issues:Research | Discussions | Solutions

Giving & Volunteering Research

Title	Date	Type
Signs of HopeAmong all of our indicators of civic health, only a few show signs of civic re-engagement.	Sep 18th, 2006	civic health index
A 9/11 Effect?Signs of HopeMany believed that September 11 would spark the nation into a sense of community that had deteriorated over the last three decades.	Sep 18th, 2006	civic health index
Political Activity And Expression Are RisingSigns of HopePrivate volunteerism is dwarfed by public spending in areas that affect critically the character and provision of important needs. However, government works better and leaders are held more accountable ...	Sep 18th, 2006	civic health index
Signs of Civic DeclineCommunity connectedness has declined consistently and almost relentlessly since the 1970s. However, since the late 1990s participation in political activities and expression of political views have increased.	Sep 18th, 2006	civic health index
Signs of Civic StabilityWhile most indicators of our civic health show decline, charitable giving has remained steady over the last 30 years. Volunteering among adults has remained steady in the past two years at 28.8% of the ...	Sep 18th, 2006	civic health index
Appendix I.1: Connecting to Civic and Religious GroupsThe IndicatorsThis category comprises five indicators. All the components have declined with the exception of monthly attendance at religious services (shown separately below).	Sep 18th, 2006	civic health index
Appendix I.4: Giving and VolunteeringThe IndicatorsOver the long term, the rates of giving and volunteering have been remarkably stable. Americans always seem to give roughly two percent of their after-tax income to philanthropy. The DDB’s measure ...	Sep 18th, 2006	civic health index
Main Trends in Civic Engagement are DownAll available data, however, point to a decline after 2003.	Sep 17th, 2007	civic health index
Our Civic CoreWe believe that most of the forms of engagement measured in the Civic Health Index should be common practices among the people. For example, virtually everyone in a democracy should vote, follow the news, ...	Sep 17th, 2007	civic health index
Deliberating41 Million Engaged with Diverse GroupsWe define public deliberation as talking civilly and constructively with others who have diverse views about important issues. It is a crucial complement to voting, volunteering, and activism, because ...	Sep 17th, 2007	civic health index

Giving & Volunteering Discussions and Commentary

Title	Date	Type
Gatekeepers and New MediaDuring the 2008 National Conference on Citizenship, panelists Bill Galston of the Brookings Institution and Sean Parker, Founding President of Facebook, agreed to disagree on the subject of gatekeepers ...	November 20, 2008	video
The Price and the Promise of Citizenship.President Obama is counting on us. From his first big national speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention to his Presidential Inaugural Address, Mr. Obama has called on us repeatedly to rise to ...	January 20, 2009	discussion
Can Service Save the Economy?It’s no secret that our economy is in deep trouble and that various options for its rescue and resuscitation have been a topic of strenuous debate for months. Banks and the auto industry have received ...	January 28, 2009	discussion
Congress Passes Historic Civic Engagement LegislationOn March 31, Congress passed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, a legislative initiative to expand and improve service opportunities for all Americans, harness social innovation toward public good, ...	April 1, 2009	discussion
Funding and Fostering Local DemocracyWhat Philanthropy Should Know about the Emerging Field of Deliberation and Democratic GovernanceAs the philanthropic community grapples with the question of how to support innovative and effective forms of democratic governance, PACE (Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement) has released a guide ...	May 19, 2009	publication
United We Serve“It's been said that our true calling in life is where our heart's greatest gladness meets the world's deepest need,” said First Lady Michelle Obama as she launched the White House’s ...	June 23, 2009	discussion
There’s No Stimulus Like Serviceby John Bridgeland and Alan Khazei“Democrats in Washington say the nation needs more jobs. Republicans say the economic stimulus isn’t working fast enough.” In a Politico op-ed, NCoC advisors John Bridgeland and Alan ...	July 17, 2009	op-ed
CNCS Releases “Volunteering in America” reportFrom the passage of the Serve America Act and the launch of United We Serve to the recent National Conference in San Francisco, it has been an exciting few months for service and volunteering. Keeping ...	July 28, 2009	discussion
The Opportunity Cost of Civic EngagementThe cost of community involvement during a recessionRecent studies have shown interesting and varied levels of correlation between community involvement around the United States and its direct connection to the economy. UCLA sociology professor Jennie Brand ...	August 12, 2009	discussion
The Legacy of Senator KennedyThe citizenship world lost a dear friend today. Senator Kennedy served in the United States Senate for 47 years and often authored landmark legislation. Through the recently passed Edward M. Kennedy ...	August 26, 2009	discussion

Giving & Volunteering Solutions

Title	Date	Type
New “Service as a Strategy” BlueprintsService as a Strategy is designed to help mayors identify and implement high-impact service strategies that address pressing local challenges. NCoC supports the initiative and is excited to spread ...	August 26, 2011	publication
All Volunteer ForceCivic Lives of Our Newest Generation of Veterans“All Volunteer Force: From Military to Civilian Service,” a report written by Civic Enterprises, and underwritten by Target and the Case Foundation, finds that the overwhelming majority of ...	November 11, 2009	publication
Funding and Fostering Local DemocracyWhat Philanthropy Should Know about the Emerging Field of Deliberation and Democratic GovernanceAs the philanthropic community grapples with the question of how to support innovative and effective forms of democratic governance, PACE (Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement) has released a guide ...	May 19, 2009	publication

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