According to a Deloitte survey, employed Americans overwhelmingly agree that volunteering in the community can help them get ahead at work. According to the Deloitte Volunteer IMPACT Survey, 86 percent of employed Americans said volunteering can have a positive impact on their careers. Nearly four out of five respondents (78 percent) see volunteering as an opportunity to develop business skills including decision-making, problem-solving and negotiating. And, of those respondents who serve on a nonprofit Board of Directors, nearly three-quarters (73 percent) strongly agreed that volunteering offers the opportunity to enhance leadership skills.
The findings support the case for corporate volunteer programs, which according to the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network, are increasingly being tied to business objectives. For Deloitte’s 2005 IMPACT Day, the organization encouraged its 30,000 people nationwide to make a difference in the community by setting aside work for the day to volunteer with nonprofits in their communities. Participation in IMPACT Day has the added benefit of enhancing teamwork, leadership and networking skills, as well as motivating others and achieving results.
The following is additional information about the survey findings:
1. How often do you volunteer in the community? Would you say…
| Response | All |
| Up to 8 hours a year | 25% |
| 9 to 20 hours a year | 15% |
| 21 to 50 hours a year | 12% |
| 51 to 100 hours a year | 9% |
| More than 100 hours a year | 11% |
| Never | 28% |
| Don’t Know | 0 |
2. How would you describe your role as a volunteer? Would you say… (respondents answered as many as described them)
| Question | All |
| You do direct volunteer work, for example, volunteer in a classroom, volunteer at a soup kitchen, participate in a park clean-up, or assist in the non-profit’s office | 75% |
| You are a member of a committee, for example, fundraising committee, event committee, etc. | 35% |
| You provide professional expertise, for example, accounting, marketing, legal, technology, etc. | 29% |
| You are a member of a Board of Directors | 14% |
| Other | 3% |
| Don’t Know | 5% |
3. How do you think volunteering in the community impacts an individual’s professional REPUTATION? Would you say it…
| Response | All |
| Enhances1 | 81% |
| Has no impact | 14% |
| Detracts2 | 2% |
| Don’t Know | 3% |
4. What effect do you think volunteering can have on an individual’s CAREER? Would you say…
| Response | All |
| Positive3 | 86% |
| No effect | 11% |
| Negative4 | 1% |
| Don’t Know | 2% |
5. To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?
| Question | Agree5 | Neither agree nor disagree | Disagree6 | Don’t Know |
| Volunteering can provide a broader perspective of the world around me | 92% | 4% | 4% | 1% |
| Volunteering offers me the opportunity to develop skills I can use at work | 78% | 9% | 12% | 1% |
| Volunteering offers me the opportunity to enhance leadership skills | 93% | 3% | 4% | 1% |
| Volunteering expands an individual’s professional network of contacts | 87% | 6% | 6% | 1% |
| In the long term, volunteering in the community can help an individual advance his or her career | 79% | 11% | 9% | 1% |
6. To what extent do you agree or disagree that volunteering helps one enhance each of the following job skills?
| Skill | Agree7 | Neither agree nor disagree | Disagree8 | Don’t Know |
| Decision-making | 88% | 7% | 5% | 1% |
| Problem Solving | 89% | 5% | 6% | 1% |
| Teaming with others | 95% | 2% | 2% | 1% |
| Motivating others | 92% | 4% | 3% | 1% |
| Networking | 83% | 7% | 7% | 3% |
| Negotiating | 82% | 10% | 8% | 1% |
| Delegating work | 86% | 7% | 6% | 2% |
| Achieving results | 89% | 7% | 3% | 1% |
Methodology
These results are based upon a telephone survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation among a national probability sample of 1,093 adults who are employed full- or part-time, living in private households in the continental United States. The survey was conducted March 17-22, 2005. The margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points for results based on the entire sample.
1 Enhances equals the net number of respondents that answered significantly or somewhat enhances.
2 Detracts equals the net number of respondents that answered somewhat or significantly detracts.
3 Positive equals the net number of respondents that answered very or somewhat positive.
4 Negative equals the net number of respondents that answered somewhat or very negative.
5 Agree equals the net number of respondents that answered strongly or somewhat agree.
6 Disagree equals the net number of respondents that answered somewhat or strongly disagree.
7 Agree equals the net number of respondents that answered strongly or somewhat agree.
8 Disagree equals the net number of respondents that answered somewhat or strongly disagree.
