Arts volunteering connects creative activity with practical service. U.S. national arts research found 1 million people volunteering through an arts or cultural organization as their main organization during September 2004–September 2005, plus 640,560 who named one as a secondary organization. Later National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) studies found substantially higher volunteering rates among many arts participants, readers, and creators than among people without those experiences.
Contents
- How many people volunteer with arts and cultural organizations
- Who participates in arts volunteering
- What arts and cultural volunteers do
- How people find and join opportunities
- How arts participation relates to volunteering
- Art-making, connection, and civic participation
How many people volunteer with arts and cultural organizations
The NEA’s Research Note #95, based on the September 2005 Current Population Survey and covering September 2004–September 2005, counted 65.4 million U.S. volunteers. One million named an arts or cultural organization as their main volunteer organization. That represented 1.6% of volunteers’ main organizations.
The same profile recorded 640,560 people who named an arts or cultural organization as a secondary place where they volunteered. Taken together, the NEA identified more than 1.6 million people volunteering for arts or cultural groups as either their main or secondary organization. These figures describe the 2005 measurement period; they should not be read as a current estimate or as an independently verified update.
Participation varied across Census divisions. The Pacific division recorded 228,518 arts or cultural volunteers, the largest regional total. East South Central recorded 30,213, the smallest total. Population-adjusted rates also differed:
| Census division measure | Arts or cultural volunteers |
|---|---|
| West North Central, per 10,000 residents | Nearly 55 |
| Pacific, per 10,000 residents | About 48 |
| East South Central, per 10,000 residents | 17 |
West North Central had the highest reported concentration, at nearly 55 arts volunteers per 10,000 residents. The Pacific division’s rate was about 48 per 10,000, while East South Central had the lowest rate, at 17 per 10,000. Totals and rates answer different questions: the Pacific led in the number of volunteers, while West North Central led in concentration.
Who participates in arts volunteering
Arts and cultural volunteers in the 2005 NEA profile were older on the typical measure than volunteers overall. Their median age was 51, compared with 44 for volunteers across all organizations. Women made up 60% of arts or cultural volunteers, versus 58% of all volunteers.
The profile also showed differences in racial and ethnic representation. White volunteers represented 87% of arts or cultural volunteers, compared with 86% of all volunteers. Black or African American people represented 5.4% of arts volunteers, compared with 9% of all volunteers. Asian people represented almost 6% of arts volunteers, about 2.5 percentage points above their share of all volunteers. Hispanic people represented 4% of arts volunteers, almost 3 percentage points below their share of all volunteers.
Education and household measures were also distinctive. Almost 62% of arts or cultural volunteers had college degrees, about 18 percentage points above the share of all volunteers. Only 49% of arts volunteers were married, compared with 62% of volunteers overall. Seventeen percent had children under 18, 20 percentage points below the share of all volunteers. Thirty-six percent were outside the labor force, nearly 8 percentage points above the share of all volunteers.
Arts organizations were the main volunteer organization for 2.7% of volunteers aged 65 and over. Education showed another gap: arts or cultural organizations were the main organization for 2.2% of college-graduate volunteers, compared with 0.4% of volunteers without a high-school diploma. These are subgroup shares from the 2005 profile, not probabilities that any individual will volunteer.
What arts and cultural volunteers do
Arts volunteers reported a median of 70 hours during the 2005 period, compared with 50 hours for volunteers across all organizations. That 70-hour median was 31 hours above the 40-hour median for civic, political, professional, or international volunteers and 21 hours above the 49-hour median for environmental or animal-care volunteers. Only public-safety volunteers reported more annual time in the comparison, with a 96-hour median.
Their work included both artistic and operational roles. Thirty-seven percent performed music, performance, or other artistic activities, compared with 12% of all volunteers. Fundraising was reported by 35% of arts or cultural volunteers, versus 30% of volunteers overall. Professional or managerial assistance was reported by 28%.
General labor or transportation and office services were each reported by 21% of arts or cultural volunteers. More specific activities included ushering, greeting, or ministering, reported by 17.2%, and tutoring or teaching, reported by 13.8%. The range suggests that arts volunteering can involve presenting creative work, supporting administration, welcoming audiences, moving materials, raising funds, or sharing skills.
How people find and join opportunities
The 2005 NEA profile found two similarly sized entry routes. A total of 42.8% of arts or cultural volunteers approached the organization on their own initiative, while a slightly larger 44.3% said they were asked to volunteer.
Among those asked, 22% were asked by someone in the organization, compared with 25.9% of volunteers overall. Relatives, friends, or coworkers asked 20% of arts or cultural volunteers, compared with 14.1% of volunteers overall. Only 0.6% were asked by a boss or employer, and 11.5% were asked by someone else.
The results point to two practical patterns in the measured period: arts organizations received substantial self-directed interest, and personal relationships were a more common invitation route for arts volunteers than for volunteers overall. The figures do not identify which approach is more effective today.
The NEA Big Read offers a later program-scale example. According to the NEA’s About the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read page, the program has involved more than 100,000 local volunteers and more than 40,000 community organizations since it began in 2006. Those are cumulative program figures since 2006, not an annual participation rate.
How arts participation relates to volunteering
The NEA’s Research Report #89, using the 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, estimated that 59.7 million U.S. adults, or 29% of the adult population, did volunteer or charity work.
Arts engagement was associated with higher reported volunteering rates. In 2002, 43.3% of literary readers volunteered or did charity work, nearly 27 percentage points above the rate for adults who did not read literature. Performing-arts attenders had a 50.0% volunteer rate, compared with 19% among non-attenders. The report estimated that the odds of volunteering were 3.8 times higher for literary readers and 4.5 times higher for performing-arts attenders than for their comparison groups.
Television exposure also appeared in the modeled results. Among 2002 SPPA respondents, low television viewers had volunteering odds of 0.54, compared with 0.33 for people watching three or more hours daily. These odds measures are model outputs and should not be interpreted as percentages of people volunteering.
The NEA’s Research Note #98, based on the 2008 SPPA, reported a 56.8% volunteer or charity-work rate among performing-arts attendees, versus 20.9% among adults who did not attend. Art-museum visitors had a 58% rate, more than double the rate for adults who did not visit art museums. Literary readers had a 42.6% rate, compared with 20.9% for adults who did not read literature.
The NEA’s Research Note #94, published in 2007 from a 2002 SPPA analysis, reported that performing-arts attendance raised the modeled probability of volunteering by 25 percentage points after other characteristics were held constant. The same regression estimated a 55.6% volunteering probability for performing-arts attendees, based on modeled odds of 1.25. These are statistical associations and modeled estimates, not evidence that attending a performance directly causes volunteering.
Art-making, connection, and civic participation
The 2008 NEA findings also covered people who made art. Creative writers had a 60.6% volunteer or charity-work rate. Adults who performed dance had a 60.2% rate, while adults who played a musical instrument had a 53.1% rate. The rate was 55.1% among adults who created photography, movies, or videos for artistic purposes and 54.1% among those who created paintings or drawings.
Choir singers recorded the highest rate in this set: 65.5%, compared with 32.0% for all adults. The comparison with all adults is especially useful because it shows the gap within the same 2008 measurement period, although it does not establish a causal effect of choir participation.
Community-event attendance showed a similar pattern for several creative activities. In 2008, 52.3% of photography creators attended community events, compared with 22.8% of all adults. Creative writers attended community events at a 53.6% rate. Choir singers attended community meetings or events at a 60.0% rate.
Across these NEA studies, arts volunteering appears alongside substantial participation in creative practice, audience activities, and community life. The evidence spans 2002, 2005, and 2008, with different surveys and definitions. It supports careful comparisons of measured groups and periods; it does not provide a current national participation estimate or prove that creative activity alone produces civic engagement.