How do New Zealanders give?: December quarter 2009 to March quarter 2012
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Introduction
In celebration of Volunteer Awareness Week 2012 the Department of Internal Affairs is releasing the updated Quarterly Generosity Indicators. This update provides information on five key indicators of generosity in New Zealand up to the March quarter 2012. For more information about the Quarterly Generosity Indicators, please see previous releases.
Key Findings
From the December 2009 through the September 2011 quarters, the percentages of people volunteering, donating money or donating goods generally trended upwards. The past two quarters, however, have seen declines across all three measures. Median dollars donated per month have remained stable. Median hours volunteered per month, whilst showing some movement in recent quarters, remains stable over the long-term.
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Quarterly Generosity Indicators |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
Quarter ending |
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2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
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|
Indicator |
Dec. |
Mar. |
Jun. |
Sep. |
Dec. |
Mar. |
Jun. |
Sep. |
Dec. |
Mar. |
|
Percentage of people who volunteered |
28.3% |
30.3% |
27.8% |
29.2% |
29.4% |
31.7% |
32.3% |
32.9% |
32.18% |
30.9% |
|
Median hours volunteered per month |
8 hrs |
10 hrs |
10 hrs |
10 hrs |
10 hrs |
8 hrs |
10 hrs |
11 hrs |
9 hrs |
10 hrs |
|
Percentage of people who donated money |
41.3% |
40.1% |
40.4% |
38.1% |
41.3% |
44.6% |
46.4% |
42.7% |
39.8% |
39.34% |
|
Median dollars donated per month |
$40 |
$35 |
$36 |
$42 |
$40 |
$40 |
$40 |
$40 |
$40 |
$40 |
|
Percentage of people who donated goods |
16.4% |
15.7% |
19.3% |
16.5% |
17.9% |
21.5% |
19.1% |
19.4% |
18.27% |
17.38% |
Note 1: Percentages are of the population 10 years and older as estimated for each quarter.
Note 2: Respondents were asked to recall their behaviours in the previous 3 months.
Volunteering
There have been two quarters of downward movement in the percentage of people volunteering as at the March 2012 quarter. However, the number of hours these volunteers put into their voluntary work has increased a statistically significant amount, from a mean average of 8.2 to 9.8 hours per month.
The peak in volunteering in September 2011 could reflect the large number of people who volunteered for the Rugby World Cup 20111.
1Over 5000 volunteers contributed to the success of the Rugby World Cup 2011 which was one of the largest planned episodic volunteering events in New Zealand’s history (Victoria University and AUT, Experiences and Legacies of Rugby World Cup 2011 Volunteer Programme, Summary Report, December 2011)
Over the ten quarters measured, the volunteering rate ranged from 27.8 to 32.9 per cent of the population aged 10 years and older. The time worked by volunteers ranged from a median of 8 to 11 hours per month.
1Over 5000 volunteers contributed to the success of the Rugby World Cup 2011 which was one of the largest planned episodic volunteering events in New Zealand’s history (Victoria University and AUT, Experiences and Legacies of Rugby World Cup 2011 Volunteer Programme, Summary Report, December 2011)
Donations of money
The percentage of people donating money ranged from 38.1 to 46.4 per cent of the population aged 10 years and older over the eight quarters measured. The median amount of money donated has remained stable at $40 per month since the December 2010 quarter.
As noted in previous reports, the increase in donations from September 2010 to June 2011 is statistically significant and most likely related to the Christchurch earthquakes. However, just as significantly, the percentage of people donating money has declined over the three quarters since June 2011, dropping from a high of 46.4% in that quarter to 39.3% in March 2012.
Donations of goods
The percentage of people donating goods ranged from 15.7 to 21.5 per cent of the population aged 10 years and older over the ten quarters measured. During this period, there were two periods of statistically significant increases and two periods of decreases from one quarter to the next. Such volatility is not seen in the percentage of people volunteering or donating money. In recent quarters there has been a decline in people donating goods.
This update was produced by the Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua.
Statistically significant results are at the 95 per cent confidence level.
e-mail: ocvs@dia.govt.nz
website: www.ocvs.govt.nz
