The 2011 New York State Civic Health Index was unveiled on Monday, December 5th
at Siena College and has received significant press attention. Research was conducted
by Siena College Research Institute, in cooperation with the New York State Commission
on National & Community Service – New Yorkers Volunteer, and the National Council
on Citizenship.
The Index measures New York State’s Civic Health according to several indicators,
including participation in social and civic life. Siena Research Institute relates
civic health to (S) social connectedness; (T) Trust; (R) Responsibility; (I) being
Informed; and (D) performing civic Duties – STRID, which lead to an overall (E)
Engagement score. Each indicator is related to the others. An increase/decrease
in any impacts a community’s overall civic health.
The 2011 New York State Civic Health Index pays particular attention to (R) Responsibility,
as it relates to volunteerism in New York State. This focus dovetails perfectly
with New York State’s Volunteer Generation Fund Initiative and the recently established
Regional Volunteer Centers. Ten Regional Volunteer Centers in New York State began
operations on September 1, 2011. They each will be able to take the data to their
local volunteer organizations to will attempt to increase and communicate volunteer
opportunities to their citizens, thereby allowing them to become more involved.
“The 2011 New York State Civic Health Index demonstrates that New Yorkers are seeking
opportunities to get involved in their communities,” said Mark Walter, Executive
Director of the State Office of National & Community Service. “The State of New
York is committed to improving public awareness of service opportunities across
the state. New Yorkers have a long tradition of generously volunteering their time
and talents, working with local fire departments and ambulance squads, coaching
youth sports, assisting senior citizens, and in many other capacities. Individuals
who volunteer their time have a profound impact on unique social and economic challenges
faced by communities across New York State and at the same time ease the costly
burden of service delivery on local municipalities.”
Highlights of the 2011 New York State Civic Health Index include the following:
1. New Yorkers demonstrate a high level of shared responsibility for addressing
pressing community needs. For example, 80% feel that volunteering is important to
addressing community needs, 89% have donated to a charitable organization, and 80%
feel that volunteering changes people’s lives. However, only 15% indicated that
they are satisfied with what they have done to address the needs in their community.
New Yorkers see the impact volunteering can make, however they know that they could
be doing more to help. In short, New Yorkers are caring individuals, but need additional
structure to get involved.
2. At this point in history, New York needs not only effective leadership and renewed
economic opportunity, but also the efforts of its nonprofit community and the volunteers
that fuel those efforts, in order to prosper. New Yorkers agree that need is all
around us and they would like to be of service. It is critical that elected officials
and nonprofit leaders effectively marshal the efforts of citizens to do as much
as possible to address the needs. The State Commission on National and Community
Service is an important leader in understanding and shaping how organizations recruit,
train and utilize volunteers to maximize their contribution. In this time of scarce
resources and growing need, careful planning, effective communication and thoughtful
engagement will enhance collective Responsibility and therefore Civic Health.
3. The efforts of the State Commission on National and Community Service — measuring
the rate of volunteer activity and obstacles to engaging in volunteerism, and more
importantly, convening a council of regional volunteer leaders and supplying them
with information on how to recruit, train, manage and inspire volunteers — can lead
to increased meaningful volunteer activity and fruitful results. This kind of effort
should be supported and expanded.
In the coming months, additional meetings will be held throughout the state that will engage community leaders, elected officials, volunteers and community based organizations, representatives of Regional Volunteer Centers, and other key stakeholders to discuss the findings of the report. These gatherings will also lead to facilitated conversations about how New York State communities can more effectively use volunteer resources to strategically address specific, local challenges.
If you or a representative of your agency is interested in participating in one of these community forums, please send an email to NewYorkersVolunteer@NewYorkersVolunteer.ny.gov. Once the dates and locations for the forums are confirmed, we’ll contact you and post them to the New Yorkers Volunteer website.