Daniel Trigo Daniel Trigo

KiraKira Findings: U.S. Volunteering Rates

KiraKira’s focus partially surrounds enabling non-profit organizations across the U.S. in reaching their potential such as through coalition building. Which fields require increased coalition building though? We conducted a descriptive statistical analysis of overall and per-sector volunteering rates in the U.S. during 2017 via data provided by AmeriCorps.

Overall and Per-Sector Volunteering Rates in the U.S. (2017)
1 Overall
Volunteering
1
Type of Volunteering
Civic1 Education1 Environment1 Health1 Safety1 Religious1 Service1 Sports/Arts1 Other1
UT 51.0% 20.8% 47.2% 6.0% 8.4% 5.8% 71.2% 33.7% 23.9% 2.4%
MN 45.8% 25.8% 36.6% 9.9% 12.0% 3.9% 42.6% 35.2% 19.8% 2.3%
OR 43.1% 34.6% 50.1% 16.0% 12.8% 7.3% 35.8% 47.7% 30.5% 3.4%
AK 42.5% 29.6% 45.1% 17.2% 14.1% 9.8% 29.6% 43.4% 35.7% 2.4%
IA 42.1% 31.1% 35.2% 10.4% 11.0% 5.3% 36.8% 37.4% 25.8% 4.1%
DC 40.8% 45.8% 43.7% 16.4% 13.9% 4.1% 24.8% 44.9% 26.2% 3.2%
NE 40.5% 26.0% 45.7% 12.5% 14.5% 6.8% 49.5% 45.3% 25.1% 1.9%
MT 40.0% 30.8% 44.8% 16.9% 13.3% 9.9% 34.7% 42.6% 33.2% 3.2%
ND 39.2% 29.5% 44.4% 11.0% 16.4% 7.3% 56.7% 42.8% 32.6% 3.1%
ME 38.4% 30.6% 42.5% 21.8% 19.4% 9.9% 25.0% 39.7% 34.9% 5.2%
WI 37.7% 18.9% 34.0% 12.5% 14.1% 4.1% 41.4% 40.7% 23.0% 3.3%
ID 37.5% 24.6% 43.0% 10.1% 11.1% 6.5% 52.5% 40.7% 23.6% 2.0%
MD 37.3% 28.9% 41.5% 15.9% 10.4% 6.7% 40.0% 41.1% 29.3% 9.6%
KS 37.2% 25.4% 42.7% 11.5% 12.2% 4.1% 40.7% 41.4% 18.3% 3.1%
SD 36.8% 22.1% 39.6% 8.8% 18.8% 8.4% 53.2% 40.3% 25.0% 3.6%
NH 36.7% 31.4% 31.7% 13.8% 15.3% 4.9% 26.2% 35.2% 28.5% 4.6%
VT 36.4% 29.6% 36.0% 17.4% 14.6% 6.7% 17.7% 37.2% 25.6% 3.4%
IN 36.3% 28.6% 42.9% 9.6% 17.0% 4.9% 45.6% 34.3% 23.1% 2.5%
NC 35.9% 22.0% 37.3% 10.2% 12.0% 5.8% 52.3% 35.1% 24.6% 4.6%
WA 35.9% 22.4% 43.0% 12.9% 10.6% 5.2% 32.8% 38.2% 24.0% 2.9%
PA 34.6% 22.3% 41.1% 11.1% 12.5% 7.3% 46.4% 34.7% 27.7% 2.0%
VA 34.5% 21.7% 35.2% 9.8% 11.4% 5.8% 43.6% 34.3% 18.9% 4.2%
WY 34.1% 29.6% 46.3% 14.5% 11.0% 10.1% 40.3% 43.8% 28.8% 3.0%
OK 33.7% 26.5% 44.6% 8.9% 8.6% 4.9% 46.8% 33.2% 26.2% 3.1%
CO 33.6% 21.5% 50.5% 7.5% 11.3% 3.2% 31.2% 28.0% 21.5% 3.8%
OH 33.5% 22.7% 43.0% 11.2% 13.5% 5.3% 45.0% 38.1% 27.3% 3.3%
MO 33.0% 20.7% 45.3% 10.9% 11.5% 5.0% 45.9% 35.8% 21.6% 3.0%
CT 32.8% 28.0% 36.7% 11.9% 14.7% 6.4% 28.4% 40.8% 26.6% 5.0%
DE 32.7% 27.8% 41.5% 9.9% 10.4% 6.1% 39.2% 38.2% 23.1% 5.2%
MA 32.2% 30.9% 39.3% 12.8% 13.6% 4.9% 24.9% 40.5% 26.4% 3.5%
SC 31.8% 20.1% 35.7% 11.8% 10.8% 5.4% 58.0% 33.4% 22.9% 3.5%
RI 31.5% 27.4% 37.6% 16.1% 14.0% 8.6% 32.3% 36.0% 25.3% 1.6%
TN 30.7% 20.4% 38.1% 11.9% 12.4% 2.7% 53.2% 27.6% 20.6% 3.0%
AZ 30.2% 21.7% 44.6% 9.3% 15.1% 5.0% 33.7% 33.7% 20.5% 3.9%
IL 29.9% 29.8% 42.1% 13.9% 12.1% 3.5% 37.9% 40.8% 23.1% 3.3%
MI 29.8% 24.2% 43.3% 10.1% 10.9% 4.1% 39.8% 32.5% 23.8% 3.2%
AR 29.7% 24.6% 39.7% 10.2% 14.8% 8.3% 51.7% 32.0% 24.0% 3.7%
HI 29.2% 23.0% 43.3% 17.5% 9.2% 5.5% 31.8% 34.6% 25.3% 5.5%
TX 28.9% 21.5% 39.6% 8.8% 9.2% 5.6% 44.0% 36.8% 18.2% 3.6%
WV 28.8% 17.6% 31.5% 9.5% 15.1% 7.1% 46.6% 32.4% 22.7% 4.4%
NM 28.6% 26.8% 41.8% 13.5% 10.1% 5.5% 29.1% 29.7% 25.6% 3.2%
KY 27.6% 26.0% 43.4% 12.4% 14.3% 7.4% 46.5% 33.7% 31.4% 4.7%
AL 27.2% 19.6% 29.5% 9.6% 10.9% 6.8% 51.9% 31.1% 18.6% 2.8%
NJ 27.0% 23.5% 36.1% 10.7% 10.7% 6.8% 32.2% 34.2% 22.4% 4.4%
GA 26.7% 23.2% 43.6% 12.3% 14.0% 5.3% 45.0% 36.6% 23.5% 1.5%
CA 26.5% 22.3% 47.6% 13.7% 9.7% 4.5% 31.4% 33.1% 25.0% 3.4%
LA 25.8% 17.0% 44.1% 8.0% 13.8% 4.8% 46.5% 35.4% 20.2% 5.9%
NY 25.6% 26.9% 42.4% 10.9% 13.3% 5.9% 30.1% 40.3% 19.6% 4.3%
NV 25.1% 25.4% 40.7% 8.6% 16.7% 6.2% 34.4% 35.4% 25.4% 6.2%
MS 24.0% 15.8% 38.1% 5.9% 8.2% 5.3% 60.1% 23.2% 14.1% 1.8%
FL 23.3% 23.2% 40.4% 12.6% 14.2% 6.3% 35.8% 34.3% 20.0% 3.8%
1 Source: AmeriCorps (2017) via https://data.americorps.gov/dataset/2017-CEV-Data-Current-Population-Survey-Civic-Enga/twy4-5nxu/about_data.
Read More

Research and Resources

KiraKira is more than a lab—it’s a living archive of ideas, experiments, and strategies. We believe research should be accessible, imaginative, and directly useful to communities. On this page, you’ll find publications, toolkits, data, and stories that help movements shine brighter.

Why It Matters

We treat research not just as knowledge, but as a spark for imagination and action. Each publication, toolkit, or dataset is a blueprint for building systems rooted in justice, joy, and sustainability.

Publications

  • Reports, white papers, and essays produced by KiraKira and our partners.

  • Case studies on environmental justice, youth leadership, and creative advocacy.

Toolkits & Guides

  • Practical guides for nonprofits, educators, and youth leaders.

  • Play-based learning curricula, game jam facilitation manuals, advocacy strategy guides.

Datasets & Visualizations

  • Open-access datasets on hope, community resilience, and environmental justice.

  • Maps, systems diagrams, and visual models (e.g., causal loops, Kumu, StoryMaps).

Resource Library

  • Curated articles, recommended books, and partner resources.

  • Useful for students, funders, activists, and practitioners.