U.S. Civic Landscape Report: How Americans Help Their Communities

The Change Lab released a major report mapping America's civic landscape across seven key areas. The report shows 75.7 million Americans volunteered formally in 2022-2023, contributing nearly 5 billion hours of service - that's 9,494 volunteer hours every minute! Nonprofits employ 12.8 million people, representing 10% of all private-sector jobs. The report counted organizations in seven focus areas: Community, Culture and Belonging leads with 729,842 organizations (including 357,125 religious groups), followed by Education and Opportunity (397,367 organizations), and Basic Needs and Economic Security (298,214 organizations). Other areas include Systems Change and Structural Power (201,498), Health, Wellness and Care (112,461), Environment and Infrastructure (97,946), and Governance, Rights and Democracy (40,481). The data comes from IRS directories, labor statistics, and national volunteering surveys. With over 90,000 local government units and 100,000 live volunteer opportunities, this report reveals the massive infrastructure Americans have built to serve their communities. The numbers represent a conservative floor since categories don't overlap.

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