Every two years, AmeriCorps partners with the U.S. Census Bureau to conduct Volunteering and Civic Life in America research, the most robust survey about civic engagement across the country and over time. The most recent survey was released on November 19, 2024, and shows the civic participation of Americans aged 16 and up between September 2022 and 2023.

The national formal volunteering rate increased 5.1 percentage points between 2022 and 2023, representing a growth rate of more than 22 percent in just two years. This is the largest expansion of formal volunteering ever recorded and truly showcases that the spirit of volunteerism is on the rise in America.

This new research also examines volunteerism and civic engagement in Virginia, specifically, showing that the Commonwealth's formal volunteering rate increased 4.4 percentage points and our informal volunteering rate increased 7.3 percentage points—the 2^nd highest state increase in informal volunteering nationwide. In addition, the Virginia-specific data indicates the following:

• 2,177,183 formal volunteers contributed 156,828,696 hours of service through organizations worth an estimated $5.2 billion.
• 31.6 percent of residents formally volunteered through organizations.
• 98.9 percent of residents talked to or spent time with friends or family.
• 57.0 percent of residents informally helped others by exchanging favors with their neighbors.
• 73.7 percent of residents had a conversation or spent time with their neighbors.
• 28.3 percent of residents belonged to an organization.
• 55.2 percent of residents donated $25 or more to charity.

Learn more by visiting AmeriCorps.gov/about/our-impact/volunteering-civic-life.