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Should we be concerned when the public's confidence in charitable institutions declines? This research fills a gap in the literature regarding the relationship between volunteering and confidence in charitable institutions. It models volunteering as impure altruism—joint consumption of a public good (charity) and a private good (clubbiness). Confidence affects the consumption of the public good but not the private good. The feedback effect of volunteering on confidence is also considered. Low-confidence people may volunteer because they are asked and then gain confidence in charitable institutions by working with them. A two-equation bivariate probit model separately identifies the effect of confidence in charitable institutions on volunteering and the opposite effect of volunteering on confidence. Empirical results support hypotheses that recruiting a person to volunteer overrides a lack of confidence in charitable institutions and volunteering fosters confidence in charitable institutions. The latter effect is stronger thereby suggesting that declining confidence is self-correcting.

The use of volunteers in hospitals has been an age-old practice. This nonmarket community involvement is a distinctive aspect of North American life. Hospitals may be attracted to increase the use of volunteers, both to provide increased quality of care and to contain costs. Hospitals rely on the use of professional administrators to use the donated time of volunteers efficiently. This study examines the benefits and costs of volunteer programs and derives an estimate of the net value of volunteer programs that accrue to the hospitals and volunteers. In particular, the costs and benefits to hospitals are detailed. Using 31 hospitals in and around Toronto and surveying hospital volunteer administrators, hospital clinical staff members, and volunteers themselves, a striking pay-off for hospitals was found: an average of $6.84 in value from volunteers for every dollar spent—a return on investment of 684%. Civic and community participation is indeed valuable.

The payout requirement that the Tax Reform Act of 1969 imposed on foundations has come up for debate again over the past few years and a tightening of the requirement was proposed in Congress in 2003. Hypothetically applying corresponding German rules to Ford Foundation data, this article suggests that U.S. regulation of foundation spending policies is already stricter than elsewhere and that much of the current policy debate has little to do with the original intentions of the requirement. Reevaluating the underlying rationale of the policy, the article concludes with a proposal to introduce time limits to the payout requirement

This research is a comparative study of civic engagement on five campuses. Based on site visits, interviews on campuses and in host communities, document analysis, and literature reviews, four key findings emerged: (a) shifting and varying emphases in main components of engagement; (b) local factors that facilitate and present barriers to engagement; (c) intellectual rationales and projects to drive new knowledge, involve faculty, and institutionalize and sustain engagement; and (d) new organizational structures to link the campus and community and share power and resources. The argument is made for a dynamic and developmental framework that acknowledges multiplicity and flow. The article concludes with an initial mapping of changing relationships between local factors and civic-engagement program emphases and an articulation of three main current theories of engagement that a developmental framework would take into account.

The importance in Israeli society of service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is well known. Less well known are the voluntary alternatives to serving in the IDF through National Service. This study deals with the characteristics of National Service volunteers, their views and motives for service, their levels of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their work, and proposals for changes in the National Service. The random sample included 40 volunteers. The instruments were developed specifically for this study. The findings suggest that parents and friends have the greatest influence on the decision to serve in the National Service. Altruistic motives are the main category of motivation for serving, followed by environmental pressure, and idealism. Overall, respondents were satisfied with their experiences, especially in regard to their coworkers' attitudes. Although some dissatisfaction was expressed, it was not with the work itself but rather with the lack of public appreciation.

This article explores why certain churches have become engaged in local faith-based community organizing at a time when the majority of congregations are not politically active and many of their denominational lobbying offices have come under heavy fire. It is based on interviews with the pastors of 15 congregations actively engaged in faith-based community organizing in three cities. The results suggest that community organizing fits into congregations' localized priorities, with the majority of the pastors expressing primarily local concerns. Organizing has led to tangible community improvements, especially within poorer communities that are often excluded from professionalized forms of civic engagement. It has strengthened congregations' social service efforts, which appear to be more extensive than is the norm. However, the most frequently cited benefit was the creation of relational bonds among diverse congregations.