German Survey on Volunteering 2009

The German Survey on Volunteering (FWS) is a representative survey on volunteering in Germany, aimed at people aged 14 and older. Voluntary activities and willingness to get involved are surveyed in telephone interviews (CATI). The Survey on Volunteering is the main basis of social reporting on volunteering in the Federal Republic of Germany and is funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ).

The data of the Survey on Volunteering were collected in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019. In each wave, an independent sample was drawn, resulting in five cross-sectional data sets. Previously, the surveys were managed and conducted by TNS Infratest Social Research (1999 Infratest Burke). Since the end of 2011, the scientific management has been in the hands of the German Center of Gerontology (DZA). Data collection for the fourth wave in 2014 and the fifth wave in 2019 was conducted by infas Institute for Applied Social Science.

The samples of all surveys were disproportionately stratified by state in order to achieve a sufficient sample size for separate state evaluations for each of the 16 federal states. In each case, the sampling frame was generated using the random-digit-dialing procedure (1999 random-last-digit procedure) according to the ADM standard.

The third wave was conducted in the survey period from 28.04.2009 to 30.07.2009. The 2004 Survey on Volunteers focused on the following topics: volunteering, the individual, and the context of volunteering.<br>1. Living situation: Employment status; desire to work; receipt of unemployment benefit 1 or unemployment benefit 2 (Hartz IV); 1-Euro job; type of current education; type of school; all-day school or half-day school; regular use of all-day school; nine-year high school (G9) or eight-year high school (G8); length of residence in the place of residence (since birth, for more than 10 years, for more than 10 years, for 3 to 10 years, for less than 3 years); assessment of social cohesion in the neighborhood; size of local circle of friends and acquaintances; membership in a nonprofit club or organization; membership in selected clubs or organizations (only to 14- to 24-year-olds); leisure activities; household size and household composition; age of youngest child in household; respondent is caregiver of child(ren); enough time for other things besides child care and housework; person in household in need of care; person in need of care is respondent or other person; respondent is primary caregiver; enough time for other things besides care and housework; support persons available when help is needed; support services received from persons outside the household; (relatives, neighbors, acquaintances, friends, or other persons); support services/neighborly help provided by oneself; persons outside the household supported by oneself; political interest; political participation; belonging to a religious denomination or Religious community; denomination; church affiliation.

2. Recording of voluntary activities: Active participation in 14 possible activity or engagement areas (e.g., sports and exercise, culture and music, leisure and socializing, etc.); volunteer involvement in areas with active participation. ); volunteering in areas with active participation; time spent on volunteering per week; willingness to take on further volunteering tasks; age at which one first became involved in volunteering; significance of volunteering in one´s own life; agreement with statements about volunteering (helping to shape society through my involvement, meeting other people through my involvement, gaining prestige and influence, advancing professionally, acquiring qualifications).

3. Structural characteristics and motivating factors of voluntary activity: area of voluntary activity with the greatest time commitment; characterization of the activity; group of people involved; commitment to children and young people: Groups of people (young children up to 5 years old, school children from 6 to 13 years old, young people from 14 years old or mixed ages); commitment to own children; engagement for elderly people: groups of people (age groups); own family members belong to one of these groups of people; engagement in connection with school/college activities; sufficient support in school/college; organizational framework; if involvement in foundation: community foundation; full-time staff in organization; contact person specifically for volunteers; sufficient opportunities for co-determination and co-decision-making; main content of own activity; leadership or board function; demands of activity; always meeting the demands of activity vs. sometimes feel overwhelmed; to what extent important skills acquired; Internet use for activity; importance of various forms of Internet use for activity (obtaining information, building and maintaining networks, drawing attention to organization or group, sharing information, expressing opinions, organizing and handling ongoing work); ever participated in courses or seminars for continuing education; activity involves regular time commitments; amount of time spent on activity (frequency); amount of time spent per month (in hours); reimbursement for financial expenses with proof; regular or occasional use of reimbursement; type of compensation; regular or occasional compensation; evaluation of compensation as reasonable, too low, or too high; amount of compensation per month; time limit of activity; activity is performed in a similar form by other persons for compensation; interest in performing this activity professionally; connection of volunteer activity with professional activity; volunteer activities in the environment that were formerly performed on a full-time basis; importance of the expectations associated with the voluntary activity; exercise of the activity since when; impetus for taking on the activity; own initiative or recruited/ asked; impetus for voluntary activity through own experiences or experiences in the family sphere; impetus for voluntary activity through the school; concrete impetus or suggestions (e.g. through social or charitable projects in the classroom, etc.); employer supports volunteering; type of support provided by the employer (e.g. time off for volunteering, use of infrastructure, etc.); evaluation of proposals for improving the framework conditions for volunteering by the organizations themselves as well as by the state and the public.

Analogous query of the structural characteristics of the second voluntary activity.

4. Potential for volunteering among the non-committed: previously engaged in volunteering; evaluation of the engagement at that time from today´s perspective; personal reasons for ending the activity; interest in engaging in volunteering in the future; willingness to use the Internet to find out about opportunities for engagement; already more specific ideas; potential area of volunteering; awareness of information and contact points on opportunities for volunteering; expectations of possible volunteering (motives).

5. Contact points, occupation, income, migration, education and value orientations: already had contact with an information or contact point for voluntary commitment; interest in information; questions about occupational activities: if currently unemployed and not employed: regular or occasional exercise of some paid activity; weekly working hours; occupational position; ability to plan free time because of occupational obligations; ability to plan free time because of obligations in school, training, studies; sufficient free time in addition to school or in addition to besides jobbing and studying; assessment of own financial situation; monetary donations in the last 12 months; amount of monetary donations in total; knowledge of the possibility to donate assets to a foundation for charitable activities; donating assets to a foundation would be an option; migration: German citizenship; German citizenship since birth; acquisition of German citizenship by naturalization, by recognition as Aussiedler, other; born in Germany; country of birth (open); year of moving to Germany; region of birth; both parents born in Germany; country of birth of mother (open); country of birth of father (open); country of birth of parent coming from abroad (open); region of birth of mother, region of birth of father; region of birth of parent coming from abroad; military service or civilian service performed; voluntary social year performed; highest educational attainment; value orientations; importance of time for family, friends, hobbies, and travel, and for education and training.

Demography: sex; age; year of birth.

Additionally coded: Respondent ID; ID of first and second activity; weighting factors; activity weighting first and second voluntary activity; federal state; New or Old Federal States; region size class according to BIK, area status 2009; settlement structure district types according to BBSR, area status 2008; school education (low, medium, high school education); employment status graded; employment status dummy; migration background 1st generation; engagement dummy; activity level; number of areas in which an activity is pursued; engagement interest of engaged and non-engaged.