German Survey on Volunteering 2019

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 fifth wave was conducted during the survey period March 18, 2019 to November 16, 2019. The 2019 Volunteer Survey focused on providing comprehensive information on the content, scope and context of volunteering and charitable giving and donation activities as well as on the willingness to get involved and their motives. The sampling is based on a dual-frame approach: about 70 percent of the interviews were conducted via landline and just under 30 percent via mobile phone.<br>1. Personal details: year of arrival in Germany; household size; persons under 18 in household; household composition; if children in household: own children; marital status; stable partnership; living with partner; employment status; employment full-time, part-time or part-time; type of current voluntary service; type of current education; type of current type of school; country of last school attendance (Germany, other country); school attendance in Germany: highest school-leaving qualification; school attendance abroad: Type of school-leaving qualification; completed vocational training or studies; country of vocational training and/or studies; highest educational qualification in Germany; highest educational qualification abroad; weekly working hours; compatibility of work and family responsibilities; occupational status; migration background: German nationality; German nationality since birth; acquired German nationality through naturalization, through recognition as Aussiedler, other; came to Germany as a refugee or asylum seeker; performed compulsory military service, voluntary military service or civilian service; performed voluntary service (e. g., Voluntary Social Year). Voluntary service (e.g. voluntary social year); type of voluntary service performed; support persons available if assistance is needed; belonging to a denomination or religious community; denomination; church affiliation; place of residence: length of residence in the place of residence; assessment of social cohesion in the neighborhood; membership in a nonprofit association or organization; membership in selected associations or organizations; influencing political decisions (political participation).

2. Recording volunteer activities and motivational factors: Active participation in 14 social activity or engagement areas (e.g., sports and exercise, culture and music, leisure and socializing, etc. ); volunteering in areas of active participation; number of activities; age at which first volunteered; motivation for volunteering (helping to shape society through my involvement, meeting others through my involvement, gaining prestige and influence, gaining qualifications, extra income, fun, doing something for the common good, giving back good because I have experienced involvement myself, helping others).

3. Structural characteristics of the volunteer activity: volunteered in the last 4 weeks; frequency of performing the entire commitment; time spent on entire commitment (hours, minutes per day/ week/ month/ 12 months); information on the most time-intensive activity: Which region or country the activity benefits; group of people involved (target group); organizational setting; membership in this organization; full-time staff in the organization; contact person for volunteers; sufficient opportunities to have a say; main content of one´s activity; elective office; leadership or board function; requirements of the activity (specific training/ further training required); to what extent important skills acquired; Internet use for the activity; forms of Internet use for the activity (e. g. E.g., participation in social networking, homepage maintenance; creating newsletters, etc. ); share of Internet in the activity; ever participated in courses or seminars for further education; time spent on the activity (frequency); time spent per day/ week/ month/ 12 months (in hours and minutes); costs incurred from the activity; possibility of reimbursement for financial expenses; use of reimbursement; received money for the activity in the last 12 months; amount of remuneration per month; received non-cash benefits for the activity in the last 12 months; duration of the most time-consuming voluntary work; impetus for taking up the activity; own initiative or been recruited; employer supports voluntary commitment; desire for employer support; evaluation of proposals for improving the framework conditions for voluntary commitment by the organizations themselves and by the state.

4. Potential for volunteering among non-volunteers: previously engaged in volunteering; if previously engaged: engaged in the last 5 years on behalf of refugees/asylum seekers; age at first volunteering; personal reasons for stopping; reasons for non-engagement; willingness for future engagement.

5. Informal support services (including monetary donations): Private and unpaid care of children; child care for relatives, neighbors, friends, acquaintances, or others; frequency of child care; time spent on child care per day/ week/ month/ 12 months in hours and minutes; private and unpaid care of persons; caregiving tasks (basic care, housekeeping, supervision of person); care for relatives, neighbors, friends, acquaintances, or others; frequency of care for these persons; time spent on care per day/ week/ month/ 12 months in hours and minutes; cared for person lives in respondent´s household; respondent mainly cares for this person in the household him/herself; legal care provided for another person; assistance provided to persons outside the household; assistance provided outside the household to relatives, neighbors, friends, acquaintances, or others; frequency of assistance provided to persons outside the household; time spent on assistance per day/ week/ month/ 12 months in hours and minutes; monetary donations in the past 12 months; amount of monetary donations (open, categorized); purpose of donation.

6. Life situation and personal details: parents´ involvement during the respondent´s childhood/youth (up to age 20); both parents born in Germany; German citizenship of mother and father; sense of belonging to society in Germany; assessment of current health status; trust in institutions (police, Bundestag, political parties, judiciary, federal government, European Parliament); satisfaction with democracy; assessment of democracy as a form of government in general; assessment of own financial situation; monthly net household income (open, categorized).

Demography: sex; age.

Additionally coded: Respondent ID; weighting factors; projection factors.

Generated and fed variables: Mobile or landline subsample; starting language, interview language; federal state; dummy new or old states; municipality size BIK; region type urban and rural, dummy, county type and region type new according to BBSR; age; age groups; sex, dummy; highest school degree; monthly household net equivalent income; activity level; number of voluntary activities; internet use: Number of reported uses; area of most time-consuming activity; engagement, dummy; engaged with refugees in the past 5 years; engaged with refugees in the past 5 years, by engagement status; duration of most time-consuming volunteer activity in years, engagement status multilevel; willingness to engage, dummy; employment status graduated, employment status dummy; federal volunteer service: current or completed, dummy; Volunteer service: current or completed, dummy; Volunteer service: completed, dummy; Youth volunteer service: current or completed, dummy; other volunteer service: current or completed, dummy; born in Germany, dummy; country and region of birth of respondent; country and region of birth of mother, country and region of birth of father; cash and in-kind contributions, recoded; frequency of volunteering; monthly household net income categorical and metric; household constellation; intensity of internet use for volunteering; educational level according to ISCED 1997; ISCED three-level: low, medium, high educational level; reimbursement and use; migration background: 5-level according to Federal Statistical Office, migration background, dummy; internet use for volunteering, dummy; all engaged: organizational framework of volunteering; all respondents: Organizational framework of volunteering; political participation, dummy; count index: intensity of political participation; religious affiliation summarized, donation amounts all respondents; hours for total volunteering per year; hours for second most time-consuming volunteering per year; amount of compensation per month; length of residence at place of residence in years; time spent 1. activity per week, target group: refugees/asylum seekers, basis all engaged; informal support service in general; hours for informal support service in total per year; IUL in general: for neighbors, friends, acquaintances, others; IUL: assistance; hours for assistance (IUL) per year; IUL: Assistance provided to neighbors, friends, acquaintances, others; IUL: Child care; Hours for child care (IUL) per year; IUL: Child care provided to neighbors, friends, acquaintances, others; IUL: Caregiving service; Hours for caregiving (IUL) per year; IUL: Caregiving provided to neighbors, friends, acquaintances, others.