German Survey on Volunteering 2014

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 fourth wave was conducted in the survey period 28.04.2014 to 12.11.2014. The 2014 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 data: sex; country of birth of respondent/ Germany; year of moving to Germany; household size; persons under 18 in household; household composition; if children in household: Own children; respondent is caregiver of child(ren); marital status; stable partnership; living with a partner; employment status; employment full-time, part-time, or part-time; type of volunteer service currently performed; duration of employment status in years; receiving unemployment benefit 1 or unemployment benefit 2 (Hartz IV); type of current education; type of current school type; high school diploma planned; planned high school diploma after grade 13. or 12; country of last school attendance (Germany, other country); school attendance in Germany: highest school-leaving qualification; school attendance abroad: number of school years and 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; if currently unemployed and not gainfully employed: regular or occasional pursuit of any paid activity; marginal employment; weekly working hours; previously employed full-time; occupational status; characteristics blue-collar workers, white-collar workers, civil servants; number of employees if self-employed; migration background: German citizenship; German citizenship since birth; acquired German citizenship through naturalization, through recognition as Aussiedler, other; performed compulsory military service, voluntary military service or civilian service (men); performed voluntary military service (women); performed voluntary service (e.g., voluntary social year); type of voluntary service performed. Voluntary social year); type of voluntary service performed; social network: feeling close to enough people; support persons available when help is needed; support services received from persons outside the household; (relatives, neighbors, acquaintances, friends or other persons); membership in a denomination or religious community; denomination; church affiliation; place of residence: length of residence in place of residence; assessment of social cohesion in place of residence; membership in a nonprofit association or organization; membership in selected associations or organizations; political participation; participation in the 2013 federal election.

2. Recording of voluntary 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.); volunteer involvement in areas with active participation. ); volunteering in areas with active participation; number of activities; willingness to take on further volunteer tasks; subjective importance of volunteering: age at which one first became involved in volunteering; motivation for volunteering (helping to shape society through my involvement, meeting other people through my involvement, gaining prestige and influence, advancing professionally, acquiring qualifications, additional income, fun, meeting people of other generations).

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 does the activity benefit; developing country; group of people involved (target group); organizational framework; carrying out the activity as part of the voluntary service; full-time staff in the organization; contact person specifically for volunteers or volunteers; sufficient opportunities for co-determination and co-decision-making; majority of people with a migration background in the organization; main content of own activity; leadership or board function; requirements of the activity (specific training/ further training required); to what extent important skills acquired; Internet use for the activity; interactive use of Web 2. 0 (social networks, blogs, forums or wikis); activity takes place exclusively or predominantly online; 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); time limit of the activity; costs incurred from the activity; reimbursement for financial expenses; regular or occasional use of reimbursement; received money for the activity in the last 12 months; amount of remuneration per month; received benefits in kind for the activity in the last 12 months; interest in carrying out this activity professionally; connection of the voluntary activity with the professional activity; personal motivations for involvement (my activity makes me feel better about myself, my circle of acquaintances shares an interest in the activity, people close to me place a high value on the activity, the activity allows me to learn things through hands-on experience, my activity allows me to learn about my strengths); duration of the most time-consuming voluntary activity in years; impetus for taking on the activity; own initiative or recruited/asked; employer supports voluntary commitment;; desire for employer support; assessment of proposals for improving the framework conditions for voluntary commitment by the organizations themselves and by the state and the public.

4. Potential for volunteering among non-volunteers: previously engaged in volunteering; age at first volunteering; personal reasons for stopping volunteering; reasons for preventing or not engaging; willingness to engage in volunteering in the future; already more specific ideas; potential area of volunteering.

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; total amount of monetary donations.

6. Life situation and quality of life, personal data: Sense of belonging to society in Germany; majority of people with immigrant background in circle of friends; assessment of German language skills (being able to get by when shopping, being able to converse in German, being able to follow TV or radio shows without problems, being able to handle matters with authorities); language mainly spoken when volunteering; parents´ involvement during respondent´s childhood/youth; both parents born in Germany; German citizenship of mother and father; enough free time besides everyday obligations; general personal confidence; self-efficacy expectation (no difficulties in achieving goals, know how to deal with new things, can cope with problems by own efforts); life satisfaction; assessment of current state of health; permanently restricted in everyday tasks due to illness; value orientations; assessment of own financial situation; monthly net household income.

Demography: sex; age; year of birth.

Additionally coded: Respondent ID; weighting factors.

Generated and fed variables: Mobile or landline subsample; starting language, interview language; federal state; dummy new or old federal states; region size class according to BIK; region type, county type, urban and rural area according to BBSR; age groups; sex; highest educational attainment; educational level according to ISCED 1997; employment status graded; employment status dummy; secondary employment of non-employed; occupational status; household constellation; monthly net household income; country and region of birth of respondent; country and region of birth of mother, country and region of birth of father; migration background according to Federal Statistical Office 2013; migration background: Dummy, own migration experience in 1. Generation, migration background: dummy, migration experience in 1st and/ or 2nd generation; engagement dummy; activity level; number of voluntary activities; area of most time-consuming activity; engagement interest of engaged and non-engaged; hours for second most time-consuming activity per year; hours for total engagement per year; amount of compensation per month; informal support service in general; informal support service: Child care, caregiving; assistance; hours for informal support service total per year; hours for child care, for caregiving, and for assistance per year; amount of monetary donation in last year; voluntary service: current or completed (dummy); voluntary service: completed, dummy; federal voluntary service: current or completed, dummy, youth voluntary service: current or completed, dummy; other voluntary service: current or completed, dummy.