The Virginia Community Engagement Index (VCEI) is a new resource that reveals firsthand information about how Virginians dedicate their time to organizations and activities that serve their communities.
Serve Virginia, the lead agency of the Virginia Department of Social Services for community service and volunteerism, coordinated the inaugural VCEI. Responses were collected in January 2023 for the survey from more than 6,000 Virginians with insights on volunteerism, informal helping and other civic actions.
“The VCEI is a first-of-its-kind resource that provides data and insight about how Virginians serve in their communities as well as a framework that will connect research to strategic action,” Serve Virginia Director Kathy Spangler said. “This report represents a unique moment for Virginia as we use this unprecedented level of insight into civic health and community engagement to identify our most pressing community needs and mobilize around effective solutions.”
The VCEI’s strategy and design involved the engagement and input of more than 38 Virginia organizations and institutions. SIR, a Richmond-based research and consulting firm, was recruited to support the design and provide analyses of the responses.
The survey revealed that Virginians dedicate their time to organizations that address the needs they care about most. Education (48 percent), health and well-being (47 percent) and housing (40 percent) ranked as high priorities. Respondents also reported volunteering with youth or educational organizations, food pantries or hunger relief efforts, as well as hospitals or health organizations.
Spirituality and lived experience are among the top five reasons Virginians choose to volunteer their time to their communities. Houses of worship or religious organizations are in the top five places respondents choose to volunteer.
“The VCEI helps us understand what it means to ‘show up in our communities’, whether we’re talking about volunteering, voting, philanthropy, or advocacy. This is also about building the relationships we need,” Vanessa Diamond, senior vice president of civic engagement at Community Foundation for Greater Richmond and member of the VCEI core team, said. “The conversations we had when developing the VCEI were so essential; these are the conversations we need to continue having if we want to strengthen the infrastructure of Virginia’s social and civic network, build better programming, and strengthen access points for community members to get involved.”
Virginians not only volunteer in their community, but regularly help neighbors in need. Survey results revealed that 7 out of 10 respondents report helping others through informal service with more than 50 percent saying they do so more than once a month. Active volunteers report engaging in service multiple times per month.
Respondents volunteer in Virginia because it makes them feel fulfilled to help others, have an opportunity to share their skills, and for the social environment provided by volunteer activities.
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Rebecca Barnabi
