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Giving and Volunteering in the United States is a series of biennial national surveys that report trends in giving and charitable behavior. The surveys act as barometers of how socioeconomic conditions and tax laws affect the charitable behavior of Americans. They also chart public attitudes about a variety of issues that affect the climate for giving and volunteering, and explore behavioral and motivational factors that influence giving and volunteering. The series began in 1988, and the latest survey of the series was in 2001.

The Gallup Organization conducted in-home personal interviews with American adults aged 18 and older for Independent Sector for 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, and 1999 surveys. For the 1988 survey, 2,775 American adults were interviewed from March 8 through March 22, 1988. The 1990 Giving and Volunteering survey resulted in 2,727 interviews from March 23 to May 20, 1990. Then for the 1992 survey, 2,671 American adults were interviewed from April 3 through May 17, 1992. From April 22 to May 15, 1994, 1,509 adult Americans were interviewed for the 1994 survey. The 1996 Giving and Volunteering survey resulted in 2,719 interviews from May 4 through June 16, 1996. For the 1999 survey, 2,553 adults were interviewed from May 1999 through July 1999. The Giving and Volunteering in the United States 2001 survey was a random digit dial (RDD) telephone survey conducted by Westat for Independent Sector from May 14, 2001, to July 22, 2001, with a representative national sample of 4,216 adults 21 years of age or older. The purpose of the interviews was to provide accurate trend data about the patterns of and the motivations for giving and volunteering in the United States. Data topics include trend data on charitable behavior, total giving of respondents' households, behavioral and motivational factors that influence giving and volunteering, economic conditions and tax laws affecting giving and volunteering, and public attitudes about a variety of issues as they may relate to the climate of giving and volunteering in the United States.

This data collection was a part of a larger research project designed to examine the role of public-private partnerships and local development organizations (LDO) in rural America. Most studies of local development policy have examined the activities of local governments, or, in a few cases, the effects of LDOs. There has been, however, little research on how local governments and development organizations interact, the effects of their activities on policies, and the outcomes of those policies on job and income growth. The purpose of this research project was to gain a better understanding of the organization of economic development in nonmetropolitan areas, specifically, what factors led to policy adoption and the creation of an LDO in a community.

In the fall of 1998, this survey was sent to local government officials in United States cities with a population between 2,500 and 50,000 (nonmetropolitan areas).

The survey included questions on what was being done to promote economic development and attract new businesses, whether new businesses were created or moved into the community as a result of the development efforts, funding for economic development, and sources of the funding (e.g., state grants-in-aid or local revenues). Additional topics included types of business incentives, performance agreements, labor surveys (identifying wages and benefits), job training programs, and types of barriers experienced. Each local government agency was also surveyed on their interaction with organizations like the Chamber of Commerce, private lending institutions, neighborhood associations, churches, and regional planning commissions, and whether any of these organizations helped in developing local economic development strategies and in what manner.

This data collection was a part of a larger research project designed to examine the role of public-private partnerships and local development organizations (LDO) in rural America. Most studies of local development policy have examined the activities of local governments, or, in a few cases, the effects of LDOs. There has been, however, little research on how local governments and development organizations interact, the effects of their activities on policies, and the outcomes of those policies on job and income growth. The purpose of this research project was to gain a better understanding of the organization of economic development in nonmetropolitan areas, specifically, what factors led to policy adoption and the creation of an LDO in a community.

In the fall of 1999, this survey was sent to the local development organizations listed on the NATIONAL SURVEY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, 1998 (ICPSR 4433) or found through a variety of Web sites that included lists of development organizations operating in the given community.

Each local economic development organization was surveyed on labor unions, business incentives, and economic development activities (small business development, business attraction, and business retention/expansion). A series of questions were asked about the board of directors, their primary professions/affiliations, race/ethnic composition, gender, and how they were selected. Respondents were also asked about their relationships with other organizations, like private lending institutions, Chamber of Commerce, real estate or property developers, and citizen advisory groups.