The Great Recession weakened U.S. families’ abilities to make charitable
gifts. Although African Americans are generally especially hard hit by these types
of economic crises, they have a long and distinctive history of volunteerism and
mutual assistance. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to examine African
American volunteering in nonprofit organizations in the aftermath of the 2008–2009
recession. Specifically, we examined race as well as other factors with the potential
to influence volunteering in four categories of organizations: poverty organizations,
senior service agencies, social action groups, and religious affiliated organizations.
Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) data, this secondary analysis
produced significant findings regarding volunteerism among African Americans in
these community-based organizations.
