Using 2008-09 Citizenship Survey data, CLG has just produced a report that looks at participation in formal and informal volunteering and trends in participation over time. It discusses the activities that volunteers do, the organisations they help, sources of information and motivations for, benefits from, and barriers to participating in volunteering. It also reports on participation in employer-supported volunteering. The report then focuses on charitable giving, looking at who gives to charity, the ways in which people give to charity and the amount of money people give.

Regarding volunteering, the report indicates that the number of people formally volunteering at least once a month has fallen since 2005 (26% in 2008-09 compared to 29% in 2005) but that people who volunteer regularly are volunteering more hours. It also notes that people who regularly participate in formal or informal volunteering are more likely to give to charity than people who are not regular volunteers.