Recent Research Reports and Analysis

Volunteers Mentoring Youth: Implications for Closing the Mentoring Gap

To develop a greater understanding of the characteristics and traits that distinguish individuals whose volunteering includes mentoring youth from volunteers who do not mentor, the Corporation for National and Community Service conducted a close analysis of the 2005 Volunteer Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS).  Corporation researchers examined whether demographic, socioeconomic, or other observable factors could be used to distinguish between volunteers who mentor and the general population of volunteers who do not mentor, as well as to determine which of the above factors are most influential in predicting who is most likely to be engaged in mentoring activities. The expectation is that the information gleaned will help mentoring programs better identify and recruit the types of individuals who are most likely to be favorably disposed toward mentoring, and thereby help to reduce the "mentoring gap."

• Full Report (PDF)
• Executive Summary (PDF)
• Fact Sheet on "Mentoring in America: A Summary of New Research" (PDF)
• Issue Brief on "National Service and Mentoring" (PDF)

For more information visit the Corporation for National and Community Service website at www.nationalservice.gov.