Report on Kentucky's Civil Society Examines Impact of Leadership Training, Government Support, and Funding

The study, which includes results from surveys of project leaders, recipients of leadership development training, and the general population, found that leadership development training has a positive effect on civic life in the state. Though less than 1 percent of Kentucky’s adult population has participated in a local or statewide leadership training program, nearly 60 percent of the small civic projects examined by the Center were started by someone who had received leadership training. Moreover, projects with trained leaders were more likely to rate their efforts as highly successful, were less likely to report funding obstacles, and tended to have larger budgets with more volunteers.

The Center also found a fairly high level of government involvement in the civic projects it examined. Government agencies played a direct or indirect role in starting about 20 percent of the projects studied. Still other project leaders reported receiving financial and/or other assistance from the public sector. Only 5 percent of project leaders cited "government red tape" as a significant obstacle to success. Government was found to play an especially important role for projects with larger budgets, providing over 60 percent of their funds.

Significantly, funding appears to affect the size of projects and the number of volunteers more than it does their perceived success. About one fourth of the projects studied have an annual budget of $1,000 or less and were about as likely as the largest projects to rate themselves as highly successful. However, they reported far fewer volunteers, suggesting that larger budgets may help raise public awareness and thus attract more volunteers.

The 156 local volunteer projects included in the study were identified and contacted by the Center in 1996 and have subsequently provided information about their origins, operations, volunteers, and funding. The report includes a summary of each civic project and contact information.

Individuals who have gone through leadership training programs tend to be more trusting of others and are more likely to give money to charity. Volunteerism is typically a criterion for entry into a leadership training program, but the study finds that the number of hours volunteered tends to increase in the years following leadership training. Thus, the Center reports that leadership training programs are beneficial at both the group and the individual level.

Leadership training programs can be improved, however. The study finds that people who participate in leadership training programs are far more likely to have advanced education degrees and tend to have high incomes. The report concludes that the programs and civil society in the state would likely benefit from including more "nontraditional" leaders. Overall, though, the report lauds leadership training programs for their positive contributions to Kentucky’s civil society.

"We hope this report will generate discussions within communities about how to strengthen civil society and will allow civic leaders—both traditional and nontraditional—to communicate with, learn from and emulate one another," the authors write in the preface.

The report also includes a statewide survey on the civic attitudes and activities of Kentuckians. About 60 percent of Kentucky’s adults report volunteering for civic, neighborhood or church activities in the past year, contributing an average of 12.5 hours per month. Nearly 80 percent gave money to charity. These numbers are very close to national numbers reported in other studies. However, more than half of Kentucky adults say they usually trust other people, compared to just 37 percent nationally. Most Kentuckians also report that they feel proud of their communities, feel safe in their communities, and have many people whom they can rely on for help in times of need.

This study will be one of several presented at the Center’s annual conference, to be held November 17 at the Radisson Hotel in Lexington. Other studies to be presented at the conference examine business opportunities on the World Wide Web, the future well-being of women in Kentucky, health care, teacher training and quality, and entrepreneurship.