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From: Eleanor Paradowski, public relations (716) 385-5967
or Jennifer Leonard, Community Foundation
(716) 271-4100

New survey asks: Do We Trust Each Other?

ROCHESTER, N.Y., March 1, 2001 - People in Greater Rochester trust each other more than do people in other parts of the nation -- but trust levels vary sharply among groups, according to a new survey that also explored tolerance and involvement in community activities.

Nearly 30,000 people in 40 regions across the country were surveyed about "social capital" (or, how people connect with each other). Results were announced at a news conference today by Rochester Area Community Foundation, whose support allowed nearly 1,000 area residents to participate.

Compared with the nation, the social capital survey found that people in Greater Rochester:

• Trust each other more. Overall, 53% of Greater Rochester respondents felt that, generally speaking, people could be trusted, compared to 47% nationally. Overall, we also trust our neighbors, police and store employees more.
• Are more tolerant of people's differences, have a more diverse set of friends and are more willing to make controversial reading materials publicly available. Locally, only 18% of respondents agreed with the statement, "Books of which most people disapprove should be kept out of the library," while the national response was 26%. Friends of local survey respondents were more likely to include Blacks or African Americans, gays or lesbians and people who had a different religion or had been on welfare.
  
• Share with other areas of the nation a low level of community involvement. Locally, 54% of survey respondents participated in two or fewer formal community groups (such as PTAs, neighborhood associations and political groups), 60% did not attend a single public meeting in the last year concerning town or school affairs, and nearly one-half did not volunteer at all in the past year. However, 63% gave financial support to charities, a rate higher than the nation.
• Report barriers to involvement that include work schedules, safety concerns and lack of information. Of the half of local respondents who reported barriers to involvement, 71% cited inflexible or demanding work schedules and/or inadequate child care as important obstacles.
• Share national disparities in levels of trust, tolerance and involvement related to income, education, age and race/ethnicity. Local differences included the following:
  • Black and Hispanic survey respondents were less trusting of people - including their neighbors, co-workers, fellow congregants, store employees and police - than White (non-Hispanic) survey respondents.
  • Levels of trust and formal group involvement rose with income and education. However, younger people (age 18-34) had higher levels of regular informal contact (such as having friends over).
  • Of local survey respondents with a religion, more than half of Blacks attended weekly services, compared with about a third of Hispanic and White respondents. Blacks were also more likely to participate in other faith-related activities when compared with Hispanic and White respondents.
  • Voter turnout tended to increase with age; also, respondents with lower incomes and those with less formal education voted less than those with higher incomes and more formal education. Of respondents age 65 and older, 94% voted in the 1996 presidential election, compared with only 66% of those age 35-49.

The social capital survey found that respondents living in the City of Rochester reported the lowest levels of trust, followed by people living in the five counties of Wayne, Ontario, Livingston, Genesee and Orleans counties, and then by the rest of Monroe County. However, these findings reflect housing patterns based on income, education and race/ethnicity, all of which affect levels of trust.

"The number of people interviewed statistically represents the region and provides the community with valuable information for decision-making," said Jennifer Leonard, president and executive director of Rochester Area Community Foundation, whose grantmaking priorities include fostering civic engagement.

To build upon the region's strengths identified by the survey - and address any weaknesses - the Community Foundation has organized a panel of residents from throughout Greater Rochester, who will recommend strategies for grantmaking. The panel is chaired by Barbara J. Jones of J. P. Morgan Chase & Co.

In addition, later this spring WXXI will invite comments from the general public during a telecast town meeting on social capital and the survey results.

Why This Survey Is Important

"How we connect with each other, or 'social capital,' is a barometer of community health," said the Community Foundation's president and executive director, Jennifer Leonard.

"When family, neighbors, co-workers and others in the community trust each other and reciprocate with information and support, studies show we can get more accomplished," Leonard said.

"Earlier research by Professor Robert D. Putnam of Harvard University, among others, points to a relationship between a high level of social capital and the quality of our education, our physical health and happiness, safety on our streets, government responsiveness and economic development," she said.

How Survey Was Done

The Saguaro Seminar at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, conducted this Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey in partnership with a consortium of 36 foundations. Nationally, nearly 30,000 people responded to the survey, making it one of the largest and richest sources of social science data on this subject ever made available for academic researchers and policymakers. Taylor Nelson Sofres Intersearch, whose work includes ESPN Sports Poll, did the telephone polling.

Rochester Area Community Foundation's sponsorship made it possible to survey 988 households in the six counties of Greater Rochester, with a statistical oversampling of Black and Hispanic residents to permit accurate comparisons. A volunteer economist from the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine at the University of Rochester and a volunteer political scientist retired from SUNY Brockport tested data and confirmed the local findings for significance.

A summary of local findings is available at no charge by writing the Community Foundation at 500 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607, or by visiting www.racf.org/New & Notable. Analysis of survey data continues, and additional local data will be available this spring. Complete national survey data will be made available to researchers through the Roper Center (www.ropercenter.uconn.edu) and ultimately through a public website. Following standard research convention, all individual comments remain confidential.

Panel Members

Members of the Civic Engagement Priority Panel convened by Rochester Area Community Foundation to assist in targeting grants to build on the survey results include Dr. David A. Anderson/Sankofa, Ann N. Baker, Kathy Cleary, Delaine Cook-Green, Kenneth Dean, Rev. Richard Gilbert, David Hunke, Rev. Errol Hunt, Barbara J. Jones (Chair), Sister Beth LeValley, Clayton H. Osborne, Douglas Rice, Thomas P. Riley, Margaret Sánchez, Richard Schwartz, Dr. Muhammed Shafiq, Kartik Srinivas, Mel Walczak, Janet Welch and John Wolf.

About Rochester Area Community Foundation

Rochester Area Community Foundation, founded in 1972, addresses unmet community needs through grants and program initiatives while helping donors fulfill their philanthropic goals. It accepts charitable gifts of any size from individuals, families, businesses and other organizations.

Recent civic engagement grants from the Community Foundation supported its NeighborGood Grants for block clubs and neighborhood associations; Rochester AmeriCorps Collaborative; Common Good Planning Center; Youth As Resources mini-grants for community service; and Downtown Community Forum, a center for civic dialogue.

The Community Foundation's grants and charitable distributions last year totaled more than $13 million. Grants were made principally to nonprofit organizations in Monroe, Wayne, Ontario, Livingston, Genesee and Orleans counties in upstate New York.