Kanawha Valley Part of Community Quality of Life Study

[Community Highlights] [Press Release] [Survey Highlights]

Embargoed for Release Contact: Becky Cain, President
12:01 A. M. March 1, 2001 304-346-3620

Charleston, WV - Today The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation released the results of a survey designed to lay the groundwork for efforts to strengthen community bonds. The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation was one of three dozen community foundations and other funders to participate in The Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey with the Saguaro Seminar at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

The survey revealed that residents in the Kanawha Valley are more engaged in civic life than might be expected of a similar community with the same demographics. We are more likely to know the names of our elected officials and to participate in rallies and groups that take action on local reforms. Our faith-based engagement is slightly more than might be expected with our giving and volunteering less than might be expected from a similar community. This runs counter to the usual trend of communities with high faith-based engagement having high levels of giving and volunteering. The strongest predictor, even stronger than a community's income or educational level, of the quality of life in a community is social trust. The survey results show that residents in the Kanawha Valley trust other people less than might be expected of residents in a similar community with the same demographics.

"At a time when our communities are facing a number of challenges - shrinking resources, changing government policies and priorities, unemployment, industrial consolidation, and out-migration, it is critical that we be able to work together to find common solutions," said Becky Cain, president of The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation. "The very foundation for working together is social trust - a commodity we need to improve our quality of life and one that doesn't require expensive investments in infra-structure or government funding," she said.

The recent Economic Development Strategy developed by the West Virginia Council for Community and Economic Development highlights the need for the continued growth of

social capital to impact the key issue areas West Virginia must address: 1) Intellectual
Infrastructure in the 21st Century, 2) New Economy: New Challenges and New Solutions, 3) Results-Based Government: Planning for the Future, 4) Building Bridges and Empowering Citizens. The results of The Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey reaffirm what has been shown over the years that communities with higher levels of social capital are likely to have higher educational achievement, better performing governmental institutions, faster economic growth, and less crime and violence; and the people living in these communities are likely to be happier, healthier, and to have a longer life expectancy. In places with greater social connectedness, it is easier to mobilize people to tackle problems of public concern, and easier to arrange things that benefit the group as a whole.

The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation will use the survey results to promote community discussions on social capital and the role it can and does play in improving our quality of life, promoting economic development, and reducing poverty. The survey results will also be used by the Foundation as a tool for future grantmaking and community development efforts. The survey will also provide other communities throughout the state with a survey tool for measuring their own communities' social capital.

The Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey was conducted by Taylor Nelson Sofres Intersearch Corporation by phone between July 2000 and November 2000. It was developed by the Saguaro Seminar at the John F. Kennedy School of Government with the involvement of a Scientific Advisory Group consisting of leading experts around the country on social capital measurement. The survey sample for the Greater Kanawha Valley consisted of 500 interviews in Kanawha, Boone, and Putnam Counties. Dr. Ron Althouse, Director of the Survey Research Center of West Virginia University (304-293-5801, extension 3203) served as the academic advisor to The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation for this project.