August 27, 2002

LINCOLN, Neb. — Most rural Nebraskans consider community involvement important to their town's future. And nearly all back that belief with their time and money, the seventh annual Nebraska Rural Poll shows.

The University of Nebraska poll found that 87 percent of rural Nebraskans donated money to community improvement efforts in the past year, 84 percent belonged to community groups and 74 percent volunteered time to local groups or organizations. Additionally, 43 percent had leadership roles in organizations and 15 percent held public office or served on a board or committee.

"The volunteer time and money people have given are the assets that keep these communities alive," said John Allen, the NU Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources rural sociologist who heads the scientific poll. "In rural areas, there's a strong tradition and expectation that you'll give something back to your community."

Among this year's respondents from Nebraska's 87 rural counties, 95 percent said that volunteerism and more residents taking leadership roles in the community are important to their community's future. Eighty percent said financial contributions from residents are important.

However, few rural Nebraskans intend to leave assets to community organizations or causes in their estate plans. Only 4 percent already include a community cause in their will, 8 percent said they plan to, 48 percent aren't sure and 27 percent said they would not.

The low percentage surprised Allen.

"We have a well-educated rural population in Nebraska that is very committed to their communities so I think it may be a lack of knowledge or understanding about how to structure their estates to benefit community as well as their families," he said.

The 48 percent undecided is the most promising figure, he said. It represents the opportunity to educate people about how best to keep their wealth at work locally while caring for their families.

"Rural residents already invest time and money in their communities," Allen said. "We're not asking them to do something out of their norm. We just need to help educate them so they know how to do this."

Keeping assets in rural communities is a pressing concern, he said. While much is said about the rural brain drain, rural Nebraska also faces a financial drain.

"We're talking about the potential for millions of dollars leaving these rural communities" as longtime residents die and estates are settled, he said.

When farms, ranches and businesses are sold after their owners die, the money typically is left to family members who often no longer live in the community.

"The community loses that wealth. But if we are able to recycle some of it through a local community foundation, then local people get to use it on issues important to the community," he said. "It's an opportunity to get some capital recirculating back in that community."

Allen said the Nebraska Community Foundation plays an important role in helping communities establish local nonprofit community foundations so Nebraska towns have the structure in place to accept donations.

This was the first year the poll included specific questions about estate planning. Poll organizers recognize that such questions are personal, Allen said, but decided they needed to ask for this information because it's so important to rural Nebraska's financial future.

class=Section2> The poll also showed rural Nebraskans remain positive about their communities. Twenty-four percent of respondents said their community has changed for the better in the past year, down from 28 percent last year; 54 percent said it remained the same, up from 53 percent in 2001; 22 percent think it changed for the worse, up from 19 percent in 2001.

Over the poll's seven years, the number of people who think their community has changed for the better has declined from 38 percent in 1996 to 24 percent this year. The number believing it has stayed the same grew from 38 percent in 1996 to 54 percent this year.

The number of people who think their community has changed for the worse has remained steady over the past seven years, averaging 20 percent.

"That's a positive thing," said Becky Vogt, the poll's manager. "Given all the obstacles, it takes more effort locally for these communities to hold their own."

Most poll respondents also said they would encourage others to move to or remain in their community. Specifically, more than two-thirds of respondents said they would encourage the following groups to move to or stay in their community: their children, relatives, close friends, elderly people, people from other parts of the state, young adults and young families, and out-of-state residents.

"They're positive enough to see their communities as places where they would want their children, family and friends to live," Allen said. This indicates rural residents believe there's a future for their communities.

This year's poll also shows rural residents are more open to newcomers in their communities, another positive indicator, Allen said.

Rural residents continue to view their towns as friendly, trusting and supportive. Those percentages all increased this year with 75 percent rating their community as friendly; 65 percent saying it's trusting and 68 percent saying it's supportive.

Most rural Nebraskans also say they plan to stay put. Seventy-four percent say they plan to live in their community in five years; 3 percent said they definitely plan to move; 7 percent said they probably would move and 16 percent were undecided.

Each year, the survey also asks about respondents' satisfaction with various local services and amenities. The lists have remained fairly constant over the poll's seven years. Rural residents are most satisfied with library services, K-12 education, basic medical services, parks and recreation, senior centers and waste, sewage and water disposal. They are most dissatisfied with transportation, entertainment, local government and retail shopping.

The scientific survey is mailed in March to randomly selected rural residents. This year's results are based on 2,841 responses.

The Nebraska Rural Poll is the largest annual survey of rural Nebraskans' perceptions on quality of life and policy issues. It provides a rural perspective to policy and decision makers. This year's response rate was 44 percent. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent.

Complete poll results are available online at Nebraska Rural Poll.

The annual poll is conducted by IANR's Center for Applied Rural Innovation with funding from the Partnership for Rural Nebraska and IANR's Cooperative Extension Division and Agricultural Research Division.

08/27/02-VM

Contacts:

Becky Vogt
Center for Applied Rural Innovation
Nebraska Rural Poll Project Manager
(402) 329-4821

John Allen - Ph.D.
Rural Sociology
Professor
(402) 472-1772

Vicki Miller
Research Communications Coordinator
(402) 472-3813

Department:
Agricultural Economics