The navel gazing worked so well the first time that the Canadian 4-H Council is at it again.
It plans to follow up on the success of a survey done in 1997 that examined the value of 4-H to its adult graduates.
Mike Nowosad, executive director of the Canadian 4-H Council, said the four-year-old survey paid off in showing funders and potential 4-H members that “our program is valuable and there are good reasons to support it.”
The 1997 study showed that 4-H members learn lessons about leadership, teamwork and the work ethic that help in their later careers. Household incomes of 4-H alumni averaged $58,250 annually compared to the Canadian average of $46,122. The survey of 1,164 adults who were in 4-H from 1950 to 1990 also showed they were twice as likely to take training after high school than the average Canadian.
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Now the 4-H council wants to repeat its survey to include people who were members in the 1990s. While Nowosad expects to continue to find that leadership skills and self-confidence are highly developed in 4-H members, he said the survey will ask “more quantitative information so it’s really hard data we get.”
The new survey will be done in 2002, starting in the spring and continuing until year end. If all the funding falls into place, the council would like to spend $100,000 to survey three groups – 4-H alumni, rural youth who don’t belong to 4-H, and existing members.
Nowosad hopes the results of the 2002 survey will again prove to 4-H sponsors and governments that the program is worth funding.
Across Canada there are 36,000 youth in 4-H. The national council has an annual budget of $1.5 million. One-third is from the federal government, one-third from private and corporate sponsors and one-third from membership fees. Provincial 4-H councils, who mainly get funding from provincial governments and members, will help the national council determine who to call for the survey.
