CAP Member Demographics

[Spike]

^ I was only thinking that the SEP folks can give you tips on recruiting. 

[flyguy06]

ok. thanks

[High Speed Low Drag]

^ You need to get into contact with the school initiative people at NHQ.  They have done great things in Philadelphia inner city and else where. 

You are the driving force now for your part of the city.  If you want to expand into other areas, you need to get out and about, meet and greet and get others interested in starting units in their part of the city.

CAP by all intents and purposes is a "grassroots" program.  We severely lack any National recruiting program, and it us up to units to help start other units.

So.....have you been out to start any units lately??  I have!

Spike - I agree that helping start a unit is a great thing.  WIWAC/Maj, I helped start a squadron in the inner Kansas City area.  With the help of my cadre and the seniors, it flourished for a few years.  I don't know what happened to it after I got out, but we tried. 

And yes, we are the ones that have to get out & do the meet & greet.  It is long, it is hard, btu it msut be done.  We are gearing up this year's recruiting drive now...

[High Speed Low Drag]

** Bump **

Did anyone take a look at the cadet demographic numbers that were released a few days ago?  I thought it was very interesting that cadets are so heavily Caucasian (78.21%) and there were more Hispanics (10.11%) than Blacks (6.51%).  I admit I was surprised that females only accounted for 19%; I thought there were more than that.

For those that haven't, here is the link:   Cadets: By the Numbers

Q:  Do we need to take into consideration these numbers?

[davidsinn]

** Bump **

Did anyone take a look at the cadet demographic numbers that were released a few days ago?  I thought it was very interesting that cadets are so heavily Caucasian (78.21%) and there were more Hispanics (10.11%) than Blacks (6.51%).  I admit I was surprised that females only accounted for 19%; I thought there were more than that.

For those that haven't, here is the link:   Cadets: By the Numbers

Q:  Do we need to take into consideration these numbers?

My cadets are 100% female. Yes I buy Excedrin by the gross why do you ask?

[lordmonar]

I don't know what we need to take into consideration.

A lot depends on how you conduct your recruiting.

In my squadron we do 90% word of mouth...that is cadets bring in their friends and class mates so you would expect the racial numbers to match the "racial profile" of my cadet's friend base.

If you are suggesting that we some how go out and have to force our numbers to meet community racial numbers......NOT NO.....BUT HELL NO!

[FARRIER]

** Bump **
Q:  Do we need to take into consideration these numbers?

Yes, we do. Do these numbers reflect aggressive recruiting but the lack of interest? Or, do these numbers reflect the lack of aggressive recuiting? Or is it something inbetween?

[Cecil DP]

I've always believed that a leading factor in declining or stagnant numbers is the cost of the program, especially for cadets and inner city units.

[High Speed Low Drag]

Is there anyone from large metro areas w/ multiple squadrons on the board?  If so, how do you handle the cost for new cadets whose families are scrapping by?

[Major Lord]

** Bump **

Did anyone take a look at the cadet demographic numbers that were released a few days ago?  I thought it was very interesting that cadets are so heavily Caucasian (78.21%) and there were more Hispanics (10.11%) than Blacks (6.51%).  I admit I was surprised that females only accounted for 19%; I thought there were more than that.

For those that haven't, here is the link:   Cadets: By the Numbers


Cadets by the numbers

                               CAP                                                               General Population
white                    78.21%                                                            75.0
Hispanic                10.11                                                               15.4
Black                      6.51                                                                12.4
Asian                      3.09                                                                4.4

It looks to me that the distribution suggests the largest disparity is in the Black cadet population, the other ethnicities being well within the margin of error.  I can't find current numbers, but I believe that we are significantly more diverse than the Air Force.

Major Lord

[High Speed Low Drag]

Of course, with the Census this year we will get more accurate data, but based on the U.S. Census estimates from July, 2008 (latest available), the break down is like this:

General Population             USAF                                               CAP                     
White:  65.6%                  White:  73.3%                           White:  78.2%
Black: 12.2%                    Black: 14.6%                             Black: 6.5%
Asian:  4.3%                    Asian: 2.6%                              Asian: 3.0%
Hispanic 15.4%                 Hispanic 10.7%  (Approximate)     Hispanic 10.1%

Gen Pop Source: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin for the United States: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2008  Column: July, 2008
USAF Source:  Air Force Personnel Statistics
CAP Source:  Cadets: By the Numbers


So, based on that, it looks like Hispanic cadets 2:3 of Hispanic general population and Black cadets are 1:2 of Black general population and the Asian cadets are almost 1:1 of Asian general population.  (Remembering of course that Hispanics are technically an ethnicity, not a race and are categorized under race by skin tone)

In my opinion (and mine only), this data tells us that CAP needs to actively target Black & Hispanic audiences.  Which (in conjunction with another thread) means that we need to develop some PSAs and recruiting material specifically targeted towards those groups.

What do you guys think would be the best way to target these audiences and what do you think are the biggest reason we do not have a strong showing by these groups / how do we overcome that?