Putting a Number to the ‘Universal Value’ of Volunteer Time
Independent Sector has released preliminary data on the value of U.S. volunteers' time. In Illinois, the hourly value of volunteer time was $23.19 in 2011, the most recent reporting period available. According to the Corporation for National Community Service (which runs AmeriCorps), 2.73 million Illinois volunteers in 2011 contributed $7.8 billion in services, ranking Illinois 27th in the nation in the number of adults who volunteer. Nationally, the value of volunteer time increased to $22.14 per hour in 2012, which was a 35-cent increase over the 2011 figure. (IS provides data on individual states for 2011, and nationally for 2012; there is a lag of almost one year in the government's release of state level data, which is why the state volunteering values are one year behind the national value.)
These figures are important because they attach a universal value to the immense services of folks who are vital resources in our civic ecosystem. Although many nonprofits and funders could never afford a $23.19 increase in people per hour costs, this gives organizations a way to express to volunteers, stakeholders, and the community at large how indispensible volunteers are when it comes to helping organizations meet their missions. Both nonprofits and funders can use these numbers to quantify the enormous value volunteers provide.
Independent Sector's official report on the value of volunteer time will be released this summer. The preliminary figure was released in advance of National Volunteer Week, April 21-27, 2013. The group derived the value of volunteer time from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' figures on non-management, non-farm worker earnings. See IS’s state profiles landing page to access data on the economic impact that the nonprofits have on their respective states, or to provide updated information for your own state.
~ Jesse Daniels, Communications and Development Volunteer, Donors Forum