A recent study from Independent Sector reveals that the value of volunteer time has risen to an all-time high of $25.43 an hour in 2018, a big leap from $20.25 tallied just ten years ago in 2008. Yet even though total volunteer hours have gone up, the number of Americans volunteering their time has dropped by about 25 percent. This has meant a loss of about 10 million American volunteers, according to another study by University of Maryland’s Do Good Institute.
Paul Clolery filed this report in The NonProfit Times:
An estimated 63 million Americans volunteer roughly 8 billion hours of their time, contributing approximately $203.4 billion in time to nonprofit organizations of all types. The data is from Independent Sector’s annual value of volunteer time study.
The value of volunteer time is based on the hourly earnings approximated from yearly values of all production and non-supervisory workers on private, non-farm payrolls. It is based on averages of earnings provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national average is increased 12 percent to estimate for fringe benefits. Independent Sector, in partnership with economic impact data firm IMPLAN in Huntersville, N.C., indexes this figure to determine state values.
The value of volunteers in Washington, D.C., topped the list at $41.72 an hour with Mississippi last at $12.64. The study also (sees) Puerto Rico with that value at $12.64 an hour. The full state-by-state breakout is available here https://bit.ly/2GdALp9
“Volunteerism has been a driving force in the strength and power of our civil society since this country’s founding,” said Dan Cardinali, president and CEO of Independent Sector in Washington, D.C. “We know that giving of our time, talent, and effort transforms organizations, communities, and our nation, and also has profound effects on the individuals giving their time. The Value of Volunteer Time gives us just one concrete measure to illustrate the power of individuals to transform communities.”
