The Value of Volunteering

Last week, Independent Sector released their "National Value of Volunteer Time"for 2011-- estimated at $21.79 per hour. In 2010, the national value was estimated at $21.36; in New York it was $27.32.

How did they get this number?

The value of volunteer time if based on the average hourly earnings of all production and nonsupervisory workers on payrolls (as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics). Then, Independent Sector increases the figure by 12 percent to estimate for fringe benefits.

What is this used for?

Non-profits use this number to quantify the value volunteers provide for their organization. It helps estimate the economic impact and scope volunteering has.

However...

Volunteering is not about the money. Is there a way to truly quantify the inspiration and hope of volunteering into dollars? How do you put a price on mentoring or saving a life? Feeding or housing a needy child?

Nonprofits and their volunteers appreciate and grasp the impact their time has, but like the sector in general, volunteering is often overlooked and an ignored economic force. Even though it is tremendous: In 2010, the Corporation for National and Community Service estimated that 62.7 million Americans or 26.5% of the adult population, gave 8.1 billion hours of volunteer service worth over $173 billion. If it were a company, it would be bigger than Ford, AT&T, or Apple!

Greg Baldwin, president of VolunteerMatch, wrote an insightful article for Huffington Post Impact on the importance of the Value of Volunteer Time.

What do you think?