Independent Sector Announces Latest Figures for Value of Volunteer Time

(Press release, April 14, 2015) — Independent Sector announces that the 2014 estimate for the value of a volunteer hour is $23.07—a 52-cent increase from 2013, up 2.3 percent from the previous year.

The value of volunteer time provides one way to measure the impact millions of individuals make with each hour they dedicate to making a difference. The release of this important figure comes during National Volunteer Week, a program of Independent Sector member Points of Light held April 12-18, 2015.

"For more than 40 years, National Volunteer Week has recognized the value of volunteers to nonprofits, to the people they serve, to society, and to life on this planet," said Independent Sector President and CEO Diana Aviv. "Though we could never truly put a price tag on what volunteers mean to their communities, we are proud to offer this figure to attempt to frame the immense value of the time and effort they give."

IS also has updated the state-level breakdown for the value of volunteer time in 2013, ranging from a low of $19.31 in Arkansas up to $39.86 per hour in the District of Columbia. New for this year is an interactive map and table showing data for each state, where the value of a volunteer hour is highest and lowest, and how much the figure has risen or fallen since the previous year. Also new is the complete dataset for the value of volunteer time for all 50 states and D.C. from 2001-2014.

See the full map and table of national and state-level volunteer time values

The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data show nonprofits employ approximately 11.4 million workers—about 10.3 percent of the American private sector employment—and account for about 5.4 percent of GDP. According to data from the Corporation for National and Community Service, about 62.6 million Americans, or 25.4 percent of the adult population, contributed 7.7 billion hours of service in 2013. Religious organizations were cited as the type of organization that volunteers worked in the most (33.9%), followed by educational or youth service (26.2%) and social or community service organizations (14.8%).

To access state-by-state values of volunteer time and learn more about the national figure, visit www.independentsector.org/volunteer_time.