New Value of Volunteer Time
INDEPENDENT SECTORReleases New Value of Volunteer Time
(Washington, D.C., February 19, 2003) — INDEPENDENT SECTOR announced today that the 2002 value of volunteer time has increased by nearly 50 cents to $16.54 per hour. The hourly value, updated yearly, is based on the average hourly earnings of all nonagricultural workers as determined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. INDEPENDENT SECTOR takes this figure and increases it by 12 percent to estimate for fringe benefits.
INDEPENDENT SECTOR produces a biennial survey on the giving and volunteering patterns of Americans. According to the most recent survey, Giving and Volunteering in the United States, 2001, 44 percent of adults volunteered. When asked why they gave of their time, respondents cited compassion as the most commonly cited motivating factor. Survey participants also attributed their volunteering to the belief that those who have more should help those with less. Volunteers also gave of their time because they knew of someone who would benefit from their volunteering, and others said volunteering was a good way to meet people.
“While we recognize that volunteers offer a wide variety of services, this estimate provides a uniform way for volunteer managers, nonprofit executives, government agencies, and others to account for the value of volunteer time,” said Gordon Green, Ph.D., vice president of research, INDEPENDENT SECTOR.
The dollar value of volunteer time is $16.54 per hour for 2002. The value of volunteer time is based on the average hourly earnings of all nonagricultural workers as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. INDEPENDENT SECTOR takes this figure and increases it by 12 percent to estimate for fringe benefits.
Below is a table that provides a historical look at volunteering and its dollar value. Assuming that the same number of volunteer hours was served in 2002 as in 2000, the total dollar value of volunteer time for 2002 is estimated at $256.4 billion.
| Dollar value of a volunteer hour in other years: 1980 - 2002 | |||||
| 1980 - $7.46 | 1981 - $8.12 | 1982 - $8.60 | 1983 - $8.98 | 1984 - $9.32 | 1985 - $9.60 |
| 1986 - $9.81 | 1988 - $10.39 | 1990 - $11.21 | 1992 - $11.84 | 1994 - $12.45 | 1996 - $13.23 |
| 1997 - $13.73 | 1998 - $14.30 | 1999 - $14.83 | 2000 - $15.40 | 2001 - $16.05 | 2002 - $16.54 |
More information can be accessed at http://www.independentsector.org
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