Sacramento Head Start Alumni Association

Value of Volunteer Time Increases Nearly 50 Cents

Feb 25, 2003

Value of Volunteer Time Increases Nearly 50 Cents
in 2002

D.C.-based Independent Sector
( http://www.independentsector.org/ ) has announced that
the value of volunteer time increased by nearly 50 cents,
to $16.54 an hour, in 2002.

The hourly value, updated yearly, is based on the average
hourly earnings of all nonagricultural workers as deter-
mined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. To arrive
at its rate, IS takes the bureau's figure and increases
it by 12 percent to estimate for fringe benefits.

According to Giving and Volunteering in the United States,
2001, the organization's biennial survey on the giving and
volunteering patterns of Americans, 44 percent of adults
volunteered in 2001. When respondents were asked why they
volunteered, the most commonly cited motivating factor was
compassion. Survey participants also attributed their
volunteering to the belief that those who have more should
help those who have less.

"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 IS vice president of research Gordon Green, Ph.D.

To learn more about key findings of the survey, visit:
http://www.independentsector.org/programs/research/gv01main.html

"Independent Sector Releases New Value of Volunteer Time."
Independent Sector Press Release 02/19/03.
http://www.independentsector.org/media/voltime03pr.html

http://fdncenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=25300006

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