The Value of Volunteer (Professionals) – Message From the CEO
April 25, 2019Recently, Independent Sector released its annual report on the value of volunteer service. The latest value of a volunteer hour is $25.43 on a national average. In Washington, D.C. (where we are located), the value of a volunteer hour is $41.72. If a volunteer contributed 37.5 hours per week, on an annual basis the volunteer would be valued at $49,589 nationally and at $81,354 in D.C.
All of us who work for nonprofit organizations, and all of us who volunteer our time for nonprofits, recognize the significant value of the efforts of our volunteers. Volunteer talent and effort is leveraged to enhance our limited financial resources to better serve our clients and communities. We all benefit from the dedicated service of our volunteers.
Recruiting, training, coordinating, and managing our volunteers are the skills brought by our nonprofit professionals to ensure we maximize the impact of this incredible resource. Independent Sector estimates that at the current value of volunteer time, our community members are contributing $203.4 billion through their efforts. Such a valuable resource is only possible due to the professionals in all of those nonprofit organizations. Those professionals should be compensated at a level that reflects the importance of our volunteers’ efforts.
Lee Sherman, President & CEO