The Independent Sector recently published a report on the value of volunteer time. It turns out that it is $18.77 an hour as of 2006. A chart on the webpage calculates the value of volunteerism since 1980. (Rather depressing to see that for much of my life, my labor was worth a whole lot more than I was being paid.)

There is also another chart that breaks down the value on a state by state basis. These numbers are in 2005 values since the state reporting lags the Federal reporting by a year. It turns out that Washington D.C. had the highest value at $27.44/hour. I am guessing the salaries of all those politicians, lobbyists and lawyers skews the results a little.

These numbers can be useful in reporting the value of volunteers to your organization. However, as the report notes,

“the value of volunteer services can also be used on financial statements – including statements for internal and external purposes, grant proposals, and annual reports – only if a volunteer is performing a specialized skill for a nonprofit. The general rule to follow…is to determine whether the organization would have purchased the services if they had not been donated.” (my emphasis)

Another guideline to note is that people donating their time to perform the specific skills from their profession can be valued higher than the general average, but only if they volunteering those specific skills.

“If a doctor is painting a fence or a lawyer is sorting groceries, he or she is not performing his or her specialized skill for the nonprofit, and their volunteer hour value would not be higher.”

All the information is included on a single web page with links to the appropriate sections of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Federal Accounting Standards Board for those who are interested in learning how to calculate the value of volunteered hours more precisely (and legally).

My thanks to Grantstation Insider for the scoop.