April 17, 2008


 

              
              
Volunteers Worth 3.3 Times Minimum Wage





The
value of a volunteer hour nearly kept pace with inflation during 2007,
increasing 3.94 percent while consumer prices tracked at 4.1 percent.
The estimate for the value of volunteer hour jumped by 74 cents, from
$18.77 in 2006 to $19.51 last year, according to Independent Sector
(IS), a Washington, D.C.-based coalition of nonprofits and foundations.





              
IS
calculates the hourly value of volunteer time based on the average
hourly wage for all non-management,

 non-agriculture workers as
determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 12-percent
increase to estimate for fringe benefits. The federal minimum wage is
$5.85 an hour.




              
"Our
nation's volunteers play a vital role in helping America's 1.4 million
charitable organizations improve lives across the country and around
the world," said Diana Aviv, president and CEO of IS. "Quantifying the
value of their time gives us yet another indicator of how important
volunteers are to communities."





              
The
new estimates were released ahead of National Volunteer Week (April
27-May 3) to "acknowledge the millions of individuals who dedicate
their time, talents, and energy to making a difference."




              
Washington,
D.C. had the highest hourly value ($30.10) among the 50 states and
Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The top states were all found in
the Northeast: New York ($26.18), Connecticut ($25.75), Massachusetts
($24.29) and New Jersey ($23.62).





              
The
bottom six states, excluding Puerto Rico ($10.21), all fell below the
level of the Virgin Islands ($14.85): West Virginia ($14.70), Arkansas
($14.63), North Dakota ($14.27), Mississippi ($14.08), South Dakota
($13.72) and Montana ($13.51).




              
In
all, 10 states eclipsed the $20 value and all but seven had values of
more than $15. Two pairs of states had identical values: Colorado and
Virginia ($20.08), and Vermont and Kentucky ($16.07).




              
***




              
This article is from NPT Instant Fundraising, a publication of The   NonProfit 
Times.


 

              
Subscribe to The NPT Instant   Fundraising eNewsletter or any of our other 
enewsletters and get the latest   news and ideas related to fundraising 
delivered to your inbox.

Reply via email to