Giving Compass' Take:
- A recent report from Independent Sector indicates that the value of volunteer time went up by nearly 5% in 2021 compared to 2020.
- How did COVID-19 profoundly impact the way people volunteered? How can donors help strengthen volunteering programs?
- Read about virtual volunteering.
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Independent Sector (IS) has announced that the estimated value of a volunteer hour in the United States reached $29.95 in 2021, up 4.9 percent from $28.54 in 2020.
According to the Value of Volunteer Time, based on data from AmeriCorps on volunteer hours, in the United States volunteers typically contribute nearly $200 billion to their communities. There is evidence that the number of hours volunteered declined in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While it will take years to assess the full extent of COVID-19’s impact on volunteering, a study by Fidelity Charitable found that as of Labor Day, 2020, 66 percent of volunteers had reduced the amount of time they volunteered or stopped volunteering entirely due to the pandemic.
The value of volunteer time varied from state to state, ranging from $22.57 per hour in Mississippi to $50.48 in the District of Columbia.
Read the full article about volunteer time at Philanthropy News Digest.