PSHRA turns 120 in 2026, and the organization inviting members to help us celebrate this milestone by organizing a PSHRA Community Service Day in their area any day between May 11 and May 15.
With this momentous occasion just around the corner, new data finds the value of a volunteer hour is on the rise. Estimated from data collected in 2025, Independent Sector and Do Good Institute at the University of Maryland recently determined that the value of a volunteer hour is $36.14, an increase of 3.9% from the previous year.
This figure “illustrates the valuable and significant contributions volunteers make every day to support the significant contributions volunteers make every day to support our communities and nation,” according to an Independent Sector statement.
In the same statement, the organization noted that the state and national estimates of the value of volunteer time are calculated using a methodology based on the annual average hourly earnings (non-seasonally adjusted) for all production and non-supervisory workers on private non-farm payrolls.
These annual earnings estimates come from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) database, which is available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), according to Independent Sector, adding that charitable organizations most frequently use the value of volunteer time to recognize the amount of community support an organization receives from its volunteers.
“Today, the work of volunteers is especially important to America’s 1.9 million nonprofits,” said Independent Sector President and CEO Akilah Watkins, in a statement.
“While it is impossible to capture the immense contribution of the U.S. volunteer force into a dollar amount, the value of volunteer time serves as an important representation of the economic and social value of the millions of hours Americans dedicate to service every year. Whether you’ve donated a single afternoon or volunteer every day, we in the charitable sector owe you a debt of gratitude.”
06 May 2026
Category
HR News Article
