(WASHINGTON, March 26, 2013) -- Independent Sector announces that the 2012 estimate for the value of a volunteer hour is $22.14, a 35-cent increase from 2011.
 
The value of volunteer time provides one way to measure the impact millions of individuals make with each hour they dedicate to make a difference. The release of this important figure comes before National Volunteer Week, which takes place April 21-27, 2013. 

“Volunteers continue to be vitally important to nonprofit and philanthropic organizations in this country,” said Diana Aviv, president and CEO of Independent Sector. “The value of volunteer time is a reminder of the immense contributions of volunteers to our organizations and our communities.”

IS has also updated the breakdown for the value of volunteer time in states and territories in 2011, which can be found here. Please note that 2011 is the latest year for which state-by-state numbers are available. There is a lag of almost one year in the government's release of state level data which explains why the state volunteering values are one year behind the national value.

According to Urban Institute, nonprofits employ approximately 13.7 million workers – about 10 percent of the American work force – and account for about 5.5 percent of GDP.  According to the Corporation for National Community Service, about 64.3 million Americans, or 26.8 percent of the adult population gave 7.9 billion hours of volunteer service worth $171 billion in 2011; estimates for 2012 will be released this summer.

To access state-by-state values of volunteer time and learn more about the national figure, visit http://www.independentsector.org/volunteer_time. 

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Independent Sector is a leadership network of approximately 600 nonprofits, foundations, and corporate giving programs committed to advancing the common good. Our nonpartisan coalition leads, strengthens, and mobilizes the sector; we advocate for public policies that fortify our communities; and we create unparalleled resources so staff, boards, and volunteers can further their missions and increase their impact. IndependentSector.org.