Knowledge base

What is the monetary value of volunteer time?

Every April, Independent Sector publishes an estimated national value of each volunteer hour. This page includes historical national data and the value of volunteers’ contribution by state or territory.

For more statistics on volunteers in the US, see Volunteering in America, compiled by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Nonprofits typically use the value of volunteer time to demonstrate the support they receive from their communities. Independent Sector advises that if your organization plans to report the value of volunteer services in external financial statements, including grant proposals, you will need to follow generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), which state:

Contributions of services shall be recognized if the services received:

  • create or enhance nonfinancial assets; or
  • require specialized skills, are provided by individuals possessing those skills, and would typically need to be purchased if not provided by donation. Services requiring specialized skills are provided by accountants, architects, carpenters, doctors, electricians, lawyers, nurses, plumbers, teachers, and other professionals and craftsmen.

The IRS says nonprofits cannot report volunteer time as contributions in line 1 of Parts II or III of Form 990, Schedule A. Volunteer time can be described in Form 990, Part III, Statement of Program Service Accomplishments.

More articles about nonprofit employment and volunteering

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