Calculating economic value
The simplest method is to use the following formula to calculate the economic value of volunteers’ time;
The number of volunteers X average number of hours X average hourly wage
To work out the wage equivalent of time given by volunteers you can use a number of different approaches:
The gross average hourly wage for full-time employees in England in 2008 was £13.90. This figure can be found in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) which is available on the website of the Office for National Statistics.
A more accurate method is to use average local rates of pay. For example, the figure for Surrey is £19.42, in Durham it's £11.91. You can quickly obtain averages for other parts of Britain by using the regional or local authority tables in the ASHE results.
VIVA (Volunteer Investment and Value Audit)
There is also the 'Volunteer Investment Value Audit', or VIVA. VIVA is more accurate and involves looking at the type of work done by volunteers and estimating the going wage rate for that work, as well as the costs of involving volunteers, such as management time. This produces a ratio showing how much value is generated from each pound invested in volunteering. Research using the VIVA method in 12 small UK social welfare voluntary organisations showed returns of between £2 and £8 for each pound invested.
A Europe-wide VIVA study in large voluntary organisations showed returns of between 1.3 and 13.5, with most between 3 and 8. Three summary bulletins are available free of charge from the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR) explaining:
- how to use VIVA in your organisation
- the results of some UK research using VIVA
- the results of some European research using VIVA
Impact Assessment Toolkit
There is also the Volunteering Impact Assessment Toolkit. This toolkit developed by IVR helps organisations to assess the impact of volunteering, rather than simply the economic value. Organisations can assess the impact of their volunteer programme on all key stakeholders - the volunteers, the organisation, the beneficiaries and the broader community.
Funding bodies
Finally, some funding bodies produce their own guidance for calculating the costs or value of volunteers’ time. When calculating the value of volunteers for funding bids, it's worth checking if the funding body recommends a particular method. This can be particularly relevant if the funding bodies offer 'match funding' for the perceived financial value of volunteer time.
Last reviewed: May 2009
Disclaimer
We have made every effort to ensure that this article was correct at the time of publication. It is intended as a summary of relevant issues to help you plan or develop your work with volunteers. Volunteering England is unable to accept liability for any loss or damage or inconvenience arising as a consequence of the use of this information.
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