Volunteers in the United States are 63 million strong and hold up the foundation of civil society. No matter what kind of volunteer work they do, they are contributing in invaluable ways.
Currently, about 63 million Americans volunteer about eight billion hours of their time to improve and strengthen their communities. These Americans are contributing approximately $203.4 billion to our nation based on the 2019 value of volunteer time. Independent Sector typically releases the New Value of Volunteer Time data in April, to coincide with National Volunteer Week, a program of Points of Light meant to celebrate the power and impact of volunteer service. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government data that is used to calculate this value has been delayed, and new figures are not yet available.
With the population of the United States being 328.2 million, the percentage of Americans who volunteer is about 20%, or one in five. In Florida alone, there are about four million volunteers.
In 2019, the value of a volunteer dollar was $25.43 an hour, up 3% from the previous year, when it was $24.69 per hour.
Source: Independent Sector.
Learn more about volunteers in the Sunshine Certificate in Nonprofit Management class on Human Resources & Volunteers online on Saturday, July 18.