What's a volunteer worth?

Volunteers are worth their weight in gold. Most homeschool organizations are run completely by volunteers who are doing a wonderful service to their community and other homeschooling families. What’s a volunteer worth? Priceless? Independent Sector, a coalition of nonprofits,  calculates the worth of an hour of volunteer time.

The estimate for the value of volunteer hour jumped by 74 cents, from $18.77 in 2006 to $19.51 last year, according to Independent Sector (IS), a Washington, D.C.-based coalition of nonprofits and foundations.

Washington, D.C. had the highest hourly value ($30.10) .  The top states were all found in the Northeast: New York ($26.18), Connecticut ($25.75), Massachusetts ($24.29) and New Jersey ($23.62).

In all, 10 states eclipsed the $20 value and all but seven had values of more than $15.

Source: https://www.independentsector.org/programs/research/volunteer_time.html

Could your homeschool group survive if you paid your volunteers these wages? Probably not…they are indeed quite valuable.

I  am frequently asked if a volunteer can be paid. If you pay a volunteer, she is no longer a volunteer anymore.She  is an employees and your homeschool organization will owe employer taxes such as Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment and Worker’s Comp.

I recommend homeschool groups show appreciation though thank you notes, gift certificates, verbal appreciation and praying for your volunteers.

Carol Topp, CPA

“Digital image content © 1997-2007 Hemera Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Jupiter Images Corporation. All Rights Reserved”.