The most recent figure estimates it at $22.55 according to the Non-Profit Times

“Nonprofits that used volunteer services last year got a little more bang for their buck. The value of a volunteer hour stood at $22.55 during 2013, according to a report from Independent Sector in Washington, D.C. That’s 41 cents, or 1.9 percent more than 2012.

What an interesting lens through which to view the millions of  hours of service provided by valunteer group such at the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Ladies of Charity, etc.

…”According to the Independent Sector report, the value of volunteer services can be used on financial statements such as grant proposals and annual reports if the volunteer is providing a specialized skill under Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) rules. FASB’s rule of thumb is the volunteer services can be used if the nonprofit would have purchased the services the volunteer provided.

“It is important to remember that when a doctor, lawyer, craftsman or anyone with a specialized skill volunteers, the value of his or her work is based on his or her volunteer work, not his or her earning power,” according to the report’s authors. “If a doctor is painting a fence or a lawyer is sorting groceries, her or she is not performing his or her specialized skill for the nonprofit, and their volunteer hour value would not be higher.”

“Independent Sector establishes the value based on hourly earnings estimates of non-management, non-farm workers from the BLS, plus 12 percent for fringe benefits. “It is very difficult to put a value on volunteer time,” according to the report’s authors. “Volunteers provide many intangibles that cannot be easily quantified.”