“… you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 (NIV)
Jesus’ disciples were sent not only throughout Israel to preach His Gospel, but to foreign lands like Samaria as well. Christ made it clear that his message was for all people, not just any particular single nation.
Your Jerusalem is here, your own home town, your community and local region. Many people find it easy to write a check and send money to Africa, Central America or another place at the ends of the earth, far, far away. But where is the local involvement? He said to go to all nations, not just to the ends of the earth.
The estimated dollar value of volunteer time for 2010 is $21.36 per hour.
The estimate helps acknowledge the millions of individuals who dedicate their time, talents, and energy to making a difference. Charitable organizations can use this estimate to quantify the enormous value volunteers provide.
According to the “Research Brief: Volunteering in America Research Highlights” published in 2010 by the Corporation for National and Community Service, about 63.4 million Americans, or 26.8 percent of the adult population, gave 8.1 billion hours of volunteer service worth $169 billion in 2009.
Figures are also available for each state. Virginia: $22.03, Maryland: $22.32 and DC $32.79 per hour!
Of course monetary donations are appreciated but what are you doing to better your local community through volunteer service?
David Robert Lambert 
2025/04/24 at 12:00 |
UPDATE — the national average Estimated Value of Volunteer Time increased to $34.79 per hour in 2024.
$52.06 – DC
$35.53 – Maryland
$34.42 – Virginia
Sources accessed 04/24/2025
https://independentsector.org/resource/value-of-volunteer-time/
https://independentsector.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/vovt-report-2025.pdf
2024/09/15 at 13:41 |
UPDATE — the national average Estimated Value of Volunteer Time increased to $33.49 per hour in 2023.
$50.88 – DC
$34.99 – Maryland
$33.38 – Virginia
Sources accessed 09/15/2024
https://independentsector.org/resource/value-of-volunteer-time/
Click to access is-vovt-report-2024_v2.pdf
2023/05/10 at 21:43 |
UPDATE — the national average Estimated Value of Volunteer Time increased to $31.80 per hour in 2022.
$50.00 – DC
$34.12 – Maryland
$32.59 – Virginia
Source: https://independentsector.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Value-of-Volunteer-Time-by-State-2001-2022.pdf accessed 05/10/2023
2022/12/30 at 00:28 |
UPDATE — the national average Estimated Value of Volunteer Time increased to $29.95 per hour in 2021.
$50.48/hr – DC
$32.82/hr – Maryland
$30.80/hr – Virginia
Source: https://independentsector.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Value-of-Volunteer-Time-by-State-2001-2021.pdf accessed 12/29/2022.
2021/12/13 at 14:10 |
UPDATE — the national average Estimated Value of Volunteer Time increased to $28.54 per hour in 2020.
$48.67/hr – DC
$31.29/hr – Maryland
$29.14/hr – Virginia
Source: https://independentsector.org/resource/vovt_state_2021/ accessed 12/13/2021.
2021/03/02 at 23:26 |
UPDATE — the national average Estimated Value of Volunteer Time increased to $27.20 per hour in 2019.
$44.14/hr – DC
$29.51/hr – Maryland
$28.46/hr – Virginia
Source: https://independentsector.org/value-of-volunteer-time-2020/ accessed 03/02/2021.
2019/05/06 at 15:37 |
UPDATE — the national average Estimated Value of Volunteer Time increased to $25.43 per hour in 2018.
$41.72/hr – DC
$28.65/hr – Maryland
$27.50/hr – Virginia
Source: https://www.independentsector.org/volunteer_time accessed on 05/06/2019.
2019/01/17 at 06:20 |
UPDATE — the national average Estimated Value of Volunteer Time increased to $24.69 per hour in 2017.
$39.45/hr – DC
$27.50/hr – Maryland
$26.75/hr – Virginia
Source: https://www.independentsector.org/volunteer_time accessed on 01/17/2019.
2017/05/17 at 16:21 |
UPDATE — the national average Estimated Value of Volunteer Time increased from $21.36 in 2010 to $24.14 per hour in 2016.
$39.17/hr – DC
$26.79/hr – Maryland
$26.96/hr – Virginia
Source: https://www.independentsector.org/volunteer_time accessed on 05/17/2017.
2017/02/11 at 14:40 |
[…] I am well aware of the 80/20 rule, especially in nonprofit work; 20% of the people do 80% of the work. Sometimes I think that 10% of the people do 90% of the work. I don’t mind contributing my time and effort to my church or a nonprofit if there are others that are also willing to help with a project. However, if I get “stuck” doing the whole thing myself, I sometimes charge them at my nonprofit rate which is lower than the current value of volunteer labor. Ref: https://lambertdrl.wordpress.com/2011/04/02/monetary-donation-vs-value-of-volunteer-time/ […]
2015/05/19 at 20:34 |
UPDATE — the national average Estimated Value of Volunteer Time increased from $21.36 in 2010 to $23.07 per hour in 2014.
$39.86/hr – DC
$26.41/hr – Maryland
$24.90/hr – Virginia
Source: https://www.independentsector.org/volunteer_time
accessed on 05/19/2015.
2011/04/02 at 17:28 |
Thank you for highlighting the important tension between giving money and giving of your life. It’s easier and safer to write a check. It allows the person to maintain emotional distance while still feeling like they did something. But giving of one’s time and energy requires a whole different level of emotional engagement. And yet, we, the church, are called to give of our time and our money to make an impact in our community and to grow the kingdom of God throughout the world.