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28 Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Q. 3 (1999)

handle is hein.journals/npvolsq28 and id is 1 raw text is: ARTICLES Assessing the Value of Volunteer Activity Eleanor Brown Pomona College One standard way to convert estimates of time volunteered into estimates of the dollar value of volunteered time is to multiply estimated hours by the average hourly compensa- tion rate for paid labor. Economic theory suggests an alternative valuation strategy that acknowledges the importance of taxes, the provision of volunteer-assisted services at less- than-market prices, and the value of volunteer experiences captured by volunteers them- selves. One conclusion is that the standard estimate overstates the value of volunteering to the recipients of volunteer-assisted services but understates the overall value of volun- teering when the gains accruing to volunteers themselves are included. Volunteer labor deserves a special place in discussions of philanthropy and civic renewal. Alexis de Toqueville (1988), in his classic study of American democracy, saw voluntary association as the means by which a society of equals gathers the power to effect social goals. Aristocrats, with their enor- mous personal power, were gone from the scene, and what political power could ever carry on the vast multitude of lesser undertakings which associa- tions daily enable American citizens to control? (p. 515). Volunteering is a form of civic engagement through which individuals can make meaningful contributions to their own visions of societal well-being. The significance of the American tradition of voluntary action is not easily quantified, but it is substantial: Toqueville (1988) saw not only commercial and industrial associations in which all take part, but others of a thousand dif- ferent types (p. 513), and there are estimates suggesting that its dollar value today is at least on par with personal gifts of money and financial assets. Policy Note: This article is a revision of one presented at the 26th annual conference of the Associa- tion for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, Indianapolis, Indiana, December 4-6, 1997. I gratefully acknowledge research support from the National Commis- sion on Philanthropy and Civic Renewal. I would like to thank Matthew Hamilton, Paul Scher- vish, and, especially, John Havens for helping me to understand the Independent Sector data. I alone am responsible for all shortcomings of the views and analysis presented herein. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, vol. 28, no. 1, March 1999 3-17 © 1999 Sage Publications, Inc. 3

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