The Imagine Canada — John Hodgson Library has a variety of resources on the value of volunteer contribution, as well as general resources on volunteering and volunteerism.

Key among them, the Volunteer Value Calculator is an easy-to-use, online tool designed to help calculate the economic value of volunteers at your organization based on their specific duties. Developed by Imagine Canada’s Knowledge Development Centre (KDC), it is available online at http://volunteercalculator.imaginecanada.ca/eng/default.asp.

The U.S. organization, The Independent Sector, also  tracks the average value of volunteer time in the U.S. In 2005, it was $18.04 USD per hour.

The Satellite Account of Nonprofit Institutions and Volunteering (2005) contains new statistics on the economic contribution of the nonprofit sector in Canada. The satellite account is part of the Canadian System of National Accounts and includes an extended measure to account for the economic value of volunteering in the workforce.

For independent search tips, click here.

Selected online and print resources:

Assigning economic value to volunteer activity : eight tools for efficient program management / Michelle Goulbourne, Don Embuldeniya. Toronto : Canadian Centre for Philanthropy ; Volunteer Canada, 2002.

The cost of a volunteer. [Berkeley, Calif.] : The Grantmaker Forum on Community & National Service, 2003.

"Declining profit margin : when volunteers cost more than they return" / Linda L. Graff. In: The International Journal of Volunteer Administration, v. 14, no. 1 (July 2006). [Raleigh, N.C. : North Carolina State University, Department of 4-H Youth Development and Family and Consumer Sciences], 2006.

Estimating and reporting the value of volunteer contributions : results of a survey of Canadian nonprofit organizations / Laurie Mook, Jack Quarter. Toronto : Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, c2004.

How to assign a monetary value to volunteer contributions : a manual / Laurie Mook, Jack Quarter. Toronto : Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, c2003.

Measuring the economic value of volunteer activity / Michelle Goulbourne, Don Embuldeniya. Toronto : Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, Research Program, 2002.

Reporting the value of volunteer contributions : current practices and challenges / Laurie Mook and Jack Quarter. Toronto : Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, c2004.

A sound investment : the value of adding volunteer resources management to your philanthropic portfolio / Nadine Maillot. Ottawa : Volunteer Canada, 2004.

What volunteers contribute : calculating and communicating value added / Jack Quarter, Laurie Mook, Betty Jane Richmond. Toronto : Canadian Centre for Philanthropy ; Volunteer Canada, 2002.

Independent searching tips:

To research this topic yourself or browse a more comprehensive list, please go to the Volunteer Management. For a comprehensive set of links to websites on volunteering in Canada, visit our Links Directory and search the category "volunteering".

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