Posted 9/26/00
Submitted by Alfredo Behrens, CEO, Datametrica, Sao Paulo, SP, BRAZIL
An important article which has elicited a substantial amount of informed
and useful responses. Indeed, one would want to measure and show results
if one is asking for contributions to support our voluntary work.
This requirement is intertwined with the accountability that one requires
from authorities regarding the use of our tax money. Complying with
this requirement taxes volunteer resources, no doubt, but it should
be an intrinsical part of our work. The replacement value approach,
to measure value of service rendered, is sound when measurable. Even
then, when voluntary work is large enough, or focused enough, such
as in the case of nurses - brought up by Janet Lassman (CARE), the
replacement value may underestimate the value of volunteers. For instance,
in extreme cases, too many volunteers may depress the wage of employed
nurses which is used to measure the value of the volunteers. Not that
CARE may be extreme, but it must have some impact on the wages of
nurses, so the benchmark would be flawed.
Lucas Meijs, from the Netherlands, brings up another interesting
angle to the issue: What about the renewed societal vigor of a society
that engages in volunteer work ? Should those positive outcomes not
be worked into the value of funding volunteer work? Lucas is right.
There is very important evidence that volunteer work, as part of increased
community networking, renders a more vigorous political system. For
a brief insight into Robert Putnam`s work please see http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/interviews/ba2000-09-21.htm
Yet important as that societal contribution may be it still leaves
the initial question unanswered: how to measure? Besides, it still
introduces another question: why would a company want to fund it ?
Jeannie, of Marketing, rightly complained about obtuse middle-management
who can only see the company bottomline. Yet that is what those people
are paid to do, they are accountable. If we are to elicit their favors
we must argue along their lines, which should also be ours. If such-and-such
a company were to fund volunteer work, it should stand to earn something
out of it, otherwise we should be asking the money from the shareholders.
We should be looking into ways in which their company money is also
put to work for them. Perhaps we could offer them better terms than
simply advertising. We should elicit the volunteer favors of advertising
people and get their help in measuring the publicity, fidelity, recall
or other desired impact of company-funded volunteer program. Surely
this effort would cut on the direct benefits we seek from our volunteer
work, increasing the managerial share of our budgets. But it would
allow us to value volunteer work more effectively. Perhaps it would
even value volunteer work more handsomely, because advertising is
very expensive. Furthermore, it would have the benefit of bringing
the add people closer to volunteerism, and it should be in everybody`s
benefit.
Posted 9/25/00
Submitted by Jean Strating, Volunteer Program Specialist, Public Library
, Florida, USA
I am a little concerned about the language we use when we refer to
the cost benefit of volunteers. "Cannot be replaced with a dollar
value," "the magic that is created by having volunteers involved,"
"human value" etc. True there is no way to value what a person contributes
in caring and generosity, but aren't paid staff expected to have those
same qualities? I think cost benefit and evaluation of tasks performed
have to go hand in hand as we try to advance the professionalism of
our vocation. If we continue to use terms that are deemed as warm
fuzzies in our reports and Board rooms we will continued to be seen
as pseudo-professionals. This may seem a bit harsh, but after finally
making some headway being considered professionals in a meaningful
field. We have to acquire a more professional language and practice.
If you look at the Job Postings on this web page you can see that
there are to many volunteer positions that are being offered at less
than professional wages. We have to convince management that we are
more than add on's to a good program.
Posted 9/26/00
Submitted by Cindy J. Fairs, Okanagan Volunteer Management Services,
Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Interestingly this topic comes at a good time, having recently completed
some work for the Voluntary Sector Governance Task Group. As I worked
with the agencies and promoted the importance, accountability and
identified ways to determine measurable outcomes, I too internalized
"where is all of this going and where is it going to lead us
in the future?" It is rather obvious in our own minds for those
of us who work with volunteers, that the work of volunteers cannot
be replaced with a dollar value no matter how great. However, as we
scrutinize and tabulate the contributions of our volunteers and their
efforts, we gather factual information which becomes measurable. In
looking at the scope of the bigger picture this is 'what substantiates
the existence of volunteers and the programs and agencies within which
they serve!
Posted 9/11/00
Submitted by Peter Radloff, Assistant Director, Volunteer
Services - Northern Virginia Training Center, Fairfax, VA
We have used the monetary system in the past quarter or two as a supplement
to our hours and completed projects report. Only, I mean only to supplement.
You cannot place the dollar value of a volunteer. Sure you can transform
hours served into a dollars and cents figure, but there is only one
sure way to determine the worthiness of a program. That is to get
feedback from the people volunteering, and to attain feedback from
those being served. Since we are a facility for adults with Mental
Retardation, our recipient-based feedback is markedly lower. Therefore,
we have to rely on other sources, such as parents, and paid staff
to supply us with the "value" of the volunteer program. As a supplement,
and possible justification for expanded funding, I think that dollar
value is useful. But the bottom line to boards, and senior staff should
be the feedback received. We keep written feedback reports from parents
and staff on file for these purposes.
Posted 9/11/00
Submitted by Lindajoy Vantrease, Volunteer Coordinator, Redwood Empire
Food Bank, Santa Rosa, CA, USA
What a great Hot Topic. I find that everyone wants the volunteer hours
information--the Board, the grant givers, the volunteers themselves.
We publish the total hours and the dollar value in our newsletter.
Everyone likes to know that they are valuable, knowing how valuable
is a treat. The information gives the Board of Directors invaluable
information and lets the grant givers know how much the community
supports us. Thanks again for the timely topic.
Posted 9/11/00
Submitted by Kate Munro, Mater Community Integration Manager,
Newcastle Mater Hospital, New South Wales, Australia
As a manager of volunteers (and of course lots of other projects!)
in a Cancer/Palliative Care Hospital -budget conversations rule the
day! I keep statistics (some you listed). I only keep them for the
administration -not for the volunteers. I can engage with the admin
people about the dollar value because that's often the only common
link we can engage in when I talk about volunteering. I find most
of these people have no access to the "magic" that is created by having
Volunteers involved -the measurable outcomes that we all know but
find difficult to put into words.
I feel the Volunteer movement has a new challenge -not necessarily
one of converting Volunteer contributions into dollar values but one
of how to language the almost impossible task of enrolling the funding
bodies and administrators into seeing the "human value" and the enrichment
of everyone's life by being of service to others. I often say that
I am not the person who changes peoples' views -its the Volunteers
by doing what they do, give people access to the joy of helping each
other. Thanks for a great hot topic.
Posted 9/8/00
Submitted by Marsha Riddle, Western Carolina Center, Morganton, North
Carolina
How times change in our professional world as well as the world around
us and in society. I have never really considered the value of volunteers
and volunteerism in our society as measurable by financial terms only.
My grandmother's Webster's Home and School Dictionary defines value
simply as "that which renders anything useful or estimable". The definitions
today are much more detailed and certainly put usefulness almost out
of the definition. I much prefer to think of the value of the volunteer
in terms of their usefulness.
How can one measure ones concern for one another? How can we measure
self esteem, joy and happiness? How can forget that we are all trying
to return to a time when neighbor cares about neighbor and children
become good caring citizen? This is not done by pouring money alone
into schools and communities which are poor in spirit and caring?
It can only be done when there is a genuine involvement of people
who will volunteer their time, their voices of advocacy, and their
personal efforts to make their communities better.
There is great value in holding the hand of a child in need, visiting
the lonely senior, and raising awareness as well as funds to support
organizations who battle to bring healthy babies into the world, feed
the hungry, clothe the cold and provide them shelter,protect the abused,
and bring a smile to the face of a handicapped child as they are cheered
on in Special Olympic competition. There will never be enough money
to take the place of the volunteer nor is there a good method to evaluate
their intrinsic worth.
Posted 9/8/00
Submitted by Gloria Deucher, Director, Volunteer Services at
Thirteen/WNET, New York City, N.Y.
Several times a year, various departments throughout my organization
will call and ask for volunteer statistics. They need the numbers
for grant proposals they are writing. Foundations and other funding
sources pay attention to the amount of volunteer support (be it hours
or numbers of volunteers) an organization receives. It's an indication
of community support which, in turn, is some indication of an organization's
importance to the community it serves. Just as in the for-profit world,
funders want to invest their money wisely, too. Inquiring about volunteer
support is an integral part of their analysis. Although our volunteer
programs can't take complete credit for all the grants our organizations
receive, as volunteer administrators we can certainly bring the role
we do play to our management's attention.
Posted 9/8/00
Submitted by Arlene Osborn, Outreach Coordinator, Wyoming Congressional
Award Council, Wyoming, USA
Maybe we should look at it in the reverse--what do we have without
the services the volunteers provide. Will the CNA or the floor nurse
deliver a book or magazine or a cup of juice to the patient? Will
there be as many CPR classes taught? Can we afford to pay a staff
person to do what the volunteer is doing if we determine that the
service, even though it is not essential, is something which enhances
the other services we provide. What kind of reputation do we want
to have as a non-profit, one of product provided on our terms, or
one of providing personal involvement which makes a person feel more
comfortable?
Many non-profits depend upon volunteers to do essential clerical
duties, as an example. I have often thought that if that service is
one where there is little customer contact, heavy on duty and time,
then it should be a paid position. Because if it is that necessary
then it is a disservice to the volunteer to be put under that much
responsibility and time to keep the business going. But, if the volunteers
are using their skills which they have gained over a lifetime then
it offers them the opportunity to continue using them.
Volunteerism is also a valuable way for people to learn new skills
which then can make them employable, which should be an obligation
of the non-profit to see that they become. The hazard though, is that
when a volunteer becomes employable through working for free as a
volunteer, the non-profit will either take advantage of the situation
and keep them on, or not hire them, or not help them find employment.
I think it is important to look at the mission of the non-profit to
determine if the use of volunteers is what will continue to enhance
the business. Can the mission be accomplished by paying a staff, or
would it be impossible to provide good quality service without volunteers,
no matter how many staff you have. People volunteer because they want
to. Staff work because they (usually) need a paycheck. Where is the
heart?
Posted 9/8/00
Submitted by Ada Nanning , Coordinator of Volunteer Resources , Albert
Your article was so timely.... I will be presenting a workshop on
this topic at AVA...There are tools which can be considered in assessing
worth... As Volunteer managers professionalize, we will be required
to bring in more accountability to our actions... I anticipate more
interest in this topic area, as funders grapple with gaining a return
on their investment...
Posted 9/8/00
Submitted by Marge Wilson, Volunteer Coordinator, Columbia River Mental
Health Services, Washington, USA
You present some challenging questions. Our agency does come under
scrutiny about cost-benefit issues of the volunteers. One way that
we see the volunteer "value" is to semi-annually open up our spreadsheet
of volunteer hours that we track and to each volunteer's assignment
we affix a wage value for their services. If we had to pay a nurse
for the hospice care, or a case manager, or a tutor etc. etc. Those
wages totals are added up and we can say our agency had $10,000 in
equivalent working wages contributed by our volunteers....in essence
saving our agency $10,000! Not the ultimate answer perhaps, but this
tracking method also helps with grant applications to demonstrate
community partnering and involvement, and of course we know how grants
like statistics like # of hours volunteered annually and the wage
value contributed. Another minor benefit of the volunteer is their
help with fundraising and the money they generate for the agency...plus
many businesses like volunteerism and will donate to our agency to
support volunteer projects. So it is a great "goodwill" outreach to
the community as a whole.
Posted 9/8/00
Submitted by Ken Becotte, , Executive Director, United Way of the
Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada
I believe the issue of cost-benefit analysis is one that goes far
beyond the realm of volunteerism. It is a challenge for the entire
not-for-profit sector to determine what is the value of our work.
This not only includes volunteers, but also applies to a large range
of intangible assets. What is the value of developing a donor? What
is the value of an information and referral program? What is the value
of the training given staff and volunteers? These questions of the
value of intangible assets are also being asked in the for-profit
sector. An article titled "New Math for a New Economy" in issue 31
of Fast Company Magazine by Alan M. Webber covers it in more detail
at http://www.fastcompany.com/online/31/lev.html.
What we need to be working on is an accounting that values the intangibles
as assets.
Posted 9/8/00
Submitted by Janet Lassman, RN, Director of Volunteer Services, Emergency
Nurses CARE, Virginia, USA
In our national organization which is all volunteer with a minimum
of staff we do try to put a dollar amount on what our volunteers do
because without them we would be out of business. We are pretty focused
on who our volunteers are, as well. They have to be emergency nurses
or paramedics so we can use a replacement figure. The figure based
on numbers of programs presented and numbers of hours spent then becomes
part of our budget and audit. I think our organization is probably
different from many in that way. We are interested in doing outcome
studies as well. The nurses present injury prevention programs to
the public about drinking and driving, safety belts and other injury
prevention topics.
Posted 9/5/00
Submitted by Jeannie, Marketing, GA
We've suggested several volunteer efforts that could be pursued by
employees at my company. The response from upper-management was negative.
Their question: How will this help productivity? So...I would say
that you are right on target. Beware and get ready for a steady withdrawal
from those medium-sized corporations whose narrow-minded managers
see value only in the bottom line.
Posted 9/5/00
Submitted by Lesley Dunn, Executive Director, Volunteer Resource Centre,
Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada
Last Year in Nova Scotia Ron Coleman released the GPI Atlantic Report
that looked at the Economic Value of Volunteering in Nova Scotia.
It was a huge success with our governments. What happened after the
release of the report? Nothing! The report was based on information
from Statistics Canada and placed a dollar value on volunteer activities.
The Volunteer Resource Centre in Halifax put to use some of the information
in news releases and letters to government. For example "news flash,
285,000 Nova Scotians leave the work force, $2.2 billion impact on
the provincial economy." This stirred interest, but again we
were still tasked with the numbers game. Even our governing boards
want numbers. Many of us spend hours nurturing potential volunteers
through their selection process, and then we spend an equal number
of hours ensuring groups and organizations have a positive environment
within which volunteerism will flourish. None of this is measured
of course. It is a shame that providing love, friendship and support
to a fellow citizen is viewed as nothing more than a numbers game.
It certainly leaves you with a disturbing feeling inside.
Posted 9/1/00
Submitted by Lucas Meijs, Researcher and Consultant, The Netherlands
Indeed the pressure to prove the monetary value of volunteers is increasing.
Also internationally! In the UK, Katherine Gaskin has developed the
so called VIVA (Volunteer Investment and Value Audit), basically a
method to measure the ratio of replacement value by organizational
costs made for volunteers. It has been used in a small sample in Europe
for national organizations (see Voluntary Action, vol. 2, nr. 1).
In the Netherlands, we currently are developing a measurement instrument
to find out the value of volunteering on two other issues which also
are part of the value for society of volunteers. The first issue is
what volunteers get out of it themselves. This is of course based
upon the functional approach to volunteer motivation but this time
tries to measure not what they want to get out of it but what they
really get out of it in terms of pleasure, career possibilities, good
feelings etc. (This is I think the easy part...) The second issue
is on the social-political level. By volunteering, volunteers could
become more involved citizens which makes the functioning and governing
of democracy and society easier. (This is the difficult part). To
summarize: If we need to prove the value of volunteers (and we need
to), we need to not only prove the value volunteers have from the
point of view of direct services (reduces costs and higher quality)
we also need to look at the value volunteering has for society at
large. Volunteering makes people stronger (we hope) which makes them
'better' people, both individually as collective. Brr! What a normative
statement!
Posted 9/1/00
Submitted by Holly McDonough, Dir. Volunteer Services, SE MN RSVP,
Minnesota
The National Senior Service Corps requires its Senior Programs (Retired
and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), Foster Grandparent Program (FGP),
and Senior Companion Program (SCP) to complete Programming for
Impact Statements which address the issue of volunteer accomplishments
and impact. These statements, although initially difficult to wrap
our minds around, have been very beneficial as volunteer recruitment
tools and show current and potential funders the reality of what volunteers
can do outside of the confines of dollar value.
