wage – USA Volunteer Water Monitoring Network

Comment 1: The url of The Independent Sector site that lists the value of volunteer time, in dollars has been found.

Question 1: Volunteer Hourly Rate for FY05? Is this the volunteer rate we are all using this year?

Comment 1

Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 10:36:37 -0400
From: Mayio.Alice@epamail.epa.gov
Subject: [volmonitor] volunteer wage rate

In case you didn’t bookmark this page, here is the url of The Independent Sector

site that lists the value of volunteer time, in dollars.

http://www.independentsector.org/programs/research/volunteer_time.html#state

From the site:

The value of volunteer time is based on the average hourly earnings of

all production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls

(as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics). INDEPENDENT SECTOR

takes this figure and increases it by 12 percent to estimate for fringe

benefits.

For 2003, the estimated value is $17.19 per hour.

HOWEVER, please scroll down the page and check out the state-by-staterates. The dollar value of

volunteer labor varies considerably by State, according to this 2002chart (e.g., it’s much lower in

South Dakota than it is in New York).

Alice Mayio

USEPA (4503T)

(202) 566-1184

mayio.alice@epa.gov

Question 1

From: Tony Williams [mailto:Williams@savebuzzardsbay.org]
Sent: Friday, December 02, 2005 2:06 PM
To: Volunteer water monitoring
Subject: RE:[volmonitor] [volmonitor]

Volunteer Hourly Rate for FY05?

The volunteer hourly rate for FY05 is $17.55. This rate will be used to
calculate value of service for all volunteers.

Is this the volunteer rate we are all using this year?

If so then I have 3660 vol/hr x $17.55= $64,233.00

Responses to Question 1

Linda Green wrote:

Hi Tony and all,
Here is the source for the $17.55 hourly rate for volunteering in the US in 2004:
http://www.independentsector.org/programs/research/volunteer_time.html

URI Watershed Watch uses it to calculate match for grants and/or for calculating the value of our volunteer water quality monitors. The RI Department of Environmental Management has accepted this, as has the University of Rhode Island.
I know that this is not the case everywhere. What have others found?
Linda Green

URI Cooperative Extension Water Quality
Department of Natural Resources Science
1 Greenhouse Road
Kingston, RI 02881-0804
401-874-2905
www.uri.edu/ce/wq/
www.usawaterquality.org/volunteer

Date: Mon, 05 Dec 2005 10:31:33 -0500
From: Jane Brawerman
Subject: Re: [volmonitor] hourly rate for volunteering

Hi Linda and all –

For the past few years have been using a $25 hourly rate for our volunteers trained to conduct technical work, e.g. water quality sampling, field bioassessments, and invertebrate collection and id work, which is accepted by our CT DEP and others for grant match. When I learned from someone that she was distinguishing between technical/management type volunteers and others, and using the $25 rate successfully, I started doing the same. It makes sense, since volunteers perform a wide variety of work, some requiring more training and skill than others.

– Jane

—
Jane L. Brawerman, Executive Director
Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District
deKoven House Community Center – 27 Washington Street
Middletown, CT 06457
Phone (860) 346-3282
Fax (860) 346-3284
www.conservect.org/ctrivercoastal

Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2005 10:13:47 -0500
From: Chris Sullivan
Subject: Re: [volmonitor] hourly rate for volunteering

Here in CT I wrote a grant for the watershed group I volunteer with in Branford (Branford River Project) and the 17.55 hourly match was allowed for volunteer time. The proposal was through the CT Rivers Alliance for the State Watershed Assistance in Small Grants program.

peace
chris

Chris Sullivan
Project SEARCH Coordinator
(203) 734-2513
FAX 203-922-7833
Center for Environmental Research Education
Kellogg Environmental Center
500 Hawthorne Ave
Derby, CT 06418

Date: Wed, 07 Dec 2005 10:21:50 -0500 (GMT-05:00)
From: Michael Schenk
Subject: Re:[volmonitor] hourly rate for volunteering

What if the volunteered services are at a professional level, e.g. taxonomy training or GIS work?

Cheers,

Mike

Date: Wed, 07 Dec 2005 10:09:47 -0600
From: “Lizotte, Michael”
Subject: Re:[volmonitor] hourly rate for volunteering

While the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources rate for general volunteers is very low ($8/hr), they do allow for volunteer professional services to be charged at the going rate, properly documented.

Mike Lizotte