I recived this article from the OzVPM email List I am apart of and which Andy Fryar looks after (He is the one listed below)
Article: Volunteers Worth More to Australia Than Mining
From pro Bono Australia:
An interesting article - particularly in the way that the researchers valued the $$ rate of volunteer time.
Interested to hear your thoughts
Andy Fryar
OzVPM
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A University of Adelaide study has found that volunteering in Australia is now worth more than the mining industry, declaring the true extent of its monetary value to be more than $200 billion a year.
Its economic contribution to Australian society outstrips revenue sources from mining, agriculture and the retail sector, according to Dr Lisel O'Dwyer, a Senior Research Associate in the University's School of Social Sciences.
"More than 6.4 million people volunteer their time in Australia, which is double the number in 1995. And with the looming retirement of the first wave of baby boomers, these figures are likely to increase at an even more rapid rate," Dr O'Dwyer says.
"There are many ways to measure the value of volunteering and the benefits flow both ways.
"Volunteers get a lot of satisfaction from helping others, enhancing the quality of their life and their health. The benefits to the recipients are obvious and there are also positive spin-offs for governments and workplaces."
"The value of volunteering is difficult to measure. Volunteers gain a broad range of new skills that are transferable to their workplace, for example. They are healthier, fitter, more mentally alert and more socially connected than people who do not volunteer. These benefits may even act as a pathway to employment," Dr O'Dwyer says.
She says current estimates relating to the economic value of volunteering are likely to be "gross under-representations" but warns that focusing on the monetary value may even be damaging if it reinforces the notion that volunteering is all about saving money.
"The research conservatively calculated the hourly rate for volunteers at around $7 per hour or 25 per cent of the equivalent paid job".
"To use the full dollar value would be just mind-boggling," Dr O'Dwyer told Pro Bono Australia News.
While the economic value of volunteering to Australia is huge, Dr O'Dwyer says the true value of volunteering goes far beyond a dollar figure.
"One hour of a volunteer's time needs to be valued not just once but up to 9 times – and at different rates - from the society, the employer, the organisation, the government program and the volunteer themsleves.
Dr O'Dwyer said a previous study in 2003 by Dr Peter Mayer from the University of Adelaide revealed one of the less tangible, potential effects of volunteering is a reduced crime rate.
Dr Mayer's study suggested that even a one per cent increase in social capital (including volunteering) was likely to lead to falls in homicides, sexual assaults, burglaries and vehicle thefts.
"If a volunteer fire fighter saves the life of a child, what is that worth? If environmental degradation is slowed because of millions of trees planted by volunteer conservationists, what is that worth? And if an elderly person receives a hot meal five days a week, what is that worth?
According to Volunteering Australia, people aged between 40-54 comprise the highest bracket of volunteers, with slightly more women (40 per cent) than men (37 per cent) giving their time to voluntary work.
Employed people are more likely to volunteer, as are couples with dependent children aged five to 17 years.
The 2005 Giving Australia: Research on Philanthropy in Australia report revealed the number of hours donated by volunteers had risen 16 per cent since 2000, with 41 per cent of adult Australians volunteering 836 million hours with an average of 132 hours per year per volunteer.
Dr O'Dwyer's research findings form a chapter in a forthcoming book, Positive Ageing: Think Volunteering, which will be published by Volunteering SA & NT later this year.
Article: Volunteers Worth More to Australia Than Mining
From pro Bono Australia:
An interesting article - particularly in the way that the researchers valued the $$ rate of volunteer time.
Interested to hear your thoughts
Andy Fryar
OzVPM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A University of Adelaide study has found that volunteering in Australia is now worth more than the mining industry, declaring the true extent of its monetary value to be more than $200 billion a year.
Its economic contribution to Australian society outstrips revenue sources from mining, agriculture and the retail sector, according to Dr Lisel O'Dwyer, a Senior Research Associate in the University's School of Social Sciences.
"More than 6.4 million people volunteer their time in Australia, which is double the number in 1995. And with the looming retirement of the first wave of baby boomers, these figures are likely to increase at an even more rapid rate," Dr O'Dwyer says.
"There are many ways to measure the value of volunteering and the benefits flow both ways.
"Volunteers get a lot of satisfaction from helping others, enhancing the quality of their life and their health. The benefits to the recipients are obvious and there are also positive spin-offs for governments and workplaces."
"The value of volunteering is difficult to measure. Volunteers gain a broad range of new skills that are transferable to their workplace, for example. They are healthier, fitter, more mentally alert and more socially connected than people who do not volunteer. These benefits may even act as a pathway to employment," Dr O'Dwyer says.
She says current estimates relating to the economic value of volunteering are likely to be "gross under-representations" but warns that focusing on the monetary value may even be damaging if it reinforces the notion that volunteering is all about saving money.
"The research conservatively calculated the hourly rate for volunteers at around $7 per hour or 25 per cent of the equivalent paid job".
"To use the full dollar value would be just mind-boggling," Dr O'Dwyer told Pro Bono Australia News.
While the economic value of volunteering to Australia is huge, Dr O'Dwyer says the true value of volunteering goes far beyond a dollar figure.
"One hour of a volunteer's time needs to be valued not just once but up to 9 times – and at different rates - from the society, the employer, the organisation, the government program and the volunteer themsleves.
Dr O'Dwyer said a previous study in 2003 by Dr Peter Mayer from the University of Adelaide revealed one of the less tangible, potential effects of volunteering is a reduced crime rate.
Dr Mayer's study suggested that even a one per cent increase in social capital (including volunteering) was likely to lead to falls in homicides, sexual assaults, burglaries and vehicle thefts.
"If a volunteer fire fighter saves the life of a child, what is that worth? If environmental degradation is slowed because of millions of trees planted by volunteer conservationists, what is that worth? And if an elderly person receives a hot meal five days a week, what is that worth?
According to Volunteering Australia, people aged between 40-54 comprise the highest bracket of volunteers, with slightly more women (40 per cent) than men (37 per cent) giving their time to voluntary work.
Employed people are more likely to volunteer, as are couples with dependent children aged five to 17 years.
The 2005 Giving Australia: Research on Philanthropy in Australia report revealed the number of hours donated by volunteers had risen 16 per cent since 2000, with 41 per cent of adult Australians volunteering 836 million hours with an average of 132 hours per year per volunteer.
Dr O'Dwyer's research findings form a chapter in a forthcoming book, Positive Ageing: Think Volunteering, which will be published by Volunteering SA & NT later this year.
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