Skip to main content

What are you looking for?

Enter keywords to search across resources, guides, training, tools, and more.

Create an account for suggestions personalised to you and your organisation

Tools or Toolkits
1 minute read

Volunteer Value and Cost Calculators

Meeting National Standards and Strategy Seal Meeting National Standards and Strategy What's this?

Introduction

Many organisations rely heavily on volunteers, but quantifying their impact can be challenging. These free online calculators, help bridge that gap.

Summary

The Volunteer Value and Cost Calculators estimate the financial cost of hiring paid staff to replace volunteer work. Simply enter the number of volunteer hours by age group, and the calculator provides a dollar value based on average local wages and employer costs.

Benefits for Volunteer Organisations

  • Calculators provide concrete evidence of the financial and societal impact of volunteers, strengthening funding applications and grant proposals.

  • Understanding the value of volunteers helps organisations make strategic decisions about volunteer recruitment, engagement, and resource allocation.

  • Quantifying volunteer contributions allows organisations to effectively show volunteers the true extent of their impact.

Applications

Volunteer management practitioners can promote these resources to volunteer involving organisations and integrate calculator results into reports to highlight the importance of volunteer contributions.

Calculators are available from State and Territory Volunteering Peak Bodies.

Please note: Different valuations and methodologies may be used in different States and Territories.


Downloads and sources

More about the authors

The Centre for Volunteering (The Centre) is a not-for-profit organisation with almost 50 years’ experience providing leadership on volunteering in NSW. This involves playing a key role in advocacy, support services and sector development.

Volunteering Queensland has for 41 years been the state’s peak body for advancing and promoting volunteering. It represents over 300 member volunteer involving organisations and support thousands more through a wider network, encompassing hundreds of thousands of volunteers, who contribute their time, money, and skills to the benefit of all Queenslanders.

Since 1982, Volunteering SA&NT has been the peak body for volunteering. We’re a not-for-profit that provides support to individual volunteers, volunteer involving organisations, businesses and communities who want to make a difference.

Volunteering Tasmania is the peak body for volunteering in Tasmania. Our vision is: an inclusive, thriving and celebrated culture of community participation.

Volunteering Victoria is the state peak body for volunteering, focusing on advocacy, sector development and the promotion of volunteering.

Volunteering WA is the peak body for volunteering in Western Australia, working across community, government, corporate and education organisations to build capacity of volunteer involving organisations, and support volunteering.

Contribute to the Gateway


More like this

Resources

Volunteer Involving Organisations Online Accessibility Survey

This report and executive summary references a survey on Online Accessibility for Volunteer Involving Organisations (VIOs)
1 minute read
The Centre for Volunteering, Volunteering ACT, Volunteering Queensland, Volunteering SA&NT, Volunteering Tasmania, Volunteering Victoria, Volunteering WA, The Knowledge Base
Resources

Engaging and Leading Volunteers

This article and guides provide an overview of volunteer engagement for leaders who manage volunteers.
1 minute read
The Centre for Volunteering, Volunteering ACT, Volunteering Queensland, Volunteering SA&NT, Volunteering Tasmania, Volunteering Victoria, The Knowledge Base
Resources

Foundations of Volunteer Management: Manage and Promote Diversity

This online course teaches strategies for creating a respectful, inclusive work environment that values diversity. It covers communication, leadership, and creating effective diversity plans.
1 minute read
The Centre for Volunteering, Volunteering ACT, Volunteering Queensland, Volunteering SA&NT, Volunteering Tasmania, Volunteering Victoria, Volunteering WA, The Knowledge Base
Be Collective
Tech

Be Collective

A volunteer management & community engagement platform. Be Collective is all about empowering volunteering and the organisations supporting volunteering to build stronger, more sustainable networks for doing good.
Volunteer database Recruitment Rostering / scheduling Onboarding / training Volunteer performance/recognition Communication / engagement Task management Compliance Reporting Resource management Social media Event management Donations
Better Impact
Tech

Better Impact

Better Impact offers a comprehensive software solution for volunteer program management, to simplify administrative tasks and enhance volunteer engagement across every stage of the volunteer lifecycle.
Volunteer database Recruitment Rostering / scheduling Onboarding / training Volunteer performance/recognition Communication / engagement Compliance Reporting Social media Donations
FreddyMatch
Tech

FreddyMatch

FreddyMatch is a web-based platform that facilitates and optimises the process of volunteering. We help match organisations and volunteers based on their unique interests, skill sets, location and availability using the “FreddyMatch” algorithm.
Volunteer database Recruitment Rostering / scheduling Onboarding / training Volunteer performance/recognition Communication / engagement Task management Compliance Reporting Resource management Social media Event management
scheduled

National Standards Deep Dive: Standard 8

Take a deep dive into Standard 8 of the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement
The Centre for Volunteering
Free
scheduled

Introduction to the Volunteer Involvement Cycle

Join us for an in-depth training session introducing the Volunteer Involvement Cycle, a new resource aligned with the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement.
Volunteering Victoria
FREE
scheduled

The National Standards for Volunteer Involvement and Accreditation

Take the next step in your volunteer involvement by pursuing National Standards accreditation
The Centre for Volunteering
Free