How to Calculate the Financial Value of Employee Volunteering
Putting a pound value on volunteer hours helps make the case to leadership. Here's the methodology, the common mistakes, and how to present the number confidently.
Mark D.
Head of People · 30 October 2025
One of the most powerful things you can put in a board report is a pound figure. "Our employees volunteered 1,200 hours — worth £21,600 to the community." It makes the abstract concrete.
But how do you calculate it, and how do you defend the number?
The three main methodologies
1. Employee hourly rate
The most rigorous method: calculate each employee's average hourly rate based on salary, and use that as the value of their volunteer time.
Example: 100 employees averaging £35,000 salary = £16.83/hour. 1,000 volunteer hours = £16,830.
This is defensible because it reflects the actual opportunity cost — what the organisation is contributing by allowing employees to volunteer during work hours.
2. National average hourly rate
A simpler approach: use a national or sector average hourly rate. The UK Living Wage or UK Average Earnings are common choices (around £14–£20/hour).
Example: 1,000 volunteer hours × £18/hour = £18,000.
This is easier to calculate and less variable, but doesn't reflect your specific workforce.
3. Replacement cost
What would the charity have had to pay to get the same work done commercially? This requires more data from charity partners but gives the highest and most charity-relevant figure.
Which method should you use?
For internal reporting: employee hourly rate is most defensible.
For external reporting or impact summaries: national average rate is most consistent and comparable.
For partnership reporting with specific charities: replacement cost, if you can get the data.
With Kind Folk uses your configured hourly rate (set per employee or as an org-wide default) to calculate financial value automatically. Every verified volunteer hour contributes to the total.
Common mistakes
Counting unverified hours: Only include verified attendance in your financial value figure. Registrations don't count — attendance does.
Double-counting: If an employee volunteers twice in a month, count both, but make sure your tracking system records them as separate events.
Ignoring additionality: Some stakeholders will ask "would the charity have gotten this help anyway?" Be ready to address this, especially for skills-based volunteering.
Presenting without context: £21,600 sounds impressive. But £21,600 delivered across 47 events supporting 12 charities, contributing to SDG 3 (Good Health) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities) tells a story.
Presenting the number
Always present financial value alongside: - Total hours (the underlying metric) - Number of participants (shows breadth) - Number of events (shows consistency) - Top outcomes (makes it real)
The pound figure is the hook. The rest is the evidence.
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