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How Do We Value Our Volunteers?

It is customary in the Church to hold a Stewardship Campaign each Fall. In recent years, the Church has moved from a month-long focus to more of a year-round Stewardship program.

Either way, Stewardship usually focuses on the “T for Treasure.” Neither “Time” nor “Talent” seem to receive their just due.

From my first career on local government administration, and now in ordained ministry, I have always valued the role of the volunteer. My childhood memory recognizes all the local volunteers from whom have I benefited. In this ‘Friday Focus’ I reference examples from parish church-life.

Consider the wide variety of volunteer contributions to a parish: Altar Guild; kitchen and hospitality; buildings, grounds, and gardens; music and worship; council and administrative—Parish Council, Wardens, Envelope Secretary, Treasurer; IT support. I know I have forgotten to mention some.

“What would the parish budget look like if these volunteer duties were all paid positions?”

Think about an example for the church.

  • A person volunteers on Altar Guild, and on a discernment committee for a person discerning a call to ordained ministry. On average, an Altar Guild volunteer will give 2 hours/ week, 4 weeks of the year for 12 months, contributing about 96 hours. At a paid rate of $30.00 per hour, the value for this person’s contribution is $2880.00. (For us here at St. John’s, if we consider that we have one or two people serving on the Altar Guild, the contribution value is much greater.) Often, the same people provide Altar Guild and Flower Guild functions: those contributions then double in value.

The Conference Board of Canada offers the following:

“The contribution of volunteering to Canada’s economy generally goes unmeasured. While Statistics Canada tracks the contribution of donations and the non-profit sector to overall economic activity, these estimates do not include the value of “non-monetary transactions.” As such, the contributions of volunteers are not captured in the national accounts. But even though volunteers are unpaid, their contributions provide tangible benefits and services to many Canadians, making it appropriate to estimate the value of these services.”

The value of our volunteers is incomprehensible and often beyond our ability to calculate! We must always be conscious of their value. The truth is: the Church and some other organizations—could not operate without the volunteer. A factor to consider when undertaking a new program is: “What is our capacity”? Along with the T of treasure do not overlook the time and talent “T’s.”

Blessings,
Archdeacon Brian+