I like the idea of presenting the value of the volunteers to the BOE. Let your volunteers know you're going to do this, and use an independently calculated $ per hour as JHB pointed out. That should help the volunteers to feel more valuable AND encourage them to keep track of their time!
I've also seen parent groups who make a presentation at the last school board meeting of the year where they present an oversized check from the PTO to the district representing the $$ value of hours worked by volunteers.
Up until last year, our State PTA collected the volunteer hours from each PTA and during the legislative session (or just the convention to an invited politician) We presented them with the oversized check totaling the entire state's "Value in Volunteer Acknowledgement" VIVA. Only they used minimum wage to total the amount. close to 200 schools, some with 7000+ in accumilated hours, THAT's a lot of money.
The premise was to show them our worth in a language they understood, dollars and cents.
It's good to know it's "legally" worth more and better to know it can be helpful in obtaining grans.
I love the $ figure. I'm going to use it at our first PTO meeting next week. And being a former PTO treasurer, it's a natural for me to do some quick math to estimate the value of our time. I'm a millionaire!
jhb and Tim thanks for the heads up and tips. As a group i kept track but this year we actually set a school wide volunteer goal that details all volunteers. It is amazing how quick the time adds up! So far no complaints on having to sign in on the volunteer log sheet..yeah!!!
"When you stop learning you stop growing."
