So… I’ve written a report. But I didn’t mean to.
What I set myself as a 15 minutes task ended up being a 58 page report (don’t worry, there are lots of images) and I have not dared to calculate how much of my spare time this took.
I run two volunteer centre charities and so have more than enough to do without giving myself extra work. Also, is the world crying out for yet another report? Nevertheless, I realised this was something important and that it was an opportunity to scream out what so many in the voluntary sector know and feel but in terms that people outside the sector can understand and relate to.
The 15 minutes task I set myself was to go online and find a formula so I could calculate the monetary value of trustees in the London Boroughs I work in (Hammersmith & Fulham and Camden). I could use this data to help promote just how important and valuable this under-appreciated volunteer role is. A quick look around my blog and you will see I am strong advocate that trustee is one of the best volunteer roles there is.
All I needed was the wage rate of an accepted comparator job role and find out the number of charities in each borough. That shouldn’t be too hard should it? National organisations in our sector or government or others must have looked at this and established a formula to use?
Nope.
This was taking more than 15 minutes and I was getting frustrated. In terms of actual calculations the best I could find was a 2017 ‘Taken on Trust: awareness and effectiveness of charity trustees in England and Wales‘ report produced by Charity Commission and partners. When I say this was the best I could find. It was the only thing I could find.
This used average national wage as a comparator. I was disappointed. This felt like a cop out. It felt like it was chosen just because there is reliable and regularly updated data for this measure and that it is a conservative ‘safe’ comparator that no one will accuse of being an over-estimation. However, as well as being a comparator that massively under-estimates the value of trustees it is not a valid one as the average national wage has absolutely nothing to do with the actual role of being a trustee? The two are not related.
Other research, dating more than ten years ago, referenced using ‘Senior Manager’ as an acceptable comparator?! What??? Could this be more vague? Senior Manager in what sort of organisation? Which sector? How senior is senior? This felt very weak, as if it was chosen to show that the trustee role has more importance than the average job, that it has responsibilities, but it is so vague how do you pick which actual Senior Manager role to use? Also, most importantly, a Senior Manager does not have the same level of responsibilities as a charity trustee. A Senior Manager is not legally responsible for the organisation they are a Senior Manager for.
The 15 minutes I set for myself for this task had ended hours ago.
I wasn’t going to let this lie. This sort of data and calculations should exist and if it didn’t, then I was going to have to create it myself.
“naïveté, that fabulous quality that keeps you from knowing just how unsuited you are for what you are about to do.”
Steve Martin
My research continued at length and finally I found a reasonable and authentic comparator for the volunteer charity trustee role. I just needed then to find out how many charities were in a particular local authority area. The Charity Commission provide data on this but they told me it is imprecise.
I now realised why this area had not been tackled much before … it was difficult. However, I was determined and as long as I was open about my assumptions and calculations then authentic results could be obtained. All calculations in this area are imprecise and estimates, but as long as that is recognised when analysing and making conclusions then it is perfectly valid.
Carrying out this research not only led to an authentic calculation of the monetary value of trustees, but it also enabled, through extrapolating the results, an indicative value calculation of all volunteering. Even accounting for margins of error, volunteering is clearly of more value and importance than had been given credit previously. If government were aware that volunteering is just as important as all manufacturing, what would it do differently?
I was also aware that I might have massive bias. I run two volunteer centre charities and it could easily be seen that I am trying to inflate the importance of volunteering for the benefit of my own organisations. This was not and is not my agenda, I just wanted to spend 15 minutes to find an acceptable formula to show how important trustees are through a monetary value that people outside my sector can relate to.
To help combat any bias, I sent the first iteration of my report to over 30 people across the private, public and community sectors. These kind, wonderful and expert people gave up their time and came back to me with their comments, suggestions and challenges. These were extremely helpful and their comments helped to refine the formulas and assumptions used. Therefore, I think I can legitimately say I have been pro-active to counter any bias I might have in producing this report.
The results of the calculations carried out surprised me so they may surprise you too. This led me to add a page, ‘But the numbers are too big?’ so that readers can rationalise and understand why the numbers are as large as they are. It is also noted in the report that I calculate the monetary value, as in the financial equivalent job role, and not the full economic value which will be much higher as it includes the add on multiplier effect of the volunteering itself which can benefit the person and the wider community.
This report is presented by Works4U, a small not-for-profit social enterprise that punches far above its weight in the world of employee volunteering. It does not have a Comms team or a PR agency to support it. Any help you can to like, comment and share the report so it can reach as many people as possible will be greatly appreciated. By sharing it there is also the tiny possibility you might change the perception of decision-makers about the importance of volunteering.
I hope you enjoy the report:
‘Monetary Value of Trustees 2023‘ This links to a page on the Works4U website where you can view or download the report.
Dominic Pinkney's World of Volunteering 