Apr 21, 2025

How do you determine the value of a volunteer? Is it through the dollar amount of a volunteer hour? The number of hours they give each year? Each Volunteer Appreciation Week, we celebrate the incredible impact of our volunteers—often by recognizing those who dedicate countless hours and by sharing the tangible difference their efforts make for the animals in our care.

In 2024 alone, volunteers contributed 82,334 hours across all APA! programs. That’s the equivalent of 40 full-time staff positions. Their impact is felt in the 47,000 outings they gave to our shelter dogs, the thousands of loads of laundry washed and folded, and in the countless moments where their time allowed staff to focus on more urgent needs—whether working with complex behavior cases or responding to sudden arrivals of neonatal kittens needing immediate care and foster placement.

While it may feel transactional, volunteer hours do have a real dollar value for a nonprofit organization. According to Independent Sector, the average value of a volunteer hour in 2023 was $33.49, with Texas averaging $31.49. By that measure, our volunteers contributed the equivalent of $2.59 million—no small portion of our annual budget. Their service allows us to stretch every dollar further, helping us save hundreds, if not thousands, more animals each year.

But for most volunteers, that’s not what matters. They don’t measure their value in dollars saved or hours logged. Their value comes from the connections they make—both with fellow volunteers and with the animals they help. It’s in the joy of seeing a dog they’ve worked with find a home, or in the dedication it takes to personally drive an animal across the country to ensure it receives the care it deserves.

Each volunteer has a deeply personal reason for giving their time. As we celebrate them during Volunteer Appreciation Week, let’s not forget to acknowledge what they value—and make sure they feel it every step of the way.

Written by Mychal Warner, Volunteer Coordinator. Mychal joined the Volunteer Department in late 2021. Outside of APA!, Mychal loves to spend time with his family which includes two APA! pups, Finn & Mylo.

Source: Austin Pets Alive