The Economic 

Value of 

Volunteers

Key Results from 

ACL Programs

ACL VOLUNTEERISM STUDY | AUGUST 2021
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This infographic was prepared by the Office of Performance and Evaluation (OPE), Center for Policy and Evaluation, 

Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in partnership 

with New Editions Consulting, Inc., under contract number HHSP233201500113I/HHSP23337002T. 

The Important Role of Volunteers in 

Federal Programs That Support Older Adults 

and People With Disabilities

this mission, ACL funds a variety of 

programs that help older adults and 

those with disabilities to access 

services and other assistance needed 

to maintain independence and participate in community activities. Generally, ACL provides funding to state agencies that, in turn, distribute funds to 

service providers.

Since 2012, the mission of the 

Administration for Community Living 

(ACL)—one of 11 operating divisions in 

the U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services—is to “maximize the 

independence, well-being, and health 

of older adults, people with disabilities across the life-span, and their 

families and caregivers.” To achieve 
Key Results | 1

WHAT ROLE DO VOLUNTEERS PLAY?

ACL programs depend on volunteers! Volunteers play 

an essential role in delivering ACL program services to 

those in need. Without volunteers, many local services 

providers would not be able to provide services or 

effectively reach individuals in the community.

Here is a brief description of two ACL programs 

that rely on volunteers:

Older Americans Act (OAA) Programs

The OAA is one of the country’s leading vehicles 

for providing services and supports to older adults 

(generally age 60 and older) nationwide. OAA Title III 

provides funding for nutrition and other supportive 

services (congregate meals served at group sites; 

home-delivered meals; nutrition counseling; family 

caregiver supports; supportive services such as home 

care, adult day services, and assisted transportation). 

OAA Title VII provides funding for the Long-Term Care 

Ombudsman Program (LTCOP), which helps the rights 

of older adults by investigating and resolving complaints made by or on behalf of older adults in nursing 

homes or other long-term care facilities.

State Health Insurance Assistance Programs 

(SHIPs)

SHIPs empower, educate, and assist Medicare-eligible individuals, their families, and their caregivers to 

make informed health insurance decisions that optimize access to care and benefits. They accomplish this 

through outreach, one-on-one assistance, counseling, 

and training. Specifically, SHIPs assist individuals in 

obtaining coverage through Original Medicare (Parts A 

& B), Medicare Advantage (Part C), Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage (Part D), and Medicare Supplement (Medigap), and assist beneficiaries with limited 

income to apply for programs such as Medicaid, 

Medicare Savings Program and Extra Help/Low Income 

Subsidy, which help reduce healthcare costs.

“The SHIP, Long-Term Care 

Ombudsman, nutrition program, 

transportation programs—all of 

those programs, rely heavily on 

volunteers to operate. Since the 

inception of the Older Americans 

Act, I would say, the volunteers 

have been critical.” 

 —ACL Aging Services 

 Program Specialist
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WHAT DO OAA TITLE III 

VOLUNTEERS DO?

■ Deliver meals to individuals’ 

homes

■ Serve food at congregate 

meal sites

■ Teach health promotion and 

disease prevention classes 

■ Help with housework 

■ Provide legal assistance

■ Organize activities 

in senior centers

■ Support family caregivers

■ Provide transportation 

assistance, and 

much more ...

OAA Title III Program Volunteers

62,467,200

volunteer hours contributed

equal to approximately

$1.7 billion

VOLUNTEER STAFF FTES

56%

(31,234)

PAID STAFF FTES

44%

(24,642)

AREA AGENCY ON AGING FTE COUNT, 2019
Key Results | 3

HOW MUCH TIME AND VALUE 

DO VOLUNTEERS CONTRIBUTE?

In FY 2019, OAA Title III program services were provided primarily by Area Agency on Aging (AAA) volunteers.

Volunteers contributed approximately 62,467,200 

hours to OAA Title III AAAs in FY 2019. Based on the 

estimated hours contributed by OAA Title III volunteers 

in FY 2019, the economic value of AAA volunteers was 

equal to approximately $1.7 billion for that fiscal year. 

This represents a very large economic value, considering that federal funding for OAA Title III was just $1.49 

billion in FY 2019. In fact, the value provided by OAA 

Title III AAA volunteers exceeded federal funding for 

the program.

The value provided by OAA 

Title III AAA volunteers exceeded 

federal funding for the program.

“Oftentimes home-delivered meals 

programs rely on volunteer drivers to 

deliver the meals. The same would 

go at senior center or congregate 

meal sites. There may be one or two 

paid staff, but the rest are volunteers. The same would go for senior 

centers or adult day programs. 

The entertainment that comes in, 

the singing groups, and arts and 

crafts—that is largely volunteer and 

allows a program to offer a range 

of opportunities and activities that 

wouldn’t be possible if you had to 

pay somebody to have on staff. So 

when we say that the aging services 

network is heavily volunteer based, 

that’s absolutely true, but in turn 

those volunteers and the volunteer 

hours are used by programs as 

in-kind match, so there is a dollar 

value to them. ” 

 —Director, ACL Office of 

 Supportive and 

 Caregiver Services 
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■ Educate residents about their rights

■ Help solve problems and address 

resident complaints

WHAT DO OAA TITLE VII LTCOP 

VOLUNTEERS DO?

■ Conduct long-term care facility visits 

■ Interact with residents, resident 

representatives, and staff to help meet 

residents’ needs

OAA Title VII LTCOP Volunteers

514,095

volunteer hours contributed

equal to approximately

$14 million

CERTIFIED VOLUNTEER 

OMBUDSMAN TIME

7.2 HOURS OF WORK 

PER MONTH/86.5 

HOURS PER YEAR

THE VALUE OF LABOR 

CONTRIBUTED:

$2,351 PER VOLUNTEER 

PER YEAR/$196 PER 

MONTH

= 257

UNPAID FTE WORKERS
Key Results | 5

HOW MUCH TIME AND VALUE 

DO VOLUNTEERS CONTRIBUTE?

Certified volunteer ombudsmen1 donated 514,095

hours of their time in FY 2019, which is equivalent to 

approximately 257 unpaid FTE workers. On average, 

each volunteer contributed 7.2 hours of work per 

month to the program, or 86.5 hours per year. 

Based on the hours contributed by certified LTCOP volunteers, the economic value of volunteers to the OAA 

Title VII LTCOP was equal to approximately $14 million 

for FY 2019. OAA Title VII LTCOP federal funding was 

just $16.9 million for FY 2019. The value of labor contributed by Title VII volunteers translates into $2,351 

per volunteer per year or $196 per month. 

For additional details on the use of volunteers in the 

LTCOP, see the 2019 LTCOP Research Brief. “Strengthening the Aging and Disability Networks: Use of 

Volunteers in Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs”.

1 “Ombudsman” refers to the State Ombudsman. All other staff that 

perform duties of the Office are “designated representatives of the 

Office” although many use the term “ombudsman” in practice. The 

National Ombudsman Reporting System uses the term “certified” 

rather than “designated.”

“When we go through the facilities, 

we’re looking for a couple of specific 

things. One, in general, how do the 

residents look: Are they clean? Are 

they appropriately dressed? Are they 

comfortable, are they able to interact, 

how do they think things are going? 

Open-ended questions that are intended to identify issues from their 

perspective. And, of course, what we 

do initially is introduce ourselves as 

advocates for the residents.” 

 —LTCOP Volunteer 
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SHIP Volunteers

WHAT DO SHIP 

VOLUNTEERS DO?

■ Conduct outreach to Medicare beneficiaries 

to provide education, answer questions, 

troubleshoot, and assist with enrollment

■ Give public presentations at education 

or training events 

■ Provide one-on-one assistance to assess 

client health services needs and match 

them with health plans 

■ Recruit and train new 

team members

equal to approximately

$28 million

SHIP VOLUNTEER TIME

13.4 HOURS OF WORK 

PER MONTH/160.5 

HOURS PER YEAR

THE VALUE OF LABOR 

CONTRIBUTED:

$4,364 PER VOLUNTEER 

PER YEAR/$364

 PER MONTH

= 514

UNPAID FTE WORKERS

1,027,358

volunteer hours contributed
Key Results | 7

“I think it’s made me a complete 

person. It gives me great satisfaction to assist others, and I think that, 

besides giving me something to do, 

it keeps me sane. It keeps me alert, 

and I think it keeps me engaged. 

I think that’s probably the better 

word for everything. It does give me 

great satisfaction, you know, to help 

others.” 

 —SHIP Volunteer 

HOW MUCH TIME AND VALUE 

DO VOLUNTEERS CONTRIBUTE?

In grant year 2019,2 supporting the SHIP program 

in these responsibilities were 2,651 FTE workers 

paid through SHIP, 4,495 FTE workers paid in kind,3 

and 6,403 volunteer workers. Volunteers donated 

1,027,358 hours of time to SHIPs, equating to approximately 514 FTE volunteer workers. On average, each 

volunteer contributed 13.4 hours of work per month to 

the program, or 160.5 hours per year.

Based on the hours contributed by SHIP volunteers, 

the economic value of volunteers was equal to 

almost $28 million in grant year 2019. This translates 

into $4,364 per volunteer per year. With an average 

contribution of 13.4 hours of work per volunteer per 

month, each volunteer provided an average economic 

value of $364 per month. 

2 SHIPs reported data for the grant year April 1, 2019 – 

March 30, 2020.

3 In Kind (“donated”): Anyone working with the program that is 

paid by a source other than SHIP, e.g., care managers at Housing 

and Urban Development housing who are doing SHIP work as part 

of their job with the housing complex.
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For additional details about the economic value of volunteers to these 

programs see the Final Study Report. For a summary of effective volunteer 

practices identified by these programs, see the practice guide.