The social value of volunteering in Scotland
Volunteer Scotland worked with social value measurement specialists State of Life to explore the social value of volunteering in Scotland. The research looked at two national datasets: the Scottish Household Survey from 2022 and the Understanding Society Scottish dataset.
Key findings
Although people who volunteer occasionally do not necessarily have higher wellbeing than non-volunteers, people who volunteer regularly (formally or informally) experience statistically significantly higher mental wellbeing.
The social value of weekly formal volunteering in Scotland is worth approximately £1000 per person per year, roughly equivalent to £20 a week (£19.23).
Scaled to the population level, the total social value generated by formal weekly volunteering is approximately £530 million.
When combined with the economic value of the time people spend formally volunteering (£1.8 billion), it means that Scottish volunteers are contributing £2.3 billion to the Scottish economy in terms of their time and higher wellbeing (note: this does not account for the costs of volunteering). This is more than the gross value added of the arts, entertainment and recreation sector to the Scottish economy (worth £2.1 billion).
