Strange, I have been wondering the same thing myself over the past couple of weeks. I start to look and see this thread.

The monetary value of a WCG has a few worthwhile uses.

1. When is a machine no longer worth running. This was what drove me to ask the question. At some point it would be better just to donate cash to charities than waste it on inefficient giving.

2. What hardware upgrades make sense. If I can upgrade my processor for an extra $100 and generate 20,000 extra points a day. Is this a plus in terms of giving.

3. Just an overall understanding of the value of the time and money I am donating to this non-charity.

I must say it surprises me that IBM does not have estimates of the value of the work generated. It would be out of character not to have them.

An alternative would to look at the research project estimates of the cost of replacing the WCG work. I would expect at least a few would have those estimates. I would think they may even be included in proposals to the WCG.

Just some thoughts.