This is the fifth article in a series of six NPQ articles that first challenge—and then change—the way we think about volunteers. In this series, The Unexpected Value of Volunteers, author Jan Masaoka takes on the underappreciated topic of volunteerism, provides some unexpected ideas, and points the way toward a public policy agenda on volunteerism.
Given the vast landscape of laws regarding paid staff, there’s surprisingly little law addressing volunteerism. Here, I propose action items in the form of a public policy agenda for volunteerism. I will also summarize current law (of course, this article does not constitute legal advice). I hope this will spark your enthusiastic agreement, disagreement, and suggestions!
But first, why does volunteerism need a policy agenda?
In this series, I have compared volunteers to bees—who are essential for our food supply but so often overlooked. If people wrote about bees the way the field writes about volunteers, we might see articles about “appreciating bees” and “how to attract bees to your garden,” but not about banning certain pesticides or conserving wild bee habitats.
These policies…offer a framework to protect volunteers, protect nonprofits, and…enable the creation of more nonprofit volunteer opportunities.
But just as environmental policy can protect bees, public policy can support volunteers. That said, not all public policy is helpful. In general, policy agendas tend to lean too far in one of two directions—either glorious-sounding but too abstract to be practical, or too wonky and specific to be inspiring.
Fair warning: this list is somewhat wonky. But below is a list of seven measures that, if enacted, could help tangibly recognize and support the enormous contributions of volunteers to the nation’s physical, emotional, economic, and spiritual health.
A Seven-Point Public Policy Framework
To begin with, for public policy purposes, volunteer work is done by choice (not by coercion), is unpaid, and is not done for for-profit entities, for family members, nor friends. Note that informal volunteering, such as taking a neighbor to the doctor, is valuable to society but should not be included in volunteering statistics, as doing so artificially inflates statistics.
These policies, in short, offer a framework to protect volunteers, protect nonprofits, and, most importantly, enable the creation of more nonprofit volunteer opportunities for the betterment of the individuals and nonprofits involved—and for society as a whole.
With no further ado, here’s my suggested set of starter policies:
- Establish a consistent definition of a volunteer for public policy purposes
This definition can be as simple as a volunteer that works by choice,
without compensation, and for the public good (not only for family and neighbors).
Legal definitions of volunteers such as this one appropriately aim to:
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- Prevent exploitation under the guise of volunteering (such as the Fair Labor Standards Act that prohibits for-profit employers from requiring their employees to volunteer for them).
- Ensure volunteers don’t replace union government workers.
- Clarify that certain groups of people are not volunteers under this definition as they are compensated, such as: a) court-appointed volunteers, who agree to community service hours instead of a fine or jail time; b) students who do unpaid work to meet educational requirements; and c) members of the military, AmeriCorps, and other “corps” who are compensated.
- Workers Compensation
Ensure people volunteering for government agencies (disaster relief, hospitals, and so on) are covered by workers’ compensation policies—and allow nonprofits in all states to obtain workers’ compensation coverage for their volunteers. Over time, phase in requirements for nonprofits. (Current estimates are that nonprofits pay $62 a month per person covered).
Unfortunately, worker compensation law for volunteers is complicated and varies state by state. Clearer standards are required.
- Protect volunteers in workplaces
Somewhat surprisingly, volunteers are not covered under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) because they are not employees. It’s easy: OSHA should cover volunteers. - Volunteers should be protected from liability to a reasonable degree
The federal Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 appropriately protects volunteers from liability for harm caused by them as long as they are: a) performing within their assignments, b) acting in good faith, c) not engaging in criminal behavior or reckless negligence, and d) are certified or licensed, if such is required.
Example: a volunteer at a preschool cannot be held liable if, for instance, a child falls on the playground and is hurt. By reducing fear of liability, the act encourages volunteering.
But there are gaps in the law currently. For example, unpaid board members should be covered by volunteer immunity laws. While individual board members (both paid and unpaid) can and should be held liable in instances of gross negligence, uncompensated board members should not be held to the same standards as compensated board members in publicly traded for-profit corporations.
Keep in mind, though that many disputes related to board member liability have arisen in the past, such as:
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- A board member sued other board members because they voted him off the board after hearing he had acted inappropriately with an intern—without investigating whether it was true or not.
- A board member threatened to sue when the board decided not to renew his term—he claimed such action hurt his reputation.
- A court held that a board cannot stop a lawsuit from a board member by voting that member off the board.
Law associations and nonprofit advocates should develop standards and definitions that can be consistently adopted to reduce risk and protect volunteers.
- Fund background checks for volunteers when required by law, grant or contract
While there are no federal requirements that apply to all volunteers, two laws—the National Child Protection Act and the Volunteers for Children Act—allow (but do not mandate) nonprofits to require background checks if the volunteer will be working with vulnerable people. Some federally funded programs have specific requirements, such as background checks for volunteers at early childhood development programs.
In addition, states and local governments often require the following in various circumstances:
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- Background checks of various types
- Fingerprinting
- Proof of any required certification (such as a driver’s license or nursing license)
- A tuberculosis test
- Immunizations
- Training in reporting abuse
Background checks help protect clients, patrons, and staff, but overly burdensome checks discourage volunteers and are costly to nonprofits. Funders should include these costs in grants or contracts.
Volunteer mileage reimbursements should be made equivalent to business mileage rates.
- Reimburse mileage for volunteers at employee rates
Volunteer mileage should be reimbursed at the federally established employee zmileage rate, not at the current 14¢ per mile.
The 2025 federally established mileage reimbursement rate for businesses is 70¢, compared with 14¢ for volunteer miles. In other words, if a lawyer drives 10 miles to see a client, she can deduct $7.00. If she drives 10 miles to volunteer at a food bank, she can only deduct $1.40. Volunteer mileage reimbursements should be made equivalent to business mileage rates.
- Standardize and correct how volunteer time is reported on financial statements, and distinguish it as such
GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) requires that volunteer time be reported on financial statements, but only if: a) it is performed by professionals with specialized skills, and b) if the activity builds a tangible asset. In other words, a nonprofit such as Habitat for Humanity should include the donated time of architects and electricians building a house, but a hospice cannot include volunteers’ time supporting patients or their families. In sharp contrast, the federal Form 990 does not allow volunteer time of any sort to be reported in its financial report sections.
Both consistency and reason demand that all volunteer time should be included in financial reporting and identified as such. For example, $100,000 in volunteer time should be reported as volunteer time revenue and volunteer time expense (rather than folded into contribution revenue and salaries expense).
A Broader Charge: Treat Volunteer Human Resources as a Field
Establishing a policy framework for volunteerism is part of a broader process of valuing volunteer management as a field.
As I noted in this column a month ago, too often the job of volunteer manager is given to an energetic, personable young woman (yes, almost always women) without relevant background, who thereafter receives no training or professional development. Almost no one stays in volunteer management positions for long because in most nonprofits it’s a dead-end, poorly regarded job.
But this can change! It is worth noting that youth development used to be thought of the same way. But due to years of advocacy, youth development jobs are now better paid, better respected, and people stay in those roles much longer. Universities offer courses and degrees in youth development.
Establishing a policy framework for volunteerism is part of a broader process of valuing volunteer management as a field. In so doing all stand to gain: volunteers, nonprofits, and the people they serve.
In short, working together to flesh out and fight for a policy agenda can bring together nonprofits, legal experts, researchers, and regulators to develop final proposals. And in the absence of such, nonprofit leaders must get started anyway.
We nonprofits regularly fight for funding, for a favorable regulatory climate, for our patients, students, and patrons. We must also fight for our volunteers.
