Why we need to tackle the cost of volunteering

In 2001 Volunteering Australia and Australian Volunteers International conducted a national consultation on behalf of the IYV2001 Community Council of Advice.  Not surprisingly, a major issue to emerge was the cost to the individual of volunteering. Before the consultation, Volunteering Australia was already aware that volunteers had a number of concerns about their involvement and treatment by volunteer-involving organisations, including unreimbursed expenses.  Ultimately this knowledge led to the development of a suite of documents that were written to protect and advance volunteering and to halt progression of institutionalised exploitation of volunteers.

Increasingly, not-for-profit organisations are competing for public recognition of their cause and subsequent funding and donations, paid and volunteer staff and the 'right' to provide services. Within this climate not-for-profits are also being asked to become more transparent and accountable. Not many not-for-profits would disagree with the notion of transparency and accountability - after all, it's what they in turn expect from business and governments; and most recognise that competition is also the operating norm in 2006.  This, however, has a cost to the organisation; transparency, accountability and contestability cannot be achieved without resources.

Not-for-profits operate on the same premise as every other organisation, and are inventive in how they realise support - this comes in many guises, from social enterprise, fee for service, pro bono professional support, in-kind and other donations and, of course, volunteer support and involvement. The place where not-for-profits have most flexibility around cost-minimisation is with the volunteer; paid staff have to be paid, as do consultants, enterprise comes with its own cost, and pro bono support is a financial impost borne by the company from which the professional comes.  Volunteers, however, incur personal expenses in the course of undertaking volunteer work which may be mileage, meals, child care, training, uniforms, equipment etc., many of which are not reimbursed by the organisation.  Unlike paid workers, volunteers have no recourse through the taxation system and are therefore reliant on the organisation to reimburse. Many organisations do reimburse, but many simply cannot afford it and others have expectations that volunteers will pay their own way as a demonstration of commitment.

For decades volunteers have borne the incidental costs of volunteering, but in more recent times it simply costs more to do things; price rises in transport, petrol, uniforms, childcare are all acting as a barrier to volunteering. With the numbers of Australian volunteers increasing over the past decade, it is possible to argue that this is not a major issue, but our best prediction says that with changing population demographics, and the rise in short-term and episodic volunteering, it will be. Many organisations are reporting that recruitment is now a major problem and this information, coupled with what we know of volunteering trends, leads us to believe we cannot be complacent and some timely scrutiny of the issue is most definitely warranted.

Sha Cordingley, CEO
12 October 2006

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