You Can See I Would Be Totally Justified

You Might Get Hurt: Volunteer Waivers

I have often told my siblings that if they committed action I found offensive, there would be consequences. When I was forced to make good on my threats and they went crying to our parents, sometimes I would be vindicated, sometimes I would get punished. The same sort of situation exists in regard to volunteers and waivers/releases you have them sign. (Except presumably you aren’t threatening to beat up your volunteers.) According to lawyer Ellis Carter, making volunteers aware of they might get injured in the course of their duties and having … Read more

Treating Volunteers Like Donors

Like many people in arts organizations, I get to wear many hats in my job.  One of my favorites is that of volunteer coordinator.  Each season, we rely on over 100 volunteers to help our small staff do big work. As I was gearing up for volunteer sign-ups and making some changes to the program, Vu Le’s July, 2015 blog post “Volunteers and the Bahn Mi of Social Justice” came through my inbox. In his post, Vu talks about how nonprofits, many of whom couldn’t do their work without volunteers, are often … Read more

I Dont Always Volunteer

The Value of A Volunteer

It can be quite difficult to determine what sort of value you should place on a volunteer’s time. Yet, it can be very important because grantors often look for in-kind community support of arts organizations. The Independent Sector has calculated this number to be a national average of $22.55 and breakdown the value specifically state by state. Washington D.C. took top prize in 2013 with $38.69. Calculating this number is not only important for grants and other financial reports, but also helping your organization recognize the full value of a volunteer’s assistance. … Read more