From the article: Should Nonprofits Save Money by Replacing Staff with Volunteers?
It is a good thing that people are more interested than ever in volunteering. Because nonprofits need them more than ever. They are helping us get the work done that might be unaffordable in this recession. How is your organization using volunteers? What creative ways have you found to put volunteers to work? Share Your Story
Keeping to the right side of th elaw
- While fully utilising or developing skilled volunteers to perform tasks that an employee could do is good thinking (it can really help out charities when times are tough or when staff are overburdened) actually replacing staff with volunteers is illegal so please keep things clear for you and your organisation to stay on the right side of the law. You also need to be clear that you are not creating any sort of “contract” with a volunteer by stipulating specific hours of work or length, any kind of remuneration (other than out of pocket expenses directly incurred through volunteering) or any kind of notice period. Definitely utilise volunteers for broader roles (such as policy development, finance, research etc) which could includes things typically done by employees but just don’t replace an employee with a volunteer or you could find yourself in an uncomfortable position.
- —Guest David
Helping us keep the doors open
- We've always had a strong volunteer force, but they have really risen to the challenge recently. Our volunteers are giving more time and bringing their friends. We have been forced to cut support staff at our agency but volunteers are picking up the slack from fundraising to answering the phones.
- —Guest Linda
