Hidden and Possible Costs of Volunteers
Volunteers can cost your non-profit organization money. While they don’t get a paycheck every two weeks, are not enrolled in your healthcare plan and don’t require any payroll taxes, volunteers are more of an investment than free employees.
Improper volunteer management can cost a charity dearly. Consider the case of one non-profit volunteer who was dismissed inappropriately. She campaigned for 18 months to clear her name, causing widespread negative publicity for the NPO, along with the expense of an internal investigation. Eventually, she was cleared and the executive director was forced to apologize. Who knows what impact the negative publicity had on donations?
Advertising, networking and recruiting for volunteers takes an investment of time. And sometimes there are out of pocket expenses – like background checks and training supplies. You don’t want to add in the costs of fighting a lawsuit to that total, do you? A volunteer recently sued a non-profit for discriminating against her because of a disability. Even though volunteers are not employees, it’s a good idea to become familiar with and follow the guidelines of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act.
This particular case was settled in favor of the NPO, but they still had a significant outlay of cash to cover legal defense. The ideal defense is a good offense; so to avoid expanding problems and expenses, consider creating a policy and a procedure for volunteer complaints. When volunteers submit complaints or grievances, acting quickly can prevent the problem from growing in scope and in cost.
Finally, a thorough background and credit check on potential volunteers can also help you avoid litigation – especially if your organization serves vulnerable populations. Keep your employees, clients and other volunteers safe by conducting thorough volunteer background checks.