Hot
Topic Archive
February
2007
Exploring
the true cost of volunteering
By OzVPM Director Andy
Fryar
The
latest 'hot topic' doing the rounds here in Australia
appears to be the one relating to the 'cost' incurred
by volunteers in pursuing volunteer activity in this
country.
Significantly,
a new report was released recently, outlining the
key findings of a taskforce, convened by Volunteering
Australia, to examine some possible solutions to the
rising costs associated with people participating
in voluntary activity here in Australia .
As
I understand it, the taskforce was pulled together
by VA after the topic of rising 'out-of-pocket expenses'
had been highlighted
as
a major concern over a series of surveys conducted
in recent years.
To
quote directly from the Volunteering Australia website,
some of the key findings of these surveys were:
. 1245
surveyed (volunteers & managers) representing
up to 400,000 volunteers
. 88%
of volunteers reported some out-of-pocket expenses
after reimbursement
. 24%
are considering changing their volunteering due to
costs in the next 12 months
. 10%
have reduced or stopped volunteering in the last 12
months due to costs
. 27%
of organisations report an increase in reimbursement
requests in the last 12 months
. 68%
of volunteers did not claim any expenses back from
their organisation
. 60%
of organisations say they offer some level reimbursement.
. 71%
of respondents volunteer at least once a week.
. 81%
of volunteers had travel expenses relating to their
volunteering.
. 54%
of respondents believe government should bear some
responsibility
(Source:
www.volunteeringaustralia.org)
While
on one hand, the fact that it does cost money to volunteer
is no great surprise to those of us who have been
involved in volunteering for any length of time (Yes
governments everywhere - it is a fact!) On another
level however, these figures should have those of
us who lead volunteer programs standing up and taking
notice, as it appears these rising costs are now (more
than ever) beginning to have a direct correlation
on the choices that volunteers are making when deciding
how to share their time.
The
'Cost of Volunteering' taskforce did a great job in
outlining some potential solutions to these problems,
and I would encourage all of you to read the report
for yourself on the Volunteering Australia website
( www.volunteeringaustralia.org
)
For
now though, I don't wish to dwell on the report itself.
While some of the more easily identified 'out-of-pocket'
expenses such as meal vouchers and rising petrol prices
are all important I rather wanted to take this opportunity
to discuss some of the 'other costs' associated with
volunteering that many of us may not always consider.
Here's
a brief list of the more tangible expenses borne by
volunteers that I hope you may all be able to add
to:
Training
- Contrary to popular belief, not all volunteer agencies
pay for their volunteers to be trained. There are
many cases where volunteers need to pay for this themselves,
sometimes at a considerable price.
Police
Checks - Not usually considered an 'out-of-pocket'
expense, but more often than not a necessary evil
in this day and age, and in many cases not covered
by the program.
Uniforms
- There are plenty of cases where volunteer uniforms
are mandatory but not supplied without the volunteer
dipping into their own pocket.
Travel
- Petrol aside, many volunteer jobs these days include
significant travel - sometimes overseas or interstate.
Take the Sydney Olympics as a prime example.
IT
costs - Another cost not always covered
occurs when volunteers work remotely or take work
home with them, and where they are suing their own
computers, broadband connections and printing material.
Insurance
- We easily think of public liability insurance and
motor vehicle cover, but what about the costs associated
with things like travel or medical insurance where
volunteer activity may necessitate such things
Home
costs - I'd hate to think what some volunteers
spend on electricity when using their oven to cook
for bake sales - not to mention the ingredients themselves!
Now
let's consider some of the broader concepts around
the 'costs' that some volunteers take on board?
Try
these:
The
cost to employers - Employers who release
staff to volunteer in emergencies (eg to fight fires)
potentially bear productivity and wage costs that
could end up costing them thousands. My thinking around
this was fuelled recently by the 50+ days that bushfires
raged across Victoria, and the fact that this amounted,
in many cases, to much more than an employer giving
a volunteer employee a 'day or two off' to fight a
fire! I wondered what would happen to medium size
rural businesses where being a member of the Country
Fire Service was the rule rather than the exception,
and where the entire staff disappeared at the first
sound of an emergency bell?
Psychological
costs - Volunteers who do not have support
services properly funded as a part of their volunteer
workplace can suffer terribly through the type of
work they do. I think particularly again of rural
SES or CFS volunteers who may attend the scene of
a fatal road accident (particularly where they know
the victim), or volunteers working in hospital emergency
departments and those dealing with death and dying
in palliative care services.
Legal
costs - What about volunteer activists
who take their protests to the extreme of getting
arrested for a particular cause? The cost in these
cases is often more than just the price of bail and
court appearances, but of the possibility of having
a criminal record for life.
The
cost to families - I can clearly think
of several individuals who I have had dealings with
over the years for whom volunteering became 'everything'
- to the extent that it eventually affected their
family and home life.
Living
costs - Many volunteers who provide overseas
service receive stipends based on the equivalent of
a local wage.
Physical
costs - Or put more precisely, the cost
of a volunteer's health or even life. While an extreme
suggestion, let's not forget that some volunteers
do actually lose their lives or sustain life long
injuries through performing their volunteer work.
I think particularly of volunteer fire fighters and
peace keepers in foreign and sometimes hostile countries.
Let's also not forget the diggers from WW1, most of
whom volunteered for service.
And
last but not least, the cost of effectively managing
a volunteer program! Sadly many agencies still try
and find short cuts to the effective management, support
and leadership of their volunteering unit, which usually
only serves to increase the difficulties associated
with the retention and recruitment of volunteers.
My
reason for suggesting a list such as this is twofold:
Firstly,
I want to help us to think through the broader range
of ideas that incur a cost of some description, and
in doing so, encourage those of us who lead volunteer
programs to take seriously the responsibilities that
come with that. Sadly, we are not usually the ones
who hold the purse strings yet we do carry the position
of being the person employed by our agency to be the
'expert' when it comes to matters pertaining to the
management of volunteer programs.
Accordingly,
I believe we have a responsibility to;
. continue
to think through all of the 'costs' that the volunteers
in our programs may incur and
. tirelessly
advocate for the availability of resources to cover
these costs, whatever they may be.
My
second reason for raising these ideas is to see if
we might continue to build on the suggestions put
forward by the 'cost of volunteering' taskforce.
For
instance, what should the role of government be in
supporting volunteerism? If the rising cost of being
a volunteer is actually going to turn people away
from volunteering, then surely there is validity in
government providing more funding (through whatever
means) to volunteers or voluntary organisations to
assist with these costs. Similarly, volunteer involving
organisations themselves need to break away from the
'poor' mindset that many of them hold and find ways
of making available more funds to offer greater support
to volunteers to offset the costs they are bearing.
In
closing, it would be remiss of me not to make the
very obvious point that volunteering IS (or at least
should be) based on the notion of reciprocity. That
is, while volunteers have something they wish to GIVE
in volunteering, they also have something they want
to GET out of the same activity. So is it therefore
not reasonable to assume that for many volunteers,
the payback they receive from their volunteering is
greater than the sum they have to do to participate
in the first place. Perhaps this is the reason many
volunteers actually choose not to claim reimbursements,
even when they are available.
OK
I have rambled enough for one hot topic, but I'd really
like to hear your thoughts on this issue.
Especially:
- Do you have ideas
about ways volunteer expenses can be better reimbursed?
- Do you believe
it is incumbent upon the agency to provide an option
for out of pocket expense reimbursement?
- What role should
government play?
- What are your thoughts
on the task force report?
- Are there other
costs that I haven't identified in this article?
- Does the payment
of a greater number of expenses change the volunteering
equation in any way?
It's
not too late to...
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