It happens regularly: people who are seeking paid work, or who have been laid off from jobs, pushing back against volunteer engagement by previous and potential employers.

I am passionate about volunteer engagement as fundamental to both nonprofit and government programs, as fundamental to giving communities an opportunity to see firsthand what’s happening at these organizations and contributing to a civil society as well, but I am also passionate about volunteers NOT being used just to “save money”, and never to replace paid staff that do not have many alternatives for paid work. It’s why I believe any program should have to say WHY they involve volunteers and say, in writing, how every volunteer engagement will lead to something transformative. It’s why I have joined online protesters and said UN Agencies must defend their unpaid “internships”. It’s why I tell every person who asks me for a webinar or to consult on a project, “here are my consulting rates.” I have very strict guidelines for when I will offer my professional services for free – and even then, sometimes, I enter gray areas where I have to really think about the ethics about what I’m doing.

Once again, there is conflict between people who need paid work and the involvement of volunteers (unpaid labor). This time: many freelancers in the United Kingdom believe furloughed workers who are receiving 80% of their salary and are volunteering their time and professional expertise online (virtual volunteering) with charities via sites like Furlonteer.com are taking away much-needed paid work. This BBC article offers more details about this conflict.

My thoughts: I hope that freelancers will direct their very justified anger at FUNDERS – corporations, foundations, government agencies and individuals – who have whined that nonprofits need to “keep overhead low,” who have often refused outright to pay for anything they consider to be overhead, and who don’t believe nonprofits should ever spend money on expertise – not competitive salaries for employees and not decent salaries for consultants. Nonprofits, charities, NGOs, and other mission-based programs are frequently put into the impossible position by funders of delivering critical services without spending what’s needed for that to happen. Further contributing to the pressure to “get people to do it for free!” are programs like the Points of Light Foundation, the Independent Sector and even the United Nations who loudly, proudly promote the value of volunteering by an hourly rate – the amount of money saved because employees or consultants don’t do those tasks and volunteers are unpaid.

On the Furlonteer.com web site are these words: CHARITIES ARE DESPERATE FOR YOUR HELP. Well, WHY is that? Who created the conditions that have made charities desperate for this help? FUNDERS. I am looking at corporations and foundations in particular.

Also see:

• Charity isn’t enough
• hey, corporations: time to put your money where your mouth is re: nonprofits & innovation
• Corporations: here’s what nonprofits really need
• Disrupting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
• Saying “no” to recruiting volunteers for certain tasks
• Mission statements for your volunteer engagement (Saying WHY your organization or department involves volunteers)
• Initiatives opposed to some or all volunteering (unpaid work), and online and print articles about or addressing controversies regarding volunteers replacing paid staff
• Resources re: US labor laws and volunteering.
• Make volunteering transformative, not about # of hours
• Vanity volunteering: all about the volunteer
• UN Agencies: Defend your “internships”
• Advice for unpaid interns to sue for back pay
• Fight against unpaid internships will hurt volunteering
• It’s real: the unpaid internships & volunteers controversy
• EU agencies exploiting interns?
• When to NOT pay interns, redux
• Pizzeria tries to recruit unpaid interns, feels Internet’s wrath
• Do NOT say “Need to Cut Costs? Involve Volunteers!”
• Another anti-volunteer union
• Volunteers are suing!
• Growing misconceptions about the role of nonprofits in the USA
• Why Should the Poor Volunteer? It’s Time To Re-Think the Answer
• tasks for a university intern at your organization