Opinions please - charity work.

[DoraSpenlow]

Long story (fairly) short.

I have been volunteering for a local charity for over 20 years, as have all the other current volunteers. We have been having difficulty recruiting more volunteers for the last couple of years and as the older members of the group are giving up we are struggling to keep going. It has been decided that we will struggle on until Christmas and then we are, very sadly, going to have to close as it is becoming unworkable.

Under the rules of the charity, any funds we have will then have to be sent to the umbrella charity head office. All the funds we have are what our group has fundraised for and by charging a very minimal fee to the users (£2 per session).

At a recent meeting it was put forward that before sending the remaining funds off (incidentally we believe that head office have made some very poor decisions and wasted a lot of money, they also pay their CEO a lot of money) the remaining volunteers have a Christmas lunch at a local pub paid for by the charity (approx 6 people).

I'm not sure I feel comfortable about this. Speaking to another volunteer they said that when you bear in mind the fact that over the last 20 years (or more in a couple of cases) we have all paid for our own transport to the venue, our own DBS checks, first aid courses and safeguarding courses, we are not unreasonable to reward the volunteers with a meal for all their years of service. And looking at it from that point of view I agree.

According to what I have read it is perfectly legal to rewards volunteers with for example, an annual party, and we have never done anything like this at all, but I still feel uncomfortable.

What do people think?

I think have the meal and enjoy it. Well done for all your work volunteering.

Usually it could be regarded as misuse of funds. The fact that you've all paid so much out of your own funds over the years makes it a grey area for me.
It's really disgraceful that you've paid for your own DBS checks and training. Is there any way some reimbursements could be made for some of those expenses now? Mileage for example, if the trips are verifiable they could be paid at a per mile rate, no need for fuel receipts. DBS checks - the cost of a DBS is simple and could be refunded.
The DBS checks thing is interesting because usually checks for charity volunteers are free, with a small fee paid by the charity.

I also think it's a grey area. I don't personally have a problem with it in the context but legally, it may be questionable.

Just to clarify a few points.

Yes, we have paid for our own DBS checks but only the minimal fee. I think last time I did mine it was about £9. The trouble is, the charity used to pay for these but we had so many people say they wanted to volunteer, we would get them DBS checked and never see them again. The same with the other courses. We tried it this way as a means of somehow testing their commitment. If we had paid everyone's travel expenses we would probably have had to pack up long ago.

My husband volunteers for a different, much, much larger organisation and they have an annual party for volunteers to say thank you for your time and I'm not sure they would be doing anything illegal.

On the topic of paying back expenses - apart from the fact we are all volunteers, we don't have 'staff' to do this - who wants to go back over 20+ years trying to remember how much we may have spent? Would cost a whole lot more than 6 pub meals as well.

There is a lot of time yet but maybe I'll go along but pay for my own.

we have all paid for our own transport to the venue, our own DBS checks, first aid courses and safeguarding courses

Maybe you should start reimbursing these expenses. Like, now.

Then your volunteers can pay for their own Xmas gathering / get together if they want to.

I'm not surprised you can't attract new volunteers tbh.

Sorry, I thought the point of volunteering/charities was to give your time and money to help others?

Please bear in mind that the remaining volunteers have been doing this for more than 20 years. Trying to go back over all those years to claim expenses is a non-starter as far as I am concerned.

The main charity I'm involved with does one meal out/year (at a little pub not fine dining) on charity funds. This is open to all potential volunteers to attend (up to thousands). Actual number who come along = 4-7 individuals.

I always put £20-£30 back in the pot afterwards without telling anyone. Is how I settle with my own conscience.

They used to put on a large catering event to try to attract new volunteers that cost more than the meal out does now.

This is a very good idea. On the day I could just go along with everyone else and not make them feel uncomfortable. Although it would grate a bit that the money would end up with head office who, I believe, squander a lot of their money on unnecessary staff. I would rather give it locally where you can see where the money is going. But thinking about it, paying back into ours would show up on the accounts which get circulated to everyone at the end of each financial year and will presumably be circulated once we have closed down.

Oh dear. Still I have several weeks to think about it.

Your comment about your charity holding an annual meal for everyone does make me feel more comfortable that other charities do do this. I would not want to be part of something illegal. That and the fact that this would not become an annual event as it is a closing down and thank you for eveything event.

Thank you.

Every charity I have ever volunteered for has had an annual thank-you lunch for the volunteers, paid out of the charity's funds.

I volunteer for the local branch of a big national charity. We pay for our own Christmas meal BUT once a year they get all the volunteers together and do a thank you event. They talk about what’s been achieved in the last year, any upcoming changes. Thank everyone and recognise anyone who has long service. Then they give us a buffet lunch.

Same. And reimburse travel expenses and lunch if working more that 4 hours and of course pay dbs.
That’s why you’re not getting volunteers.

Where did I say you need to go back 20 years?

You don't have 'staff' but someone pays the bills.
In the small charity I used to run paying for a Christmas meal for volunteers would have been questionable, as it could be seen as misuse of funds. There was nothing in the charity objectives stating that some of the funds raised might be spent to benefit volunteers.
However, repaying volunteers some of their expenses, say for the last 12 months, would be perfectly reasonable.

Just out of interest, for anyone else involved in charities... if expenses are paid to volunteers who then choose to donate the money back, gift aid can be applied. You can't gift aid waived expenses.

Yep. I'm a volunteer and trustee for a smallish charity, and we have an annual event for volunteers that includes a nice meal.

Retention of volunteers is fundamental to the work of a charity. Volunteer costs are part and parcel of a charity's financial commitment. Certainly large funders would expect that, and the charity commission wouldn't turn a hair. It's normal.

You're over thinking this, and yes, if you don't reimburse volunteer expenses or show then your appreciation with the bare minimum of an annual social event, then you lose the ones you have and you won't get new recruits.

Go for your meal, relax and enjoy it.

Your comment about your charity holding an annual meal for everyone does make me feel more comfortable that other charities do do this. I would not want to be part of something illegal

Trust me, I'm a trustee (and past Chair of the board). There's nothing remotely illegal about it. There's nothing that goes against the Charity Commission's guidance, and there's nothing remotely immoral about it. Enjoy your evening.

Thank you @saraclara . That helps a lot.

@Todaywego Thank you for your comment. Can you point me in the direction of legislation that states this could be a misuse of funds? I don't want to miss anything. This is the first meal paid for by the charity in the more than 20 years I have been a part of it and it is to say thank you to the volunteers, all of whom have many years of service, at the closing of the charity. Not just a Christmas meal. We have always paid for those ourselves in the past. It happens that the charity is closing at Christmas is all. Not being snarky, I want to cover all the bases.

As far as I am aware this charity has been running for more than 40 years.

TIA

The only people who need to concern themselves about this decision are the trustees. They are the people responsible for the governance and financial probity of the charity.

I really don't know why you're dwelling on this so anxiously. We trustees don't just go "oh let's just spend the money on something fun rather than hand it back". We're only too aware that we are the ones held legally responsible for any mismanagement.

Please... A thank you event is being held for you. Just enjoy it.

Sorry. I'll shut up now.

It's just that after so long of us all deciding not to claim expenses, etc, so that every penny could be spent on the children, it is difficult to change my mindset.

OP you have provided a lot of your own time and effort, paid for things that the charity should have paid for. As someone who's very conscientious about donations (and I did my undergraduate dissertation on the effectiveness of charity overheads) there is absolutely nothing wrong with this! Morally or legally.

I do get it. I've only recently started claiming (some of) my expenses. Our CEO had to nag me, because if volunteers don't claim expenses, when she applies to funders it doesn't look good. And of course she doesn't want volunteers to be out of pocket. But I do feel a bit guilty when I send in a form.

I used to chair the local branch of a well known charity and we got fed up with all our annual subs going into the central pot to be spent propping up the posh training venue, that only people living near the capital could reasonably attend. (Am not in UK)

As we were a small branch, we decided to hold one final fundraiser and combine the money raised with existing funds and donate the whole amount to a local charity that runs activities for elderly and disabled people. We then wound up the group.

A few of us still meet up for a regular coffee morning in town and organise our own trips out etc.

Actually, I think its really important that there is no expectation for volunteers to fund their own voluntary activity. It's time they are giving.

Otherwise, volunteering becomes a privilege for people who are financially comfortable.

It's less accessible to people on lower incomes who might make excellent volunteers and additionally gain a lot back for themselves in the process. £9 for a DBS check might be £9 too much. Everybody stands to lose - especially when it's hard to recruit volunteers post covid.

Volunteering is a civic right and charities really shouldn't encourage a 'non expenses' culture.

You've expressed it much more beautifully than I have!
@saraclara think of it this way. Any business/charity has several expenses, one of the biggest is staff costs.
By volunteering your time you've taken that away for them. you shouldn't have to do more.

And charities incur 'overheads' for the same reason that profit making businesses do... it makes them more efficient. There is a misconception that it takes money away from the cause but in actual fact a well-run charity can do far more good.

Covering expenses results in a bigger saving if it gets in more volunteers so that's good business sense, even before you add in the moral angle.