volunteer paid night out - outrageous?

[spaghetticarbonara]

I volunteer for one of the UK's big charities in one of their shops. Our shop has one full time member of staff and the rest of us are volunteers. Obviously as volunteers we don't get paid. We can claim expenses for travelling to and from the shop but nobody ever does.

At Christmas, the charity says "thank you" by contributing £11 per head towards a Christmas meal. We had our night out last night at a local pub. The £11 doesn't cover the whole price of the meal or drinks so we pay the extra ourselves.

A couple of relatives have voiced the opinion that it's ridiculous that charities are funding a "jolly" for volunteers and that people contributing to the charity would be horrified to think that (an extremely tiny) percentage of the money is being used in that way.

AIBU to think an £11 "thank you" to volunteers once a year is actually OK?

Without the volunteers their wouldn’t be a charity. Giving them a little something is fine

I think that’s fine.

I believe that £11 to thank the volunteers for their contribution is money well spent! The charity knows it's dependant on your goodwill. A small gesture like this goes a long way to retain people .

It's cheaper than paying salaries!

I think it's fine. You give huge amounts of your time and little things like this make volunteers feel appreciated and encourage people to keep volunteering.

Oh for goodness sake that's absolutely fine! If you didn't have happy, efficient volunteers you'd have no shop!

I think it’s fine too. It’s a good investment for them - they’ll have made far more off you.

Of course it’s fine, tell them you used my £11 and I’m ok with it

I think it's lovely. You give your time for free,

I'd be more than happy donating to a charity that looks after and shows appreciation for its volunteers.

tell the relatives to volunteer then and refuse any form of "benefit" if it means so much to them?

I think it’s fine as a thank you
I work for a charity we provide a party for volunteers at Xmas - probably costs around a tenner a head including a small gift
We also go out for an afternoon tea to celebrate volunteers week which the charity pays for

That's ridiculous. Without volunteers their wouldn't be funds raised. I applaud all volunteers and think you more than deserve a contribution from those who gives to charity to say thank you.

Totally fine. volunteers are the lifeblood of charities - it’s an investment to show them appreciation.

Absolutely fine. Are they also the kind of people/twats who say they don’t give to charity because of CEO salaries?

I think it's fine too.

I think its fair! When you buy something a % must go to overheads such as rent and electricity; so not sure why anyone would begrudge another fundamental part of the shop (volunteers) £11 a year.

Yes its not a lot, you're largely funding your own thank you party and contributing to team building and morale. It would cost them a lot more to pay you for your time.

Your friends do realise that charities also pay people to manage it and they are just doing normal job with work Christmas party / bonuses / expenses / pay rise etc. Why should volunteers be given absolutely nothing?

I don't see any problem with it, volunteers give their time for free and save charities £££ that can be spent benefiting their cause.

I'm guessing the people horrified that the charity contributed some funds to say thank you to its volunteers at Christmas have never actually given up their own time and skills for a charity?!

Are they also the kind of people/twats who say they don’t give to charity because of CEO salaries?

pretty much. The sort of people who think charities should run on fresh air and shouldn't spend money ever, on anything which isn't their "cause". And never volunteer themselves, of course.

absolutely fine.

some people have no idea how charities work.

I bet your moany relatives are also liable to react with shock and horror if they learn that a charity is paying any employee more than minimum wage, as if the charity doesn't warrant professional and qualified people doing a difficult job getting paid a reasonable approximation of the going rate for their services.

When CEO/management of some charities are on very large salaries. Who would begrudge the volunteers who work for nothing all year round a Christmas treat? Enjoy it!

Fine and well deserved.
And it could possibly be that this has been funded by a donor? Either a private donor or a Foundation whose mission is to increase the number of and recognition if the extraordinary volunteer force this country benefits from.
I am a fundraiser and have secured grants in the past which included a sum of money to be spent on volunteering recognition within the budget.

There something really despressing about this country having a daily mail cohort of people who seem to love being outraged at anyone they perceive as ‘do-gooders’ getting something they shouldn’t. Often quite normal things such as Charity excs being paid, civil servants given mobiles etc. It’s so stupid

I used to be a full time Chugger on £10ph

£11 a year on someone is absolutely fine!

Your relatives have clearly never been in a voluntary or people management role, so wouldn't understand why these small token gestures are important. You should ignore them, obviously.