Nonprofits Advised to Strengthen Volunteer Screening, Training, and Liability Controls

Volunteers remain a cornerstone of many nonprofits, but practitioners and legal advisers say organizations must do more to manage the legal and operational risks that come with unpaid help. A set of practitioner-focused sources recommend clearer screening, defined roles, separate volunteer policies, stronger training and supervision, and careful handling of perks and stipends to protect employees, volunteers, and beneficiaries.

Adler & Colvin’s Practical Guidance, maintained by Rosemary E. Fei and Geena Yu, frames the issue as a risk-management problem: "This practice note examines the use of volunteers by nonprofit entities, the risks posed by such use, and best practices and approaches for managing those risks." The note lists core topics nonprofits should address, including "Sources of Liability for Acts of Volunteers," "Liability to the Volunteer," "Mitigating Risks of Using Volunteers," "Policies," "Training and Supervision," "Waivers," and "Insurance." The practice note also stresses that "Volunteers [...] signal to regulators, and in the case of nonprofits, to the IRS, their state's attorney general, and the general public, that the organization is aware of the risks posed by their activities, and more importantly, has taken steps to address them."

Legal advisers and risk managers echo that message in practical terms. Williams Parker’s guidance urges nonprofits to make volunteer status explicit and document distinctions between paid staff and volunteers: "Ensure that volunteers understand that they are volunteers, that they are not eligible for employee benefits, and that their status as a volunteer is not a step toward obtaining employment." The firm also counsels organizations to "Document the distinct roles that both employees and volunteers play in the organization," to avoid requiring staff to volunteer, and to "Establish a volunteer handbook, separate from the employee [...]"

Venable highlights the dual nature of the risk: volunteers often form an "essential portion of the 'workforce' of nonprofit organizations" but "the use of volunteers, however, entails risk, both from and to volunteers." The firm warns that although employment-law claims by volunteers are generally low, "the potential for personal injury and other claims still exists, and the reputational harm to an organization from lawsuits is potentially very high."

Pay and perks are a particular flashpoint. Tobijohnson and CCVA caution that "actual payments in the form of stipends and/or products of meaningful monetary value (including gift cards) may be interpreted by the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service as compensation for services, which may cause a putative volunteer to be classified as an employee." Their practical tip: "Don’t have a labor attorney on retainer? No worries! Search for a local bar association in your area and reach out to them to connect with a pro bono attorney who specializes in labor law."

Nonprofit Risk Management Center offers tools aimed at readying organizations: "There is no single way or ideal approach to managing the risks that arise from volunteer service. In No Surprises: Harmonizing Risk and Reward in Volunteer Management, the Nonprofit Risk Management Center explores various facets of risk" and the group notes its "My Risk Management Policies" web application helps leaders develop custom volunteer policies and forms quickly.

For staff and volunteer coordinators, the implications are concrete. Strengthen screening proportionate to role risk, spell out volunteer status and boundaries in a separate handbook, train and supervise volunteers like paid staff where exposure to harm exists, limit monetary perks, and document policies and insurance decisions so regulators and stakeholders see the organization is managing risk. Next steps for many nonprofits will include updating handbooks, consulting labor counsel, and testing policy tools to protect volunteers, employees, and the organization’s mission.