Volunteering - claiming expenses.

I worked for 45 years in a job where goodwill went unrewarded and guess I must have got used to it, so don't feel it any different not claiming expenses. I'm just happy to help out. ?

Its a valid point though that the cost of having volunteers within an organisation shouldn't be ignored so I maybe should claim and donate it straight back.

Perhaps the trickiest situations are those which are local and run on a shoestring, so it might feel churlish to claim. There probably isn’t even a policy in place. Churches rely on lots of volunteers, most of whom do not claim anything, either because they can afford not to, or because they know how tight the budget is. For a while I did a weekly newssheet, which cost me in time, paper and ink. I could have claimed, I am sure, but I just gave less in donations. As someone pointed out, I could have had expenses and donated them back with gift aid! I hadn’t thought of that, and it would have produced more, in fact.

I worked for several organisations recruiting and supporting a diverse volunteer cohort. I think we have to be careful with the ‘it doesn’t feel right’ comments. Many of the very valuable volunteers I worked with wouldn’t have been able to contribute and gain skills without bus fares etc being reimbursed. If we don’t want volunteering to become a middle class occupation we should recognise that some cannot afford to be out of pocket and may be embarrassed or deterred by others making such comments

I worked as a volunteer with the NHS and a large university. I was brainwashed at an early age as to how cash strapped the NHS always is. At each meeting I was offered an expenses claim sheet and encouraged to use it. However, I also had a free bus pass and opted to travel that way rather than use my car. What did disappoint me, though, was the number of volunteers who jumped on the taxi\hotel bandwagon. This was often married with 'well, they're having my services for free '. Big deal. When I was once asked about this I was accused of being a halo hunter. I did learned a lot in both of these establishments and have no regrets of these years but..... I could really have done without the discovery of the huge and almost unbelievable waste that goes on. Not a lack of funding but simp!y so badly disbursed.

If you have to "go" and volunteer, you could claim money for transport / fuel. I volunteer from home (jewellery and writing / editing / proof-reading); but I don't claim expenses for the beads and associated things, or the internet fee.

What a thought provoking thread.
I was a school governor for 8 years from 1995-2003. Never once claimed expenses. Then an Independant Custody Visitor from 2003-2006, never claimed.
In 2009 until 2014 I volunteered on a local hospital radio and from 2019 to today I volunteer at a Trussell Trust Foidbank - once again I've never claimed.
All your replies have made me realise I should have/should be.
Thank you

Not exactly volunteering, but I was a very poorly paid foster parent, many years ago. Most of the short-term children that we fostered turned up with only the clothes on their backs, and had to be kitted out. Friends and neighbours sometimes donated items to us, but we regularly bought a lot of clothing. No charity shops then, either.
It was possible to claim expenses, but it was such a palaver that we never bothered.
It's mind-boggling to see what foster parents are paid nowadays.

I used to not claim my expenses, but was told that I should as the organisation had a budget for volunteers' expenses and if it wasn't used, they'd lose it. I used to claim then give it back as a donation.

I have volunteered with two organisations, one for elderly and the other for families. Both involved travelling to appointments, outings and the travelling to and from each service user's home. I didn't claim standard travel costs. When support involved travelling further afield or tickets for concerts etc I claimed for those. Many volunteers claimed on the same principles and others claimed for everything. I was never aware of any negativity towards anyone claiming all they were entitled to. £100 a month is quite a sum for volunteers to pay out. I'd claim and then make a donation if and when I wanted to.

As a former volunteer organiser I always encouraged my volunteers to claim expenses for the reasons stated in other posts

Another point I would make is that I know that all the people i help when i volunteer gain from my input but I know that I benefit and I'm sure most other volunteers do too

Simple travelling to a nearby location I didn't claim for, but occasionally had to go further afield so would have train fare paid or a mileage cost. Other than that it was reimbursement for things I paid for - photocopying and postage mostly.

I was a volunteer at the local hospital until covid hit and I never claimed any expenses. I could claim for petrol, parking was free with a permit and I could claim for a free lunch if I was there for more than 4 hours. I donated my time and small expenses free. Didn’t fee l right to claim back. I was there to help them.

I was a Brownie Guider for many years and often paid for craft, stationery etc from my own purse. I was told I should claim it back, even if I could afford it others may not. Wise words. Consequently I claimed for things I bought but stationery, printing came out of the household budget.

Always claim expenses and then donate the amount you wish each month/annually. Some people need the expense money especially for travel costs.

You MUST claim expenses because otherwise it means that the charity doesn't budget for them and only those who are well off can volunteer! People on low incomes sometimes use volunteer work to get vital experience for future paid work so it's wrong that they cannot afford to do it. So, PLEASE, claim the expenses and then just donate them back straight away. They're not any worse off but they have to appear on different parts of the charity's accounts - so they get a clear picture of how much it costs to run it.

If I was happy to do whatever the expense was validated for then I'd turn it around and donate to kitty, but if I felt I was justified in claiming exes for a job then would have no qualms in claiming and keeping. Use your judgement/instincts.

I used to claim at a
Cancer Research shop and was never encouraged to claim for expenses so I didnt. I did have to pay for car park and think I should have been able to claim that back. But it was never mentioned.

sorry,that should read "work" not "claim"

My volunteering involved driving patients to hospital or doctors. There was no way I could afford the petrol and we were encouraged to claim our mileage, so I did.

If expenses are not paid only the wealthy can be volunteers. the wholepoint about volunteering is that it should be open to any one. If a person does not need the expenses, as others have said, donate them quietly and silently so that those who do not have the same disposible income are not embarrassed.

The great advantage for a manager is that they can see what wrok, hours etc. the volunteer is doing. This may be helpful.

Oopsadaisy1

I volunteered at our local Red Cross shop and never claimed nor was I encouraged to claim for anything.

What do you all claim expenses for?

I have volunteered for Saneline, BHF and an animal rescue, have never claimed expenses. Other than busfare what would one claim for? No one in my current charity claims expenses and neither would we.

I volunteer for 6 charities, 2 large ones which insist we claim our travel & parking expenses, the small charities do not offer any and even expect us to chauffeur other volunteers around at time. I know where I prefer to volunteer, but I do enjoy them all.

Prior to Covid-19 I used to do some voluntary work. My only real expenses were the parking which cost me between £4-6 each time. I never claimed expenses.partly because it was too complicated and partly because I could afford not to.