The Tax Issue Regarding Volunteer Mileage Rate

Volunteering is often seen as free labor. However, there is a significant cost associated with the recruitment, training, and maintenance of the volunteer force. A full-time staff to oversee the volunteer program is necessary as well to ensure volunteers are being used effectively. The recruitment process varies from advertising to speaking at schools to

A not for profit organization is a corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive (Legal, 2013).” There are immense community benefits as a not-for-profit generally accepts everyone regardless of ability to pay. Nonprofit organizations are granted tax-exempt status which helps them to provide services to the public and are expected to be effective managers of their finances as well as being efficient (Financial Management, 2010). In doing so, they can gain exemptions from federal and state incomes taxes and have the ability to solicit tax-deductible contributions (Financial Management, 2010). Organization must follow legal financial

In chapter 5, LeRoux covers how community service and voluntary action fuel the mission of many organizations. Volunteers are an important aspect of non profit organizations especially. It was very interesting to me to read about the research that has been done about volunteering and how to keep and attract volunteers. Better understanding the motivations behind volunteers is an important part of the non profit sector. Many organizations are working hard to figure out ways to make the volunteer experience personalized to each individual and making it a good and inspiring experience for both sides. Making the experience important to the volunteer and the cause or organization keeps volunteers volunteering and keeps the organizations moving. The reading about college volunteering mentions the importance of hands on experience for students and how it can be a great service learning opportunity and way for students to express the causes that they are passionate about.

The book Charity Case, by Dan Pallotta, explores solutions to the problem many non-profits are encountering: a negative public perception in how these organizations allocate revenues. A sequel to Pallotta’s Uncharitable, a book bringing to light these problems, Charity Case furthers the discussion by offering solutions in how the non-profit sector can tackle these problems. This paper will first discuss one of the primary issues Charity Case aims to solve: legislative and public perceptions of overhead costs relative to program goals. Subsequently, this paper will then discuss the some of the solutions outlined by Pallotta and my takeaways and views of each.

I like your standpoint because the important thing is the organization needs to recognize a volunteers time and how much their efforts are worth to their mission statement. Your analogy about the doctor gave me a new perspective about the quote because much like you said, it doesn't diminish the value being that, the work is price less and the work the doctor has done isn't going to be forgotten just because their was a "dollar value" on

\footnote{A 2009 report to congress lists top problems for tax-payers, one is relevant information about impacts and needs of nonprofits; accessed March 23, 2014. \url{www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/1_09_tas_arc_vol_1_preface_toc_msp.pdf}}

Federal tax-exemption for charitable organizations has been in existence since the beginning of federal income tax law. This exemption is based on the principle that the federal government’s loss of tax revenue is equivalent to the relief of financial burdens charitable organizations provide that would otherwise have to be supported by public funds. Nonprofit hospitals are able to qualify for federal tax-exemption under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code because the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has recognized the promotion of health for the benefit of the community, where medical assistance is afforded to the poor or where medical research is promoted, as a charitable purpose. (U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2008)

Once a committee has compiled a short list of potential applicant to serve on their board, the question arises on how to best incentivize these professional and diverse leaders of the community into committing their time and resources towards the organization’s mission. This problem is very specific to nonprofits as many researchers believe that while it is ethical in the for profit world to pay their board members, it is often looked down upon in the nonprofit sector to monetarily incentivize board members with money that has been donated to serve programs and further the mission (Athitakis, 2014). While money is often a compelling motivator in the for profit world, nonprofits have only seen meager results with this motivational tool, as many of the perspective members are educated or wealthy indicating that they want to use a board membership to fulfill a need of self actualization, a

“Volunteers are not paid; not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless.” This quote stated by Sherry Anderson speaks to individuals who experience a greater reward helping the community or individuals instead of their own financial gains. Although many of us believe these are just “hours” that are essential to graduate, we may fail to witness its profound effects communally and personally.

My first and main argument is that if volunteer hours was not a requirement it could be used as a thing to make universities to choose between students, just like they do with extracurricular activities. Also, if students choose to volunteer for non-for-profit organization that shows their initiative and how they do good things without being told to. Furthermore, it can show a student’s selflessness and how they do good things without forced to.

As the attitude towards volunteering changed from an inclination to an obligation, a debate emerged over the distribution of sacrifice each person was willing to make. New

Another way to increase the quality of life for the poor, however, is through volunteering, a method often supported by those who disagree with an expansive government or do not trust the sometimes ineffective federal bureaucracy. Although seemingly contradictory, it is completely plausible that volunteering would cause an individual to support an increase in social welfare spending because he or she may come to realize through volunteering that some problems are too vast to be cured by the work of a few individuals.

By definition, to volunteer is to freely offer to do something. In terms of the nonprofit sector, having volunteers for your organisation is essential to its success. Any company, especially a nonprofit, needs people working for it. While most businesses offer to pay their employees, a nonprofit functions in a different manner. Considering that a nonprofit does most of its work for a charitable cause, it does not have the ability to pay people a salary in exchange for working for it. As a result,

While previous studies focused on an individual’s motivation for (and the characteristics of) giving to charities in general, predicting the amount donated, or pro-social characteristics related to donations and volunteerism, this study proposed focusing on

This research is being conducted to investigate volunteer motivation, satisfactions and dissatisfactions. As is stated by Becsi et al (2008), much of the literature in the social sciences focuses on predicting volunteering behaviour with underlying theories of resources availability.