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Blog - What's in a Word?

May 25, 2009

I was at some national meetings last week with Volunteer Canada where there was a lengthy discussion around the word volunteer. We were debating the national definition of a volunteer centre and whether or not a centre should be required to have the word “volunteer” in its name in order to qualify for the special status of “Volunteer Centre”.

Now whether we came to a consensus or not isn’t the point. (For the record, we didn’t.) What I found interesting about the discussion was that we hadn’t ever checked with each other to find out if we even had a common definition of the word volunteer. You would think that, in a room full of volunteer centres, you would be able to come to some kind of consensus of what a volunteer is. Nothing could be further from the truth. But my point is that we didn’t even ask the question.

The word volunteer has evolved substantially over the decades and some cultures view the word quite differently. When in Seattle a couple of years ago, I was pleased to see that there was a sizeable green space in the middle of the city called Volunteer Park. How exciting! I would take time from my conference to go and see what Volunteer Park was all about. As I was looking at how to get to Volunteer Park, I came across a description of what it was. When I discovered it was a tribute to “volunteers” in a military sense (albeit appropriate), I chose to visit the Boeing Museum instead.

Imagine the struggles they have in the United States when they try to have this conversation. They have two common uses for the word. Or imagine other cultures where they don’t even have a word for volunteer. And think about the ways in which we use it in this country. Are you volunteering at a barn raising for your neighbour? Do volunteers wear fruit basket hats and push carts around hospitals? Are they crammed in back rooms without proper ventilation and loud fluorescent lighting stuffing envelopes for a direct mail campaign that only 8% of its intended audience will read?

How far can we go with this? Is a lawyer who does pro-bono work a volunteer? Probably. Does an 80 year-old woman who knits a lap blanket for her neighbour in the local long term care facility a volunteer? Arguably. Does a miniature horse from a local award-winning program who visits that same neighbour get to wear a volunteer name tag? It’s entirely possible.

So why do these questions even matter? Just do the good work and get on with it. The reason we need to have this discussion is that just this past week, Private Members’ Bill C-216 was introduced to the House of Commons suggesting tax credits for volunteers. At first blush, this may be a great idea. Imagine the federal government finally acknowledging the importance of volunteerism with monetary compensation. But is this what we really want? That is a really loaded question. If we can’t answer my previous questions, wait until we get to the difficult ones. For example…

Does a student doing her 40 mandated volunteer hours for high school qualify for a tax credit? Or her parents? What if she’s 18? Are they even volunteer hours? They’re mandated, aren’t they? Isn’t “mandatory” the dictionary antonym of “volunteer”? What about the guy who has been sentenced to “community service”? He isn’t getting paid. So is he a volunteer? Is the pro-bono work of that lawyer worth a five or ten dollar tax credit? If that lawyer discovers that that’s all his time is worth, will he think twice about doing it next time? And what about the not-for-profit you work or volunteer for? They’re pretty overworked. Does adding yet another layer of administration and reporting make the organization more accountable? Do they have time? Will it even equate to more volunteers?

And that last question is the biggest one of all. Do we even NEED more volunteers? The last survey in Strathcona County, completed in 2006, said that 51% of our residents volunteer. I’m confused. Isn’t that pretty darn good? It’s definitely higher than both the provincial and national averages. Is it a question of more volunteers or is it a question of how we engage the ones we have? Will a tax credit entice more people to volunteer?

I guess my point is that we need to start talking about it. Because if we don’t, the discussion will be had for us. And without us. And judging by that Private Members’ Bill, we may not have much time.

Posted by: Scott | In: IVC

What others are saying

  • A quick response to the discussion about volunteer tax credits for volunteers…as Scott notes, every once in a while someone intending to recognize the contributions made to Canada by volunteers suggests tax credits as a solution. Because this public policy solution had not been the subject of any Canadian research, Volunteer Alberta, with the financial assistance of the Muttart Foundation, published research on the efficacy of a a tax credit in stimulating volunteerism rates. The research recommendations are available http://www.volunteeralberta.ab.ca/uploaded_files/TaxCreditNewsReleaseFINAL.pdf
    but in a nutshell – there is no demonstrated positive relationship between tax credits and stimulating volunteerism. Actually the reverse result could be argued.

    The Private Members’ Bill has little probability of passing in this Parliament as it sponsored by an opposition member of the House of Commons.

    from Karen Lynch on May 25, 2009

  • Perhaps there is a reason the group didn’t come to consensus around a definition for “volunteer”, not because of a lack of consideration of the issue but rather because there is a recognition that a volunteer is many different things to many different people including all the the examples you provided and many more. Sometimes an attempt to define starts a process that leads to exclusion because once you fall outside the “approved” definition you no longer fit. I applaud the group for its diversity and hope no one pursues the defining process.

    As to needing more volunteers. To me it’s kind of like saying – do we need more goodness and spirit and increased social cohesion in our community? My answer would be 100% is just enough.

    from Jackie Winter on May 29, 2009

  • The word “volunteer” has caused us much difficulty as we have moved forward in examining the next volunteer. The connotation for Joe & Josephine Public remains the traditional kind of role that anyone can do. It is about heart and Hands. We currently have a very large focus on heart and Head. That rarely computes in people’s minds to a volunteer role. For the volunteer or the organization. And that means many of us are not capturing some amazing talent to effectively move the mission of our organization forward. I have been suggesting we abandon the word “volunteer.” Unfortunately there does not seem to be another one to take its place.

    At the Volunteer Canada Conference in 2001 we debated the tax credit idea and at that time stated a resounding “no!” It is interesting the issue keeps raising its ugly head. Our thanks to Volunteer Alberta for doing research to confirm it is not desirable for those of us who work with many people – both paid with money and paid in other intangible ways. People ARE the competitive advantage of the voluntary sector, and we must capitalize on that fact. Are you?

    from Colleen Kelly on June 16, 2009

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