Paying Voulenteers

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Permalink Reply by Skip Kirkwood on July 2, 2009 at 8:01am

You've gotta be careful - get some good legal advice. If you start paying to do the task (staffing EMS units), as opposed to reimbursing training, or uniforms, etc., your people may no longer be considered volunteers.

Permalink Reply by Bud Marsh on July 2, 2009 at 5:01pm

Even as far as the IRS is concerned, if you pay anybody you change from a 501c3 ( tax deductable) orginazition to a for profit, which is big to some doners. One way you could do it is your members earn so many credits during the year or after so many squad calls. Then they are allowed to spend so much money on equipment for their jump kits as long as it is for response.That way it is a moral booster, and the people that really do the work get the credit.

Permalink Reply by sharon brown on July 2, 2009 at 7:22pm

Hi Matthew, In Western Australia, once outside large towns, all ambulance care is provided by volunteers. St John Ambulance do not encourage the system but there is a $30 "donation" for out of pocket expenses and being called away from paid employment.
The station manager,if provided, initiates the paperwork but most volunteers feel pressure not to file.

Permalink Reply by Patrick on July 3, 2009 at 12:06am

My department started a system last year just to help the members out because of high gas prices. We do a stipend pay of $4.00 per run and for trainings also. It's not much, but if you make alot of runs it helps out. We are a all Volunteer Fire and EMS Department.

Permalink Reply by Jonathan Gilliam on July 3, 2009 at 6:17am

The fire department I used to volunteer with gave us $5 per call, but we were a combo department so we had paid staff and it didn't change anything tax wise.

Permalink Reply by dr-exmedic on July 3, 2009 at 10:13am

Our service provides a "reimbursement for expenses," and (while you should certainly get advice from a lawyer) I think that using that terminology is very important for the $5 to be considered non-taxable. Ours is a bit larger and shift-length dependent (I think $24 for 4 hrs, $35 for 8, etc), and it's broken down into components: x for mileage, y for uniform cleaning (those 2 parts are not shift length dependent), then z for meals (which is bigger for longer shifts).
Bud Marsh said:

Even as far as the IRS is concerned, if you pay anybody you change from a 501c3 ( tax deductable) orginazition to a for profit, which is big to some doners.

Absolutely not true. There are plenty of 501(c)3 corporations with paid employees, like the Red Cross and AHA, and the service I used to work full-time for (and at which I now volunteer). Now if you start paying stockholders, or the owner gets to keep any revenues greater than expenses, then you're no longer a non-profit.

Permalink Reply by Jasen Adam on July 3, 2009 at 12:03pm

Alot of Depts. around here give reimbursements, from $5/call - $20/ call

Permalink Reply by Kevin on July 3, 2009 at 1:44pm

One of the things we just started at one of the small volunteer departments I run with is if you attend 6 meeting and at least 6 runs, then you get $100.00 to spend on anything EMS related for yourself. It is a nice little incentive to keep folks motivated and such. So far it's working out very well. We all so purchase new shirts for each member every year. We also ensure that no one is without anything the may need (shirts, jackets, pager, radio, jumpkit, ect...)

Im a true beleiver that if you take care of your volunteers, they will take care of you, and be happy to do it.

good Luck.

Permalink Reply by Skip Kirkwood on July 3, 2009 at 1:45pm

Not to be harsh, but Bud's statement that if you pay anyone you loose your non-profit or 501(c)(3) tax exempt status is absolutely incorrect. It is completely permissible to pay employees of a non-profit. Lots of charities pay their employees - United Way, YMCA, hospitals, etc.

Also on that note, just because you incorporate (which is done at the state level) as a non-profit does NOT mean that you are tax exempt in the eyes of the IRS. To get a 501(c)(3) tax exemption, or any of the others that are available, you must apply to the IRS for that status. Just being volunteer or accepting contributions does not make it so.

Permalink Reply by Chance Gearheart on July 3, 2009 at 10:24pm

You have to be careful doing this. Our fire department pays 7$ per call, up to two hours and minimum wage afterwords, up to a max of 500 per year. Apparantly that's the max the IRS will allow as reimbursement and not consider it a paid job. It's a very gray area also. You cannot pay one department more than the other, and you have to keep good records to avoid cries of favoritism or unfair payments. And then you get into a situation of starting to have to pay for other needs, such as reimbursements for damages incurred during fire department duties and the like. (I got a new tire out of a POV response.)

Permalink Reply by Mike Rubin on July 4, 2009 at 8:57am

Isn't "paid volunteers" an oxymoron?

Permalink Reply by dr-exmedic on July 4, 2009 at 11:29am

Mike Rubin said:

Isn't "paid volunteers" an oxymoron?

Linguistically, certainly. Legally, well, a different story--it depends on what the meaning of "is" is. ;)

But on the other hand, if you're talking about getting a few bucks for lunch if you come in for a 12-hr shift, are you really "paid" to be there under the usual definition of the word "paid"? That would be a bit of a stretch....

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