Money Moral Dilemma: Should I pay the charity for my cuppa?

Ann_Hunter

As a volunteer you are entitled to a cup of tea whether you donate more than your time or not
And I would strongly suggest that you do not pay a donation for your tea as someone volunteering and on benefits may not be able to make a voluntary contribution to the teas. On seeing others contribute this volunteer may feel uneasy and not return to volunteer.
You are certainly not mean in fact you are very generous giving your time freely, good for you

warehouse

No you shouldn't have to pay. You're donating hours of your time and getting a whole cup of hot water in return. Wow.

motherhen2234

Personally I wouldn't pay for the tea. Although if it was brought in by other volunteers I would see how I could best chip in to help (bring in milk or the occasionally biccy!). I've volunteered for a range of organisations and gotten everything from travel expenses paid right down to just a cup of tea.

stewartjrl

It seems a strange question to ask unless someone with whom you work has been implying that you are at fault. The only genuine answer in my opinion is that it is up to your conscience and your circumstances. Many who volunteer are not at all well off so probably would not be expected to add to the collection but if you can afford a small amount every now and then why not be seen once in a while to contribute a little ? (And I wonder also whether you were made aware of this idea when you were accepted as a volunteer ?). You are not in the wrong whatever you decide, however.

MadMom

chris3cm wrote: »

I regularly help out at a charity shop and donate goods. The manageress provides tea, coffee, cake, toast, soup free of charge to the volunteers as she regards this as a small way of thanking us for our services. We're happy with that and we pay for any goods we buy from the shop. It works well.

You can be sure she's not dipping into her own funds to do that - she's authorised to use petty cash or has her own purchasing card. My view: if you already donating your time for free, plus all the other donations you say you make, then don't feel guilty about a cup of tea!

theoretica

I think, as others have said, you should ask a little deeper about where the tea comes from. My work does not provide tea and coffee, but the staff in our office put a few £ in and we keep ourselves stocked up as it is much simpler than everyone bringing their own and clogging the fridge with dozens of milk bottles. We do not ask guests from other departments to contribute, but most people who come regularly bring in an occasional pack of biscuits or cake and everyone is happy.

meknowalot-51

By giving your time for free i think that you've donated enough and deserve the odd cuppa.

ciscokiddy

What's that old saying? : Never give a sucker an even break! those who run the charity are laughing their heads off at this. don't put your money in that tin. you do enough by being there.

jackyann

Actually, I think the question is about being valued.

I too have done a lot of charity / volunteer work in my time. Whenever I have any say, I say that usually cups of tea / coffee should be offered freely. More expensive stuff - work out a rota, ask for money in the tin, whatever.

It is also usually my experience that it is managers and the kind of trustees who do no work, suddenly think they could get a few extra pence by charging for teas.

Some volunteers do feel they want to contribute - fine if they do. But I think that offering them a little refreshment freely shows that you appreciate & value them (which is increasingly not the case with big charities)

The way this sector is being run at the moment means that there are a lot of people who don't realise that volunteers deserve a little praise & thanks.
Recently I was told that I should be grateful for the chance to volunteer, I would not be given expenses, I should be glad that I could polish up my cv! That unfortunate manager had confused me with a young person, desperate for a reference & experience!
I walked away to do a volunteer job with a very small local charity, and as they kindly provide excellent filter coffee for free, I happily put in some small change that I can afford.

My parents who did a lot of volunteer work, solemnly recorded the cost of every phone call and every journey, claimed the money, then gave it back as a donation "so the books were straight".

Frogletina

jackyann wrote: »

My parents who did a lot of volunteer work, solemnly recorded the cost of every phone call and every journey, claimed the money, then gave it back as a donation "so the books were straight".

I was the treasurer of a charity (no paid staff) and I encouraged all committee members to claim expenses so that the true cost of running the charity was clear in the accounts. If some individuals did not want to claim expenses then I advised them to pay these back as donations.