Incentives are good
Regular readers (or is it reader?) of my blog will know that I have little truck with those who argue that we should shy away from all attempts to incentivise volunteers through fear of corrupting the voluntary impulse. Although the envy of the world in many ways, our volunteering movement is still heavily skewed towards the so-called civic core, the relatively small proportion of the population that do the majority of the giving and volunteering, and barriers to greater participation (whether of image, time or resources) still abound. Attempts by such outfits as Rockcorps to use the allure of incentives (in this case a concert ticket) to capture the imagination of a new wave of volunteers seem to me to be wholly defensible and perfectly in tune with the evolving and enterprising nature of volunteering.
And at a time when official stats suggest the post-Olympic spurt in volunteering may be beginning to slow down, new ideas to encourage participation, such as the proposal from the LGA this week to give volunteers a reduction on their Council Tax, shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. The thinking behind the proposal seems sound enough. Volunteers add enormous value to our public services and local communities; cuts are making their contribution even more essential than before; and barriers are preventing some people from making their full contribution.
So what’s not to like? Well here are a couple of potential pitfalls…
Operational complexities
First, how on earth are we to organise such a scheme? Who would judge which form of volunteering is worthy of special treatment in this way? How would it be monitored? Is informal volunteering to be included or only that which takes place through an organisation? Is campaigning allowed or only service delivery activities? What would happen if a volunteer missed a couple of months’ volunteering? Would their council tax rise for that period? And what about quality? Are we to judge an individual’s qualification for the rebate solely in terms of their hours, or do we need evidence of impact? If we are not careful we will be constructing an apparatus of such complexity – which we will no doubt be asking voluntary organisations to operate without additional resources – that not only would it be likely to put off anyone from volunteering, but it would absorb any cost savings the scheme was aimed at promoting. And there remains the nagging concern that HMRC might take an interest in such ‘payments’ and deem them liable to tax, therefore reducing their appeal.
Crossing the line
But there is another concern which is more philosophical than operational. Having acknowledged above that some incentives are acceptable, even desirable, and that notions of pure altruism are almost impossible to substantiate – I have always been much more drawn to the idea of volunteering as an exchange relationship rather than a gift relationship, build on reciprocity rather than what all too often smacks of noblesse oblige – it seems to me that there is a line in the incentives sand which we would do well not to cross, without risking undermining the very essence of volunteering.
I have not fully conceptualised where this line is in my own mind, but it is something to do with where incentives blur into free choice. The key defining characteristic for me of volunteering is that it should be entered into freely. Forced volunteering is clearly a contradiction in terms. And therefore incentives, which are of such a degree that they make it almost impossible for some people not to volunteer, seem to me to be getting dangerously close to the mark of compulsion. Perhaps £200 off a council tax bill is not quite crossing the line (although for some people it would make a significant difference), but taking it to its logical conclusion should this not work – free council tax, or as has been suggested in some quarters, preferential access to a council house or fast track citizenship status – would certainly cross the line.
Another route
Rather than risk muddying the voluntary impulse with a financial incentive, a better route might be for councils to look at ways of strengthening the intrinsic rewards of volunteering by investing in volunteer support and management, and putting the resources which would be required to operate such a system into proper funding for the local agencies such as Volunteer Centres which provide the conditions for volunteering to flourish.
Replies on Twitter
Council tax rebates could be given to those people undertaking full time service years as a recognition of their huge commitment @NCVO
— Sophie Livingstone (@LivingstoneSoph) July 29, 2014
@NCVO Political hype – how would it be administered??
— CASE Kent (@CASEKent) July 29, 2014
Yes Huge waste – most ££ would go on admin costs “@NCVO: Is council tax rebate for volunteering an incentive too far? http://t.co/iL2yWtglVx
— Graham Duncan (@GrahamatAFK) July 29, 2014
@ncvoaidan @NCVO totally agree with that statement. I #volunteer because I want to – incentives are not necessary or expected.
— jane pickersgill (@tatteredstones) July 29, 2014
@NCVOvolunteers Interesting idea.. impossible to police? & could it lead to people clocking up the hours to get a discount?
— Vol Sec Ageing (@VolSecAgeing) July 29, 2014
Maybe the worst idea ever? @ncvo "Council tax rebates for volunteers – what do you think? Comment under our blog: http://t.co/ZNDxvUUk5h"
— Steff Bell (@EVOC_Steff) July 29, 2014
@NCVOvolunteers more people will b interested & soon enough they'll realise how important it is & no longer want incentives. Think long term
— Rebecca Sakulku (@youknowitbest) July 30, 2014
@NCVO skews relationship with volunteering providing organisation. Difficult to monitor & administer. Could put pressure on organisation.
— Anne Layzell (@AnneLayzell1) July 30, 2014
@NCVO So essentially more tax subsidised employment rather than real, adequately paid jobs?
— Boston Rabbit (@Boston_Rabbit) July 29, 2014
@knowhownonprof Since when did volunteering need a financial incentive? Slippery slope!
— Margo Horsley (@PsbtMargo) July 29, 2014
@NCVO Agree that £ would be better spent on Volunteer Centres. My local one needs a big cash injection atm. And it would bring huge ROI!
— Rera (@ReraPops) July 30, 2014
@karlwilding @NCVO I like the idea! Recognizes civic core and sure it's not beyond collective wit to come up with way to administer…
— Madeleine Gabriel (@Mad_Gabes) July 29, 2014
@NCVOvolunteers Helps those who have lost their jobs or are less disabled to feel they have assets they can contribute
— Varsha Dodhia (@DodhiaV) July 30, 2014
@NCVO depends on what motivates people to vol research shows it might have little effect in reality
— Tyrrell Golding (@tyrrellg) July 31, 2014
@NCVO Council tax rebates could be given to those people completing a long term commitment but admin would be excessive – what a waste!
— Lisa Grant (@pertheslady) July 31, 2014
@NCVO We are all for giving volunteers recognition for their hard work! Businesses help us to do it….the more the merrier!
— ValueYou (@ValueYouorg) July 30, 2014
@NCVO @3rdSectorRC Give student tuition fee rebate in exchange for 6mnths 'Big Green Gap Year': vol service to a comm. jderounian@glos.ac.uk
— James Derounian (@ArmenianJames) July 30, 2014
@NCVOvolunteers brilliant idea
— Mums The Word CIC (@MumsTheWordBwD) July 31, 2014
@NCVO Sadly, evidence suggests this well intentioned idea might actually undermine volunteering http://t.co/eMQNxcDsXk #LOCALGOV
— Jon Bennett (@bennettjonj) July 31, 2014
@NCVOvolunteers Fraught with practical administrative problems. Just doesn't 'feel' right. Relevant training & up skilling more appropriate
— Inside Out Community (@InsideOutFY) July 31, 2014
@NCVO not so much a step too far as a step in completely the wrong direction. We don't volunteer for monetary rewards. That's work …..doh!
— Jane Leathley (@jane_leathley) July 31, 2014
A great incentive. For many young graduates council tax is a huge sudden cost, leaving many of them unable to work and voluinteer @NCVO
— Liam Beattie (@Liam_Beattie) July 31, 2014
Interesting idea that those who help community are rewarded – although most don't do it for benefits and would be abused by others @NCVO
— Essex Mental Health (@EssexMHC) August 2, 2014
@NCVO that's a great idea! Wonderful incentive to get more volunteers in to the 3rd sector.
— Laura Croudace (@alwayscolour) August 2, 2014
@NCVO great idea, not the only reason to volunteer, but a lovely thank you from society!
— Leigh Andrews (@LeighSkylark) August 2, 2014
@NCVO I'd like to see volunteering count towards your NI for people giving over a certain number of hours a week.
— Hannah Peck (@HannahPeck) August 2, 2014
@NCVO shouldn't volunteering b something you want to do for free. If offering an incentive aren't paying for it & then isn't that working?
— York Playspace (@YorkPlayspace) August 2, 2014
@NCVO completely undermines the ethos of volunteering and the administration cost another complete waste of money
— Jackie Hartless (@jackiehartless) August 2, 2014
@NCVO volunteering is done by many people in the UK this must be recognised and incentives are useful in helping people give time to causes.
— Halal Incorp (@Halalincorp) August 2, 2014
@NCVO tis simple. Volunteering can be beneficial to both parties. Money should not be incentive. Kindness/empathy/desire to help
— Janet (@TenajMe) August 4, 2014
@NCVO Volunteers tend to be community minded and it follows that shared costs for shared services is a valued concept.
— Jackie Rafferty (@jaxrafferty) August 5, 2014
@NCVO but that what we expect & demand of our volunteers goes well beyond that. The budgetary saving is huge – anyone worked out how much?
— PhoenixCoaching (@BeYourBestSelf2) August 4, 2014
@NCVO What would count as vol? Will incentives change the meaning of vol? IMO, better that money gets put towards volunteer support
— James Davies (@james925) August 5, 2014
@NCVO Wanting to better your community should be incentive enough to volunteer. No to politically motivated incentives! #volunteering
— Donna Taylor (@horuswellbeing) August 5, 2014
@NCVO absolutely NO. It is either paid #work or unpaid #volunteering. Reimbursing of #costs eg travel are main criteria.
— jane pickersgill (@tatteredstones) August 5, 2014
@NCVO volunteers are invaluable because they are selfless giving people they don't want reward if they are genuine
— Debbie Edwards (@Jaffa_1972) August 5, 2014
@NCVO It is good to recognise the value volunteers. The issue is what constitutes volunteering e.g. no. of hours, length of volunteering 1/3
— Russell B. Hamilton (@RBHamilton1) August 5, 2014
@NCVO if you get paid it is work. Doing something just because you want to has it's own rewards. But some vols should get paid & don't.
— Strong Roots CIC (@StrongRootsCIC) August 5, 2014
@NCVOvolunteers Invest £ in supporting & training vols instead. Will turn them into low paid workers. What about tax & impact on benefits?
— Claire Tomkinson (@what_claire_did) August 6, 2014
@NCVOvolunteers Fab idea. Not enough of an incentive to draw cynics to volunteering but sufficient positive reinforcement to reward.
— Andy Jensen (@Skid986) August 6, 2014
6 Responses to Is a Council Tax rebate for volunteering an incentive too far?