8 Clauses for a Good Volunteer Agreement

An important part of starting your 501c3 nonprofit is assembling a team of volunteers to help you execute your vision. Volunteers can be a huge benefit because they provide you with a team that can carry out projects and initiatives. However, you need a volunteer agreement to minimize the risk of liability associated with building a team. Here are a few clauses that you should include in your agreement to legally protect your nonprofit.

Examples of Good Clauses

  1. The volunteer needs to acknowledge that they’re agreeing to donate their services to your nonprofit.
  2. A volunteer should acknowledge that they are not expecting payment. In addition, they waive their right to any present or future payment for the work they do for the nonprofit.
  3. Volunteer need to be willing to complete any required training and follow the rules of the nonprofit.
  4. A volunteer will need to acknowledge that they are not an employee of the nonprofit.
  5. The volunteer should acknowledge that they will be held liable for any damages they cause to third parties for anything they do outside of their volunteer work.
  6. Volunteers should acknowledge that they will be held personally liable for any damages they cause to third parties during their volunteer work if they were negligent.
  7. The volunteer should agree to confidentiality and non-disclosure terms about sensitive and confidential nonprofit information
  8. Finally, the volunteer should agree that any work performed while volunteering for the nonprofit becomes the property of the nonprofit.

Volunteers are a blessing for any nonprofit. However, they can also be a curse. You will want to be careful in the way that you structure the volunteer opportunity. Chisholm Law Firm prepares volunteer agreements for clients to help build smart volunteer programs that avoid lawsuits.

If you would like help with structuring Volunteer Agreements, contact us today. At Chisholm Law Firm, we have a 100% success rate for our clients. You can rest assured that your nonprofit is in the best hands and that we’ll get everything done right the first time. Call us today to schedule your free consultation.

And remember – it shouldn’t be this hard to be a superhero.