The Nonprofit FAQ

What is the legal definition of 'volunteer'?

Peter Dobkin Hall (phall@PANTHEON.YALE.EDU) said on ARNOVA-L on 29 Jan 1997: As far as I know, there is no universally-accepted definition of the term "voluntary" in the US. It is *generally* used to mean "uncoerced" and "unremunerated" -- but not always. For example, the US has historically boasted having a "volunteer" or citizen army -- but people who voluntarily enlist to serve as soldiers receive pay for doing so. Similarly, our national program of voluntary service -- Americorps -- pays its volunteers in cash and/or university scholarship support. Alexis De Tocqueville, the noted French observer of 19th century America, wrote extensively on our voluntary associations, but he included in the category business firms -- entities which pay their employees and whose investors expected returns on their investments. So the term, at best, appears ambiguous as used currently and historically. Of course, there are many laws that give specific definition to the term for the purposes of describing eligibility (as in AmeriCorps) or limiting liability (as in many state "Good Samaritan" statutes). Some writers try to distinguish between "voluntary" (meaning "uncoerced") and "volunteer" (meaning "not compensated"), but as Peter Hall's example of the military use of the term above suggests, that distinction has not been universally accepted. (PB, 8/22/98) Reposted with additions 8/22/98 -- PB