by Jayne Cravens
via coyotecommunications.com & coyoteboard.com (same web site)

Initiatives opposed to some or all volunteering (unpaid work),
&
online & print articles about or addressing controversies
regarding volunteers replacing paid staff

In the 1990s, I made a web page for a list of organizations and initiatives opposed to some kinds of volunteering (unpaid work), or ALL kinds of volunteering, including unpaid internships at nonprofit organizations / charities, and for a list of online and print articles about or addressing controversies regarding volunteers replacing paid staff. It was not a comprehensive list at that time, but I think it provided more than enough information to show just how pervasive - and, perhaps growing - the push back against volunteer engagement was at the time.

These lists were compiled to help researchers regarding volunteerism, as well as for policy makers and volunteerism advocates who want to avoid these kinds of controversies at nonprofit organizations and government agencies. This list was also compiled to refute those who believe that there are no such controversies (I regularly debate such folks online, who simply dismiss any suggestion that anyone is opposed to volunteer engagement).

I last updated these list in 2020. Due to other priorities and lack of funding, I have not updated the list since.

MOST of the URLs no longer work, but are probably available at archive.org. If you can't a web site there, please don't write me - I won't be able to find it for you.

Anti-volunteerism groups and advocates are still a thing - while there may not be any more formal movements against volunteerism (but if there are, let me know), you can find the push back against volunteer engagement in most any article where union positions will be eliminated and its hoped volunteers will pick up the slack.

Anti-Volunteer / Unpaid Internship Initiatives

All of these had accounts on the site formerly known as Twitter, but all of these former Twitter accounts are now blank.

Fair Pay Campaign. Disbanded. URL was www.fairpaycampaign.com.
"No-one should have their dreams denied because they can't afford to work for free. Join the fight to end unpaid internships."

Hague Interns Association. Disbanded. URL was www.hagueinternsassociation.org.
HIA was an association of interns working at UN-related and international organizations in The Hague, Netherlands. "We work to improve intern welfare and promote intern rights."

UNpaid is UNfair. Disbanded. URL was unpaidisunfair.org.
"Unpaid internships are unfair. The United Nations should be no exception. Please sign our petition and tell the UN that young people matter."

Intern Labor Rights. Disbanded. URL was internlaborrights.com.
"In this era of historic inequality, class divide, soaring student debt and persistent unemployment we call for an end to unpaid internships: Pay your interns!"

Canadian Intern Association. Disbanded Was only on Twitter: @canadianinterns.
- “The advocates against the exploitation of interns and aims to improve the internship experience for both interns and employers.”

Intern Justice. Disbanded. URL was www.internjustice.com/aboutuspress.
"Protecting the rights and wages of interns. M. Pianko, Esq, Director and Lead Counsel” NYC & Nationwide (U.S.A.)" I'm guessing this lawyer was offering to represent people who have done unpaid internships and want to sue for back wages.

Intern Aware. Disbanded. URL waswww.internaware.org.
"We campaign for fair internships. We want to see the minimum wage enforced and recruitment based on talent."

Interns ≠ Free Labor On Twitter this was @EricGlatt. "Fighting wage theft guised as unpaid internships. Law student & Public Interest Fellow at Georgetown." Facebook page hasn't been updated since 2020.

Illegal Interns. On Twitter: @illegalinterns
"Unpaid Internships are Illegal. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised."

Articles - USA examples

• Should the NFL involve volunteers for the Super Bowl?
• International Association of Fire Fighters is anti-volunteer
• Another anti-volunteer union
• Pizzeria tries to recruit unpaid interns, feels Internet’s wrath
• Do NOT say “Need to Cut Costs? Involve Volunteers!”
• It's real: the unpaid internships & volunteers controversy
• Are Interns Exploited?.
• When to NOT pay interns
• When to NOT pay interns, redux
• Value of Volunteers – Still Beating the Drum

• Effectiveness of Volunteer Programs Questioned
   
  
• Philadelphia National People's Campaign NPC's position on why Clinton's Volunteer Summit is anti-labor: "The problem arises when volunteers acting out of the goodness of their hearts are used to replace skilled and unskilled workers, driving even more workers and their families into poverty and insecurity. Last year, Congress and Clinton forced through numerous human services funding cuts against our communities. This year, they extol charity?! Weren't unions first organized on the conviction that workers shouldn't have to rely on charity to survive?"
   
  
• NPC's position on Clinton's April 27 Summit vs his Welfare Cuts: "Outside this much ballyhooed Presidents' Summit on America's Future thousands of other people, mostly young and many who are volunteers, will be demonstrating. They call the Summit a sham and a "cruel hoax." Their message to these political leaders will be: move now to overturn the disastrous welfare legislation passed in 1996. This law, as President Clinton knows, will have a profoundly destructive impact on millions of children. It is utter hypocrisy to promote the idea that private charity and the benevolent activity of corporate CEO's can take the place of the rights that poor families won sixty years ago. In fact, service providers and charity groups that feed hungry people and house the homeless report that they are already overstretched beyond capacity."
   
  
• Protesters Call Volunteer Summit Inadequate
   
  
• The Ayn Rand Institute opposition to the 1997 Presidential summit on volunteerism in Philadelphia, including a photo of protesters.
   
  
• "What Young People Really Need: Not Volunteerism but Happiness and Heroes" "the best American students and immigrants, even more so, desire one thing: freedom to pursue their own happiness. They are not excited by the prospect of selfless service at a homeless shelter; they are motivated by budding careers in such areas as business, law, medicine and computer science."
  

Europe-focused articles.

• That the vast majority of the volunteering roles that the program is promoting, both online and off, benefit the Me-To-We organization, rather than being at small charities throughout Canada.
  
• That the Me-To-We charity is getting so much money from the government (millions of dollars) but there is no justification for why these roles at the organization are volunteer roles, with no pay or less than minimum wage, rather than being paid positions.
  
• That these online volunteers being recruited are, in some cases, low-cost/no-cost replacements for paid employees recently laid off.
  
• That this organization has such close ties to the current prime minister (conflict of interest concerns).
  

There is one more controversy that is implied in the press coverage that is quite bothering me - the words "virtual volunteering" being in quotes, which has led to tweets about the controversy that say, "What the hell is virtual volunteering?! That's not even real!" Virtual volunteering is REAL volunteering.

• Short-term Assignments for Tech Volunteers
  There are a variety of ways for mission-based organizations to involve volunteers to help with short-term projects relating to computers and the Internet, and short-term assignments are what are sought after most by potential "tech" volunteers. But there is a disconnect: most organizations have trouble identifying such short-term projects. This is a list of short-term projects for "tech" volunteers -- assignments that might takes days, weeks or just a couple of months to complete.

• One(-ish) Day "Tech" Activities for Volunteers
  Volunteers are getting together for intense, one-day events, or events of just a few days, to build web pages, to write code, to edit Wikipedia pages, and more. These are gatherings of onsite volunteers, where everyone is in one location, together, to do an online-related project in one day, or a few days. It's a form of episodic volunteering, because volunteers don't have to make an ongoing commitment - they can come to the event, contribute their services, and then leave and never volunteer again. Because computers are involved, these events are sometimes called hackathons, even if coding isn't involved. This page provides advice on how to put together a one-day event, or just-a-few-days-of activity, for a group of tech volunteers onsite, working together, for a nonprofit, non-governmental organization (NGO), community-focused government program, school or other mission-based organization - or association of such.

• Myths About Online Volunteering (Virtual Volunteering)
  Online volunteering means unpaid service that is given by volunteers via the Internet. It's also known as virtual volunteering, online mentoring, ementoring, evolunteering, cyber volunteering, cyber service, telementoring, online engagement, and on and on. Here is a list of common myths about online volunteering, and my attempt to counter them.

• Studies and Research Regarding Online Volunteering / Virtual Volunteering
  While there is a plethora of articles and information about online volunteering, there has been very little research published regarding the subject. This is a compilation of publicly-available research regarding online volunteering, and a list of suggested possible angles for researching online volunteering. New contributions to this page are welcomed, including regarding online mentoring programs.

• Creating One-Time, Short-Term Group Volunteering Activities
  Details on not just what groups of volunteers can do in a two-hour, half-day or all-day event, but also just how much an organization or program will need to do to prepare a site for group volunteering. It's an expensive, time-consuming endeavor - are you ready? Is it worth it?

• Recruiting Local Volunteers To Increase Diversity Among the Ranks
  Having plenty of volunteers usually isn't enough to say a volunteering program is successful. Another indicator of success is if your volunteers represent a variety of ages, education-levels, economic levels and other demographics, or are a reflection of your local community. Most organizations don't want volunteers to be a homogeneous group; they want to reach a variety of people as volunteers (and donors and other supporters, for that matter). This resource will help you think about how to recruit for diversity, or to reach a specific demographic.

• The Information About & For Volunteers You Should Have on Your Web Site
  If your organization or department involves volunteers, or wants to, there are certain things your organization or department must have on its web site - not by law, of course, but from a point of view of ethics and credibility. To not have this basic information about volunteer engagement on your web site says that your organization or department takes volunteers for granted, does not value volunteers beyond money saved in salaries, or is not really ready to involve volunteers.

• Screening Volunteers for Attitude
  When an organization involves volunteers in high-responsibility, long-term roles, volunteer turnover can be a program killer. Screening is vital to finding the right people for high-responsibility, long-term volunteer roles, particularly those where the volunteer will work with clients and the general public, and to screen out people who may be better in shorter-term assignments or assignments where they would not work with clients or the general public, or who would not be appropriate in any role at the organization.

• Letting Fear Prevent Volunteer Involvement is Too Risky
  About how choosing NOT to involve volunteers is often, in fact, a greater risk than choosing to involve volunteers. To say, "We can't involve volunteers - it's too risky!" puts your organization at a profound disadvantage. This is a blog I wrote for Susan Ellis and Energize, Inc. - you leave my web site if you click on that link.

• Using Third Party Web Sites & Volunteer Matching Apps to Recruit Volunteers
  There are lots and lots of web sites out there to help your organization recruit volunteers. You don't have to use them all, but you do need to make sure you use them correctly in order to get the maximum response to your posts.

 
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