[23727] in APO-L
Re: [APO-L] Why should a volunteer have to pay?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Rachel)
Wed Apr 30 10:30:37 2003
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2003 07:30:33 -0700
Reply-To: Rachel <iceangel99@yahoo.com>
From: Rachel <iceangel99@yahoo.com>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20030430093639.00a00e30@mail.earthlink.net>
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I havent really been keeping up with this debate but I need a break from this paper, so pardon me if I repeat what has already been said. It is important to consider that volunteers, in a way, are already "paying" indirectly--it is expensive to travel, at times, halfway across the country or more in order to attend staff training, workshops, conventions, etc. And these volunteers do not recieve possible money from their respective chapters/universities for such expenses. For example, for this past national convention, I paid $25 for the entire trip (hotel/airfaire/banquets) aside from food (thank god for Wendys $1 menu), because my chapter raised a lot of money, the university gave us money as well. (I believe it cost approx 170 for people who took the chapter's bus, I used frequent flyer miles and flew for free) This next convention in Denver I'm going to be on my own with airfare, hotel, registration, etc. since I am no longer active. And not every alumni volunteer!
has a reliable source of income....I am sure there are many graduate students/law students/med students who volunteer (and I will be one of them after...oh, this week) I have yet to figure out where that income will be coming from but I still plan on helping in my future section/region, etc. Having to pay (beyond travel and other expenses and life membership) in order to volunteer would be extremely difficult for me and others in my situation (graduate students who have positions with their universities only have a stipend of about 9-10K a year to cover living expenses, which is not much at all). Yes, in the future after my millions of years of grad school are over, and I'm hopefully making lots of money, I will surely contribute because this fraternity has been and will continue to be a signifigant part of my life, but some volunteers who are desprately needed should not be discouraged simply because they are poor. Rachel KuhnZeta Delta Alum"Section 89 here I come!"!
"Lisa M. Covi" <lmcovi@earthlink.net> wrote:The following is my own personal opinion, and not that of APO:
I wanted to add to some of Jim's point about why volunteers should pay or
contribute.
> If volunteers do not pay for the services they receive, who pays? The
active members
What services do volunteers receive?
Sectional Chairs receive paper mailings, supplies that
chapters can order and are served by paid National
Office staff.
Generally, alumni receive the same discounts and subsidies
for conferences and National services as the active members
Why should volunteers WANT to pay?
Aside from deducting your personal expenses for carrying
out your responsibilities on your tax form, consider
that the active members generally do not have an
independent source of income, they do a lot of service in all four fields
and THEY pay.
>Contributing to the fraternity (via fee or voluntary contribution) is an
important form of service and a public act of support for the
fraternity.
There are many people involved with fund-raising for Alpha
Phi Omega: Alumni who encourage other alumni to
give, and Board members whose promotion of
"life membership" and the torchbearer program is
part of the job they were
elected to.
What brother who reads the T&T doesn't look to see who
gives money from their
chapter, if their advisors or staff members appear
annually and considers
that in their decision about whether to give.
As we continue to pursue grants and other external funding
to make or keep the National Programs affordable to active
members, we need to report the
percentage of giving to the fraternity. How can
we ask other parties to
contribute if we do not contribute ourselves?
> Volunteers should consider three areas of stewardship in their service
to Alpha Phi Omega:
time, talent and treasure. For some of us, time
is our most difficult
sacrifice - time away from family, children,
pursuit of a livelihood. Talent
can be hard to contribute too, especially if you
are donating a skill you
usually get paid for to Alpha Phi Omega. Your
might consider a treasure
contribution to be what you paid in active dues
when you were in your
chapter, or you might skip a night out to the
movies or perhaps even one of
the more expensive APO events and make that your
contribution.
As far as community service and even compared to activist organizations, I
feel APO has a lot of catching up to do in the area of fund-raising (on all
levels). Some chapters are very successful, but many active and staff feel
that asking people to contribute to the fraternity is an
imposition. Philanthropy is a wonderful way to do community service and
our chapters routinely raise and donate money to a variety of non-APO
causes. Isn't it time that we consider life membership, torchbearer
contributions or making a small donation to the annual fund a part of the
commitment to the principles of APO?
Lisa M. Covi, Ph.D.
---------------------------------
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<DIV>I havent really been keeping up with this debate but I need a break from this paper, so pardon me if I repeat what has already been said. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>It is important to consider that volunteers, in a way, are already "paying" indirectly--it is expensive to travel, at times, halfway across the country or more in order to attend staff training, workshops, conventions, etc. And these volunteers do not recieve possible money from their respective chapters/universities for such expenses. For example, for this past national convention, I paid $25 for the entire trip (hotel/airfaire/banquets) aside from food (thank god for Wendys $1 menu), because my chapter raised a lot of money, the university gave us money as well. (I believe it cost approx 170 for people who took the chapter's bus, I used frequent flyer miles and flew for free) This next convention in Denver I'm going to be on my own with airfare, hotel, registration, etc. since I am no longer active. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>And not every alumni volunteer has a reliable source of income....I am sure there are many graduate students/law students/med students who volunteer (and I will be one of them after...oh, this week) I have yet to figure out where that income will be coming from but I still plan on helping in my future section/region, etc. Having to pay (beyond travel and other expenses and life membership) in order to volunteer would be extremely difficult for me and others in my situation (graduate students who have positions with their universities only have a stipend of about 9-10K a year to cover living expenses, which is not much at all). Yes, in the future after my millions of years of grad school are over, and I'm hopefully making lots of money, I will surely contribute because this fraternity has been and will continue to be a signifigant part of my life, but some volunteers who are desprately needed should not be discouraged simply because they are !
poor. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Rachel Kuhn</DIV>
<DIV>Zeta Delta Alum</DIV>
<DIV>"Section 89 here I come!"</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><B><I>"Lisa M. Covi" <lmcovi@earthlink.net></I></B> wrote:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">The following is my own personal opinion, and not that of APO:<BR><BR>I wanted to add to some of Jim's point about why volunteers should pay or<BR>contribute.<BR><BR>> If volunteers do not pay for the services they receive, who pays? The<BR>active members<BR>What services do volunteers receive?<BR>Sectional Chairs receive paper mailings, supplies that<BR>chapters can order and are served by paid National<BR>Office staff.<BR>Generally, alumni receive the same discounts and subsidies<BR>for conferences and National services as the active members<BR>Why should volunteers WANT to pay?<BR>Aside from deducting your personal expenses for carrying<BR>out your responsibilities on your tax form, consider<BR>that the active members generally do not have an<BR>independent source of income, they do a lot of service in all four fields<BR>and THEY pay.<BR>>Contributing to the fraternity (via fee o!
r voluntary contribution) is an<BR>important form of service and a public act of support for the<BR>fraternity.<BR>There are many people involved with fund-raising for Alpha<BR>Phi Omega: Alumni who encourage other alumni to<BR>give, and Board members whose promotion of<BR>"life membership" and the torchbearer program is<BR>part of the job they were<BR>elected to.<BR>What brother who reads the T&T doesn't look to see who<BR>gives money from their<BR>chapter, if their advisors or staff members appear<BR>annually and considers<BR>that in their decision about whether to give.<BR>As we continue to pursue grants and other external funding<BR>to make or keep the National Programs affordable to active<BR>members, we need to report the<BR>percentage of giving to the fraternity. How can<BR>we ask other parties to<BR>contribute if we do not contribute ourselves?<BR>> Volunteers should consider three areas of stewardship in their service<BR>to Alpha Phi Omega:<BR>time, talent a!
nd treasure. For some of us, time<BR>is our most difficult<BR>sacrifice - time away from family, children,<BR>pursuit of a livelihood. Talent<BR>can be hard to contribute too, especially if you<BR>are donating a skill you<BR>usually get paid for to Alpha Phi Omega. Your<BR>might consider a treasure<BR>contribution to be what you paid in active dues<BR>when you were in your<BR>chapter, or you might skip a night out to the<BR>movies or perhaps even one of<BR>the more expensive APO events and make that your<BR>contribution.<BR><BR>As far as community service and even compared to activist organizations, I<BR>feel APO has a lot of catching up to do in the area of fund-raising (on all<BR>levels). Some chapters are very successful, but many active and staff feel<BR>that asking people to contribute to the fraternity is an<BR>imposition. Philanthropy is a wonderful way to do community service and<BR>our chapters routinely raise and donate money to a variety of non-APO<BR>causes. Isn!
't it time that we consider life membership, torchbearer<BR>contributions or making a small donation to the annual fund a part of the<BR>commitment to the principles of APO?<BR><BR><BR>Lisa M. Covi, Ph.D.</BLOCKQUOTE><p><hr SIZE=1>
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