Integrating Volunteers and Gifts
May 2nd, 2007 by Todd
One of the greatest variables in the building project is when the church elects to undertake portions of the work itself, with volunteer labor or utilizing a member of the congregation who is giving a gift of service or materials for the project. Sometimes these situations work out well and other times they do not, even resulting in grief and heartache. Some words of advice:
- If this is the first project the church has undertaken with volunteer laborers – Don’t do it! Many churches have decided that they can save money by using volunteers to finish some of the rooms or do some of the electrical work, or lay carpeting, etc. only to find out that the volunteers are largely unskilled and inexperienced and their participation is unpredictable.
- If volunteers are to be used, be certain that they do not interfere with the work of paid contractors. For example, the church may have an electrician as a member who says he’ll do the work in the evening with some volunteers. They may wind up not completing the work soon enough to allow the general contractor to close in the walls and ceilings on schedule. Elongating the contractor’s schedule will then result in additional costs to the church. Also, under such a scenario, it may be difficult to get the contractor’s workers back on site if they had to be placed on another job in order to keep them working.
- Other gifts from church members may or may not prove to be of great value and should be scrutinized in conjunction with the architect and builder. For example: the church member that can get windows at cost from their father-in-law, may be providing a window that is of an inferior grade or does not match the sizes specified on the plans. Especially where sizes are concerned, wall framing may be severely impacted resulting in additional costs from the contractor to change the sizes of the openings to accommodate the “gifted” or discounted windows. Likewise, the carpeting that someone decides to give may be of a residential and not a commercial quality and unable to handle the anticipated traffic. Furthermore, the overall appearance could be compromised if the carpet is not the color, pattern or texture that enhances the design of the space.
So scrutinize all gifts and offers of volunteer labor carefully.
We’ve had clients do this where the end result was very successful. Day one was fabulous. However what wasn’t measured was the very real human cost. Volunteers working their day jobs then putting in another 20+ hours a week at the church has a price tag for the families of the volunteers and to the ministry staff who are required to manage the process.
I find people rarely discuss the relational casualties. No one wants to talk about divorces, firings, mismanaged business relationships or emotional breakdowns–but they happen. Even when the end result is measured a success.
If clients go down this path, it shouldn’t be about saving money. It should be about allowing “all who are skilled” to bring their gifts. Contingency money for the church to bring in the extra help needed when it gets to the pressure point of the opening day deadline can help protect the volunteers.
Really good point here, Cathy. I know my wife felt a bit stressed at my lack of being around when our church did a major ‘volunteer’ project and I was gone a lot on top of my regular job.