Looking after oneself when looking after others.

• Author: Watson, Jack

Volunteering for no personal gain is one of the most laudable aspects of being Canadian. There is a long tradition of communitarianism in Canada which is manifested not only in the politeness that Americans consider quaint, but in the success of charity drives and telethons even in bad economic times. There seems to be something intrinsic to Canadians about the way they show concern and respect for one another.

Nonetheless, non-profit volunteer organizations can also attract persons who are merely pretenders to that great tradition. There are at least three categories of such pretenders. First, there are those with less than altruistic motives when they seek to participate in the efforts of such associations. Some organizations, for instance, deal with children and attract pedophiles. A second category consists of those parasites whose efforts are intended to insinuate themselves into dealing with, and taking advantage of the generous or vulnerable. Third, non-profit organizations, in one way or another, often deal with charitable donations and can attract internal swindlers and thieves.

There is an additional hazard to the non-profit volunteer organizations, of course. Some volunteers do not have malevolent or greedy motives, but simply do not appreciate when they are doing more harm than good, or are drawing too much from the assets of the organization to cover their own time or expenses. This column focusses on the pretenders and abusers, but the concepts mentioned can also address the unintentionally harmful volunteers as well.

Abusers of those Served by the Organizations

The first category of pretenders and abusers are both a problem and a responsibility of non-profit organizations. They may be persons who dissemble their way into volunteer organizations for children in order to prey upon the children. It is difficult to imagine a more repugnant conversion of the good motives of others. There are, sadly, all too many children in western society who could use the example, help, and guidance of a Big Brother or Big Sister or an Uncle at Large or the like. It is disheartening, therefore, that Canada and the United States and other western nations have been forced to legislate in this area.

For example, the United States Congress in October of 1998 enacted The Volunteers for Children Act to permit organizations and businesses that provide services for children, for the elderly, and for the disabled to use fingerprint-based national criminal history background checks in order to screen out volunteers and employees with relevant criminal records. The British Columbia legislature has considered similar legislation. Canada's Justice Minister has tabled Bill C-69 which has similar themes. The efficacy of such legislation will be discovered in future, but it is insufficient for such organizations to rely upon that possibility alone to protect their children from abusers.

A second subcategory of "abusers of those served" are the representatives and agents of the organization. There will usually be persons engaged in fund raising for the organization. There will be others who will deal directly with recipients of the beneficence or assistance of the organization. These front line participants will necessarily come into contact with persons who may place considerable faith in the organization and its capacity to select proper representatives. Sadly, the internal regulation of non-profit organizations to ensure that its representatives are...