Recruiting, Tracking & Coordinating Volunteers
Volunteering is a foundational cornerstone of rural community life. Volunteers matter. For those who lead volunteer programs there is a useful online system for recruiting, tracking and coordinating volunteers.
Volunteers can interact online, check their schedules and even keep track of volunteer hours and mileage. If you are leading a volunteer program, please note that the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that would increase the tax deduction for people who use their automobiles as part of their volunteer work for charities. Under federal law, volunteers who drive their cars for charitable purposes may be reimbursed up to 14 cents per mile without the payments being subject to federal income tax. Some members of Congress say that rate is too low, particularly as gas prices have reached more than $4 per gallon. Bills currently pending in Congress would increase the reimbursement to reflect the business mileage rate, which was raised this week to 58.5 cents per mile.