Volunteering? Ready to get to work? First, you have to sign an agreement that concludes ‘’you’ve had the opportunity to review this with legal counsel of your choice”. Are you okay with that? Well, consider what effect do you suppose that has on volunteer recruitment efforts as a whole. Or is it really the fault of the ruckus on social media, led by ‘rabble rousers’?

This is the board that, without warning or explanation, eliminated the community’s own official forum, leaving the community no alternative but commercial social media, whose platforms they emphatically do not use, but routinely criticize for ‘denigrating’ their efforts, and seeking to ‘govern’ the community ‘from outside’. They feel that the effect on volunteer recruitment is stifling the interest to serve, as ”Fewer and fewer residents are willing to volunteer their time, wanting to avoid the conflicts.” The conflicts they claim are of no consequence, on social media platforms they don’t like, belong to, or engage with the community on.

Forget that they make no visible, on-going effort to recruit volunteers. Really? Do they list volunteers and thank them publicly, do they carve out any time at public meetings to honor their service or even acknowledge them personally, to invite them to address the assembled community, for anything they’ve done? Do they take any time to promote specific vacancies and include the tasks or challenges for which they’re needed, offering the testimony of volunteers already serving for guidance? Do they publish any photos of work done in the community, on roads, or drainage or common areas? Have they ever bought hats with our community logo or colors for our volunteers, though our L&I, Roads, ARC and REC volunteers would surely appreciate them?

Is there a ‘Volunteer Dashboard’ prominent on our homepage with links to sign up then and there, a live volunteer ‘counter’, a ‘Volunteer of the Month’ photo and bio? A short clip of folks’ testimonials, or some (happily!) hard at work?

DOES THE WORD ‘VOLUNTEER’ APPEAR ANYWHERE ON OUR HOMEPAGE?

Here at The Magnolia News, we do more than quibble and carp and ‘denigrate’. We’ve actually done something about volunteering, starting with our ‘Sleeves Up’ campaign, now long abandoned for lack of board interest or support, though we did manage to actually get one volunteer, Paul Werring, recognized by the board at a meeting, and a very deserving award presented, thanks to the tireless efforts of Chuck Cox. The moment that board meeting was over, the campaign ‘went away’.

https://magnolianews.online/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sleeves-Up.pdf
(NOTE: click on the ‘Podcast’ link when you have a few minutes to spare.)

Aw, come on, Dave! What difference does a little ol’ sign up sheet verbiage matter? People sign things like this all the time. Heck, most don’t even read the fine print!

You might think. However, most people who’d consider volunteering for an HOA committee are doing so on a low-effort, low-commitment mental model: “I have opinions about the front entrance, I’ll show up to a few meetings.” The moment that person is handed a document that requires initial acknowledgement of “risks including but not limited to personal injury,” agree to indemnify a corporation, and confirm they’ve had the opportunity to consult legal counsel, what do you think happens? That’s when the ‘transaction cost’ of saying yes jumps dramatically, even if the actual legal risk of joining Cindy’s group seems trivial. Behaviorally, people don’t distinguish well between “this document is thorough” and “this activity is risky.” The document becomes the signal for how risky they perceive the activity to be, regardless of what the actual underlying task is.

Is there a ‘kicker’? Of course, there’s always a ‘kicker’! And it’s this little gem of MPCA’s interaction with Florida’s Volunteer Protection Act (F.S. 768.1355) and F.S. 617.0834: Florida already gives uncompensated nonprofit volunteers and directors/officers statutory immunity from civil liability for acts within the scope of their duties, absent gross negligence, willful misconduct, or bad faith. Our agreement doesn’t reference that statutory backstop at all, and in some ways asks MORE of the volunteer (defend and indemnify the Association) than the statute contemplates protecting them from. No, it’s not illegal to ask for more than the statutory floor, but it’s worth knowing you’re stacking a private contractual obligation on top of, not instead of, existing law.

MPCA Volunteer Agreement

The chilling effect on volunteerism for such stunts is a well-documented effect throughout volunteer-management research generally. Friction at the point of commitment: paperwork, formality, perceived legal exposure, suppresses volunteer signups far more than the actual duties do. People self-select out based on ‘the ask, not the task’. What this likely costs us as a community, in practice:

This is a well-documented effect throughout volunteer-management research generally (not HOA-specific): friction at the point of commitment: paperwork, formality, perceived legal exposure, suppresses volunteer signups far more than the actual duties do. People self-select out based on ‘the ask, not the task’. What this likely costs us as a community, in practice:

• • Fewer sign-ups overall, especially from people who are interested but not yet fully decided, a huge share of any real volunteer pool
  • A pool skewed toward existing HOA-engaged residents rather than fresh faces, which, if your board is trying to broaden participation beyond “the usual people,” works directly against that goal.
  • Possible resentment or pushback from residents who feel the request is disproportionate to a volunteer role, which can spill into general community sentiment about the board even among non-volunteers.
  • Finally the worse case, if you really care about your neighbors: a higher chance that people sign without reading closely (defeating the purpose of informed consent) rather than fewer people signing after reading closely, the document may protect the Association on paper while doing less than intended to actually generate informed agreement. In which case, the potential for disillusionment and resentment down the road far outweighs any benefit some LAWYER is selling the board.

I have much firsthand experience with volunteers right here, in our community. At The Magnolia News, we depend on volunteers for each month’s issues. We’re widely read here, our wonderful advertisers have made considerable contributions to local charities, and we’ve garnered national awards in the name of Magnolia Point. Our contributors’ selfless contributions and dedication all the ‘signature’ we ask, and that’s good enough for us.