Last updated by Kasey Murphy on 04/27/2022

Volunteer agreement forms are in almost every volunteer program, in small ways and significant ways. Depending on your program, you may have lengthy volunteer agreement forms or more minor, basic volunteer agreements. 

Volunteer agreements are simply a way to set expectations of what the volunteer can expect from the organization and what the organization hopes to see from its volunteers. They are great to use at the end of a volunteer info session or the beginning of volunteer orientation. 

See more on volunteer info sessions and orientations here. 

Especially now, in a COVID-19 cautious environment, volunteer agreements are going to be essential to let your volunteers know how your organization is taking safety precautions and what is expected on behalf of the volunteer to keep a safe volunteer environment. 

We have pulled examples and suggestions on volunteer agreement forms from many different resources and volunteer coordinators who are in our Volunteer Coordinator Resource Community Facebook group. The following article will give examples of what to include in volunteer agreement forms, as well as volunteer agreement template downloads!

Volunteer Contracts or any sort of law-enforceable documents are not the same as volunteer agreement forms. The following volunteer agreement templates are not enforceable by law; if you are looking for a document that volunteers can sign in a legal aspect, please seek assistance from a lawyer.  

We have created a volunteer management handbook that has volunteer agreement forms, volunteer recommendation letter templates, and volunteer handbook outlines. This is such a great way to get started with a volunteer program, don’t miss out on all of the best volunteer management documents complied into one location! 

Download the full handbook here. 

Why are Volunteer Agreements Important

Volunteer agreements are important on multiple levels. The best part about volunteer agreements is that they can be as serious or as basic as you would like, and they are customizable to your organization’s standards. 

1. Volunteer Agreements display an organized front to a volunteer program.
2. Volunteer Agreement Forms layout rules and guidelines. 
3. Volunteers can see an expectation of the organization and volunteer program tasks within their volunteer agreement forms.
4. Volunteer Agreement forms give a location to place other information like consequences, the sequence of exiting the program, requirements for the organization, and volunteer information. 

All in all, volunteer agreement forms give a professional look to necessary information forms. They also allow a signed document for organizations to look back to for essential information. Volunteer agreement templates like the ones provided in this article will allow organizations to provide as much information on their programs as they wish. Also, they will enable a place for volunteers to provide their information as well that the organization may need. 

It is important to consider if you would like your volunteer agreement to be online or paper. Paper signatures are great to have, and it can be helpful if you have an in-person meeting where you can hand out the paper. 

But, in COVID-19 times, it may be more efficient to go with an online volunteer agreement. Online volunteer agreements can be beneficial as well because you can simply upload your volunteer information into your volunteer management software. 

If you have a volunteer time tracking or management software like Track It Forward, you can create customized profile fields within the software that can hold all the information that you wish to ask in your volunteer agreement forms. You can also simply upload the volunteer information from an online spreadsheet! 

How to Use Volunteer Agreement Templates With COVID-19

Many people include a safety section in their volunteer agreement templates. This is a great spot to include COVID-19 information in your volunteer agreement form! We think most volunteers would like to see a specific COVID-19 safety section somewhere within the organization, and the volunteer agreement form is the perfect spot! 

You can put what your organization is doing differently to promote safety and to lessen the amount of exposure in your volunteer program. In addition, you can add guidelines and rules on what your organization expects of the volunteer when it comes to COVID-19 safety. This could be bringing their mask, remaining six feet apart from other volunteers, and potentially doing a health screening.

Whatever your organization decides it is doing on behalf of COVID-19 safety, it can and should be in the volunteer agreement documents! It is also important that whenever rules or guidelines change in the organization, each volunteer gets a new volunteer agreement form. So, for a volunteer program that is reopening in the pandemic, each volunteer -new or old- should be given a volunteer agreement form.

For more information and advice on coronavirus volunteer program opening, check out this article.

What to include in a Volunteer Agreement Document

Many different things can be in a volunteer agreement. The various templates outline different uses of volunteer agreement documents; all of the following are optional to include based on your organization’s needs! The essential inclusions are the organization commitments and expectations, rules and regulations, and a spot for a volunteer signature! 

• Volunteer information - date of birth, address, phone number, email address, preferred pronouns, emergency contact
• Availability to volunteer - if you wish to make volunteer schedules
• Organization commitments and expectations - what the organization does to help volunteers and what they expect from volunteers in return
• Rules and guidelines for volunteering in general 
• Rules and guidelines for specific tasks
• Attendance and Requirements - requirements that the organization may have when it comes to hourly commitments or yearly commitments, things like punctuality and shift changes can be here.
• Safety guidelines - this would be where COVID-19 information may be. It may be important to write out a description of risk and how a volunteer can cancel a shift if they feel liable or nervous about COVID-19.
• Organization contact information
• Photo release signature 

Download our top 10 volunteer agreement templates here.

By creating a volunteer agreement template, you are ensuring an organized volunteer program! Creating a volunteer agreement form is the first step to getting started in building a volunteer program. Having these templates on file to edit as your program changes and expands is a wonderful opportunity that can help make your job a bit easier now and in the future.

We compiled the best volunteer agreement templates for you to edit and customize for your organization! Sign up below to receive an email that will give you the download link!

Sample Volunteer Agreements 

The following are some sneak peeks of sample volunteer agreements in other organizations. Click on the links to view the full versions - input your email address in the bottom box to download our editable volunteer agreement templates! 

Each of these sample volunteer agreements varies in complexity. Depending on your organization, you may not need as severe of a volunteer agreement form. 

Online Form Using a Site Like Survey Monkey
Check out our example below, linked here. This organization created a Google Form to have volunteers fill out specific information and sign up online. 

Digital-PDF
This organization used a downloadable PDF, where viewers could print or fill out online. See the full version here. 

Basic Paper Document
This organization created a word document that they will use to print out and hand out to volunteers in person. Find the print-out here.

Elaborate Paper Document
Elaborate paper volunteer agreement forms can be handy when there is a lot of logistics to cover, or you would like your volunteers to have a copy to take with them. These elaborate volunteer agreements can also be a digital version, and the volunteers can choose how they download them. The full version is here. 

FAQs

1. Are Volunteer Agreements legal documents? 

A volunteer agreement form is only a legal document if lawyers and notaries are involved. Be sure to seek legal advice if you wish to have a legal volunteer contract. Also be sure to let your volunteers know they are not legally bound to anything by signing. 

2. How do I make volunteer agreement forms? 

It is very simple to make these forms. Just take time to overview what you want a volunteer to understand about the organization and include this. Make sure you give volunteers time to read the whole document.