Volunteering

Time Tracking
As we get volunteers, we need to be careful that we get confirmation from them that they are not self-employed. People who are freelancing can be considered to be self-employed. Elections Canada has strict rules about what kinds of volunteer contributions can be made and to what extent.

We need to get confirmation from volunteers via e-mail that they are not self-employed, or if they are that their volunteer work is not related to their professional work. Under some specific circumstances dictated by legislation, volunteer work can be considered for a tax receipt. If time is in this category, it needs to be cleared in advance by the Party and we must track time closely to ensure that it does not exceed the limits dictated by Revenue Canada.

In most instances, we assume that volunteers are unpaid and are not self-employed in a capacity similar to what they are doing with the party. Volunteers must confirm that their contributions will be non-paid volunteer labour and that they are not self-employed working in same type of job as the work he/she is volunteering to do.

Below is a sample of a time tracking sheet to be used by volunteers whose time must be tracked. We can provide a spreadsheet file if it is needed.