It's a good idea to ask people who donate time to your nonprofit organization to report the time that they spend working on your behalf on volunteer time sheets. This is a good way to keep up with the activities of your volunteers for the purposes of expressing appreciation and recognizing those who make outstanding contributions. This information can also be beneficial for complying with reporting requirements and for future fundraising efforts.
Printable Sample Volunteer Time Sheets
You can use the same type of time sheet document to keep track of volunteer hours that companies use for payroll purposes. Download these sample time sheets for volunteers if you don't already have a form to use. If you need help downloading the sample time sheet, check out these helpful tips.
Weekly Volunteer Time Sheet
Weekly volunteer time sheets are perfect for people who donate their time over short periods or those who seek to keep the most accurate records possible. Smaller organizations who don't see a lot of volunteers can keep these simple time sheets on hand for when they do receive free help.
Bi-Weekly Community Service Time Sheet
If your employees turn in time sheets on a bi-weekly basis, it can be helpful to put volunteers on the same time sheet schedule. This keeps everyone on the same page. If you are a volunteer who works with several organizations, this time sheet gives you space to include the organization name and get signatures from different supervisors. This time sheet is also great for large organizations where volunteers might have supervisors in different departments or locations.
Monthly Volunteer Time Sheet
People who volunteer nearly every day can use a monthly volunteer time sheet to keep track of their efforts. Simply jot down your time and tasks each day of the month all in one sheet. This cuts down on paper and documenting time for regular volunteers. Organizations who utilize volunteers for a lot of events can fill in the events and duties then hand out the time sheets to the appropriate volunteers. Those donating their time will be able to plan around these events in advance.
Volunteer Time Sheet Tips
Volunteer time sheets are useful, but they don't need to be as heavily regulated and meticulously kept as employee time sheets. Keep track of all your volunteer hours with these simple tips.
- Copy and distribute volunteer time sheets to volunteers and ask them to submit a completed form each week that they work as a way of documenting their generosity.
- Keep a binder with all volunteer time sheets for the time period in alphabetical order. This makes it easy for volunteers to find and fill out their documents.
- Track individual volunteer's total hours in a spreadsheet you update each time period to easily see when people reach volunteer hours milestones.
- Let different volunteers use different time sheets. People who help out daily can use the monthly version to save paper while occasional volunteers can use a weekly version.
- Put a clock next to where you store the time sheets so all volunteers will be using the same clock and documenting accurate times.
- Keep a calendar of events and list of volunteer duties with the time sheets so volunteers can reference them when filling out time sheets.
Tracking Generosity
Volunteer time sheets are an easy and professional tool you can use for student volunteers, people completing required community service hours, or to track how you help others on a regular basis. Tracking the generosity of volunteers gives you a clear understanding of your own resources and can be used when writing grants to help gain funding for an organization or cause.
