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Home > Forum > Triathlon Forum > Cost of Events - Cost of a Volunteer

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Cost of Events - Cost of a Volunteer
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milkman1982
Mar 13, 17 7:01
Post #1 of 11 (1453 views)
It is often discussed how event cost is increasing these days. I was volunteering at an event this weekend, and I started to think about how much events spend on volunteer t shirts. Will anyone ever where a volunteer t shirt after the event? My thought is no, so why do we keep up this charade? I realize the need for volunteers to stand out, but why not just keep a bunch of reflective vests on hand, and have the volunteers return them when their shift is over? My guess is volunteer shirts cost ~$15/per, and you have what, a 4 to 1 racer to volunteer ratio? Not huge savings, but certainly a start in reducing waste.

Interested to know if any race directors have considered alternatives to the volunteer t-shirt.
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Re: Cost of Events - Cost of a Volunteer [milkman1982] [ In reply to ]
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B.McMaster
Mar 13, 17 7:03
Post #2 of 11 (1442 views)
Volunteers like shirts. They are much closer to $5 than $15.

I do see a fair number of them being worn at the gym.
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Re: Cost of Events - Cost of a Volunteer [B.McMaster] [ In reply to ]
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milkman1982
Mar 13, 17 7:26
Post #3 of 11 (1402 views)
That is interesting. I can't say I recall seeing a volunteer shirt worn away from an event, but to be fair I have not been gathering empirical evidence. I There are any number of reasons why people choose to volunteer, and my thought would be volunteering for a "cool" shirt (they aren't) is pretty far down the list, but I could be way off base here and projecting my own opinions on the argument.
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Re: Cost of Events - Cost of a Volunteer [B.McMaster] [ In reply to ]
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trail
Mar 13, 17 7:51
Post #4 of 11 (1350 views)
B.McMaster wrote:
Volunteers like shirts. They are much closer to $5 than $15.

Race directors like shirts. Having volunteers in an official-looking shirt identifies them as "staff." E.g. so when they ask, for, say your race # to get your bike out of transition after the race, it doesn't look like a random person asking you.

I'm not sure I've ever seen one worn after race day.
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Re: Cost of Events - Cost of a Volunteer [milkman1982] [ In reply to ]
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japarker24
Mar 13, 17 7:59
Post #5 of 11 (1340 views)
milkman1982 wrote:
It is often discussed how event cost is increasing these days. I was volunteering at an event this weekend, and I started to think about how much events spend on volunteer t shirts. Will anyone ever where a volunteer t shirt after the event? My thought is no, so why do we keep up this charade? I realize the need for volunteers to stand out, but why not just keep a bunch of reflective vests on hand, and have the volunteers return them when their shift is over? My guess is volunteer shirts cost ~$15/per, and you have what, a 4 to 1 racer to volunteer ratio? Not huge savings, but certainly a start in reducing waste.

Interested to know if any race directors have considered alternatives to the volunteer t-shirt.

Many races, such as Ironman & IM 70.3 events, actually have more volunteers than racers.
Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.
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Re: Cost of Events - Cost of a Volunteer [milkman1982] [ In reply to ]
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st speedskater
Mar 14, 17 9:31
Post #6 of 11 (1167 views)
Sometimes a sponsor pays for the tee-shirt rather than being part of the event budget.

Did you know that as a volunteer, some of your expenses may be tax deductible?

If the event is run by a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, there are expenses that you can use (mileage or gas expenses {not both}, hotel bills, meals {not alcohol}, tolls, car rental, even flights costs) which are especially helpful if you itemize on your taxes (Schedule A).
Kevin
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Re: Cost of Events - Cost of a Volunteer [st speedskater] [ In reply to ]
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happyscientist
Mar 14, 17 10:38
Post #7 of 11 (1093 views)
st speedskater wrote:
Sometimes a sponsor pays for the tee-shirt rather than being part of the event budget.

Did you know that as a volunteer, some of your expenses may be tax deductible?

If the event is run by a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, there are expenses that you can use (mileage or gas expenses {not both}, hotel bills, meals {not alcohol}, tolls, car rental, even flights costs) which are especially helpful if you itemize on your taxes (Schedule A).

I really should have kept track of the mileage that I drove when I volunteered for the MS150 last year. I have volunteered at bike races and triathlons, but nothing compares to volunteering for a charity ride. Those things are chaos, and I spent all day tracking down lost riders who couldn't figure out how to use GPS but were "near a barn".

Anyway, the times that I have been given a shirt, the shirt is so ugly that I don't want to wear it again. I prefer the vest that was mentioned above. Rather than giving me a shirt, make sure that I get a break during the day and save me some food after the event.
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Re: Cost of Events - Cost of a Volunteer [milkman1982] [ In reply to ]
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Tri-Banter
Mar 14, 17 11:30
Post #8 of 11 (1041 views)
The shirts aren't for the volunteers. They're for everyone else. The race staff need to know who to pass on instructions to. The fans need to know that the person handing out instructions is on the 'official' list. The athletes need to know who to thank before, during, and after the race.



Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/
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Re: Cost of Events - Cost of a Volunteer [milkman1982] [ In reply to ]
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rrheisler
Mar 14, 17 11:41
Post #9 of 11 (1026 views)
Shirts with a single color print, front and back, are as low as $3.25/shirt. Much cheaper than the vests, to be honest.

Now, whether or not for-profit race producers can actually use volunteer labor...well, that's a whole other can of worms that'll likely get answered in November of this year.
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Re: Cost of Events - Cost of a Volunteer [rrheisler] [ In reply to ]
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milkman1982
Mar 14, 17 11:48
Post #10 of 11 (1018 views)
rrheisler wrote:
Shirts with a single color print, front and back, are as low as $3.25/shirt. Much cheaper than the vests, to be honest.

Now, whether or not for-profit race producers can actually use volunteer labor...well, that's a whole other can of worms that'll likely get answered in November of this year.

Vests may not make sense for a one-off organization, not sure what they cost per unit, but think about if you are say an organization in the likeness of Setup Events. If you have 20 events a year, that require 50 volunteers each, at $4/shirt that is $4K in shirts for the year, every year. If they were to invest in 50 vests, that is a one-time cost, so even if they are $10/per vest, that would result in $3500 savings the first year alone. You would have to replace a few every year, but my guess is your aren't reinvesting more than $200/year in updated vests. Pretty good ROI
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Re: Cost of Events - Cost of a Volunteer [milkman1982] [ In reply to ]
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rrheisler
Mar 14, 17 11:49
Post #11 of 11 (1012 views)
I assure you - those vests are not "one-off" purchases. People make off with them all the time. Hence why we moved from vests to shirts.
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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter
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