In Federally declared disasters, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can reimburse local and state governments for the cost of disaster recovery through a cost-share agreement.

Volunteer hours help communities recover in two ways:  

1. Volunteer work is essential to helping the community respond and recover physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

2. Volunteer hours have a dollar amount attached to them by the Federal government to aid communities in recovering the cost of relief efforts.

Volunteer hours must be documented in an auditable way in order for hours to count towards the cost share. Tracking volunteer hours is simple; we’ve provided a form below. You will document:

• Volunteer’s Name - first and last

• Location of Volunteer Work – the specific address of the service site

• Hours Worked – a sign-in time and a sign-out time

• Type of Work – a brief description, i.e.:

  • “Donations Management” for loading, unloading, and sorting donations

  • “Community Feeding” for packaging, cooking, serving or distributing food to residents or volunteers

It is also beneficial to note if the volunteer used any equipment, since some types of equipment, such as vehicles and miles driven, also have reimbursable dollar amounts attached.