Volunteers and Confidentiality: What They Can and Can’t Share — and What Happens When They Do

Volunteers hear things. A client shares a personal detail during a home visit or on the way to a medical appointment. A board member mentions an unreleased decision within earshot of an office volunteer. A donor’s gift amount appears on a spreadsheet that a volunteer helps organize. These situations put a volunteer in possession of information they were never trained to handle. Unfortunately, many organizations only think about nonprofit liability insurance after a volunteer shares something they shouldn’t have.

What Should Volunteers Keep Confidential?

Nonprofits ask volunteers to protect several categories of information, including:

• Client or case details, including names, circumstances, or health information learned while providing services
• Donor records, including gift amounts, contact information, and payment details
• Internal operations, such as board discussions, personnel matters, or unreleased plans
• Photos and social media posts that identify a client or share event details without consent

Volunteers do not always receive this list in writing on day one. Informal training leaves room for misinformation to slip out in casual conversation.

What Happens When a Volunteer Shares Something They Shouldn’t?

The fallout starts small: A client loses trust in the organization, or a donor feels exposed. From there, consequences can escalate to reputational damage or, in some cases, a legal claim for invasion of privacy or defamation. 

The Volunteer Protection Act shields volunteers from liability for ordinary negligence in many situations, but that protection does not extend to willful or reckless conduct. A volunteer who deliberately shares confidential information, or who is careless enough that a court finds the conduct reckless, can fall outside that shield.

Where Does Nonprofit Liability Insurance Fit — and Where Doesn’t It?

Nonprofit liability insurance generally centers on allegations of bodily injury or property damage. Many liability policies do not automatically extend to personal injury claims, such as invasion of privacy or defamation, unless that coverage is specifically included. A confidentiality breach falls into that second category. It cannot be assumed to respond the same way as a slip-and-fall claim would.

Insurance is one layer of protection, not the only one. Pairing coverage with a clear internal policy addresses the gap left by insurance alone. VIS members can find volunteer confidentiality and risk-management guidance, including the VIS Vault of Preventer Papers, among the resources available through membership.

Reducing the Risk Before It Happens

A written confidentiality policy at onboarding gives volunteers a clear definition of what counts as confidential, who it applies to, and what happens if it’s violated. The National Council of Nonprofits notes that protecting sensitive personal information comes down to training staff and volunteers on how to collect, store, dispose of, and protect that data. 

A standalone confidentiality agreement, signed separately from a general liability waiver, reinforces that expectation. Training should cover specific scenarios. What can a volunteer say about a client in casual conversation? Can photos from an event go on personal social media? Who should a volunteer ask when unsure? A clear reporting path for uncertainty prevents small mistakes from turning into policy violations.

Building Confidentiality Into Volunteer Onboarding

Confidentiality breaches trace back to a simple cause: a volunteer who was never told where the line was. A written policy, a signed agreement, and specific training close that gap before it becomes a liability question. 

For organizations weighing how volunteer confidentiality risk fits into their nonprofit liability insurance coverage, VIS’s volunteer liability program is worth a closer look. Call 800.222.8920 to talk through the specifics with a member of the VIS team.

About the Author

William R. Henry, Jr. is Vice President and Director of Member Benefits at Volunteers Insurance Service Association, Inc. (VIS), where he leads membership development and delivers risk management solutions tailored to volunteer-based organizations nationwide. A recognized authority on volunteer risk management, he is a frequent speaker and author on best practices for safe and effective volunteer engagement. He is accredited by the International Association of Business Communicators. With a background in communications, journalism, and public affairs, Henry brings a strategic perspective to supporting nonprofit organizations across the United States.

About VIS

Volunteers Insurance Service Association, Inc. (VIS) is a membership organization serving more than 3,500 volunteer-based nonprofit organizations and public entities nationwide. VIS is the only association that offers these three insurance programs designed specifically for volunteers: volunteer accident, volunteer liability, and volunteer excess automobile liability.

If you are interested in protecting your volunteers through the unique VIS insurance program, please click on the “Get volunteer insurance now” link on the home page, or call 800.222.8920. For more information on VIS’s risk-management resources for members and our vendor partners, click on the “Member Benefits” tab.