G.W. from outside of Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
Can you volunteer to do gardening at a condo without pay?
Mister Condo replies:
G.W., the very nature of volunteering indicates that there will be no pay. If pay is offered, it is employment, not volunteerism. Typically speaking, it is bad policy to hire condo residents to work for the association. Why? Because it leads to question of impropriety, favoritism, unfairness, and so on. Many associations have Gardening Committees where the committee members routinely donate their time to maintain the association’s greenery and gardens. If the work is extensive enough that it requires paid workers to manage, it is time to have the Board hire a caretaker. That way the work gets done by a licensed and insured professional, guaranteeing no claims of impropriety and offering the association the peace of mind in knowing they are insured in the event of injury. All the best!