Forms, Policies & Procedures

Our programs are volunteer run and supported. Your commitment and contributions to our programming are so appreciated. We know that programming purchases come out of personal wallets and that timely re-imbursements are integral to the integrity of our program. Our Foundation Treasurer and Program Coordinator work hard to be clear about Reimbursement procedures so that our programming can run smoothly and honor our volunteer gracious financial contributions. Please read through this procedure before you make purchases and submit reimbursement documentation.

1. A formal request for all reimbursements must have prior Board approval. (Check in with your Program Leader to double check if your purchases are approved.)
2. This form covers only money requested in the current year.
3. A description of each item purchased must be included on the form.
4. A copy of all purchase receipts must be submitted with this form. No personal items can be included on the receipt. (Be sure to keep those program and personal purchases separate!)
5. The form and receipts must be submitted electronically. Scanned documents or pictures taken by phone are acceptable. (Please do not send paper copies to the office. Connect with your program team for support around scanning or taking a photo of your form and receipts and sending electronically.)
6. Any request for payments not approved for the current year requires a new funding request to be presented to the Foundation Board for approval before reimbursement.
7. Contact the Foundation President to request time on the agenda for a formal presentation to the Board for additional funds.
8. Email the form and receipts to: treasurer@piercecounty.mastergardenerfoundation.org

Click the arrow below:

Badge Ordering Process: 

Badges will be ordered from our vendor two times a year: once on April 1st and once on October 1st. *Interns: you do not need to order your first name badge.*

April 1^st

• Submit the form below & your payment between March 1^st – March 25^th.
• Order will be placed by coordinator on April 1^st.
• Badges mailed out to volunteers following week.

October 1^st

• Submit the form below & your payment between September 1^st – September 25th.
• Order will be placed by coordinator on October 1st.
• Badges mailed out to volunteers following week.

Payment methods

To place your order, please remit payment of $9.00 in accordance with the timeframes above.

• Credit Card payment
  • NEW payment option! If you are submitting this way, please reach out to Caitlin if there are any issues with the checkout process.
  • Note: there is a “Checkout as Guest” option – you do not need to create an account to checkout.
• Check payment:
  • Made out to: WSU Pierce County Master Gardeners
  • Mailed to: 3602 Pacific Avenue, Suite 200, Tacoma, WA 98418

If you are photographing an event, especially one with children present, it is wise to get a signed release so that you can post those pictures on our websites and brochures. Click the arrow below.

In fulfilling the Master Gardener Mission, you will be regularly interacting with members of the public as an extension of Washington State University. The following guidelines also apply to your interactions with other Master Gardeners and members of WSU Faculty and Staff.

• Represent WSU Extension with dignity and pride.
• Respect all persons with whom they interact as a WSU Extension Master Gardener (fellow volunteers, Extension and other county personnel, and the general public).
• Conduct themselves in a courteous, respectful manner and refrain from profanity, harassment, disruptive behavior, or abuse of any kind.
• Provide a positive role model when working with youth.
• Respect and follow WSU, county, and program policies and guidelines.
• Comply with equal employment opportunity and nondiscrimination laws.
• Not consume alcohol, use marijuana, tobacco (including vapor products), or illegal substances while representing WSU Extension.
• Participate as team members within the WSU Extension Master Gardener Program.

If you witness or experience a violation of our code of conduct, please fill this form and send it to both the Pierce Coordinator and Extension Office Director.

WSU is committed to the safety and security of all individuals who represent and take part in WSU programs and activities. To that end all persons employed by or who volunteer for WSU must complete a comprehensive background check. We prefer Volunteer screens to be completed via Sterling Volunteers, a third-party background check process that scrubs national criminal history records. Background checks are required to be completed by volunteers every three years. Volunteers may choose to use a Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) fingerprint background check or other alternative background screening platform but WSU Extension Pierce County Master Gardener Program can only compensate for the Sterling Volunteer screening.

The applicant (Veteran and Emeritus) will need to pay the screening fee directly to Sterling. You will be prompted to pay once you have entered your information for the background check. If you need Financial assistance, please request that of your Coordinator, no proof of need is required. You will create a Sterling Volunteers account (username and password) to complete the background check securely. Sterling Volunteers recently purchased Verified Volunteers. There are still some references to Verified Volunteers on the webpages in the link. No need for concern if you see Verified Volunteers. Federal legislation providing permissions to complete background checks on employees and volunteers is found in the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Therefore, Sterling Volunteers requires you to read and verify that you have read the language. WSU will NOT collect credit information. Sterling Volunteers requires a Social Security Number to complete a comprehensive screen. Sterling Volunteers has information on the security of your information that you can read before you enter any personal information.

Please click on this link to pay for and submit your Sterling Volunteer Background Check.

This link is specific to Pierce County Master Gardeners, so it is important to use it rather than just going to Sterling’s website main page. If while on the Sterling website you find yourself “lost in the system”, you may be asked to enter a “Good Deed” code to navigate back to the appropriate page. Pierce County’s “Good Deed” code is: l8jickq

Review this document for guidance and Frequently Asked Questions in processing your background check.

• Reapply yearly by November 30th. This includes community agreements; pesticide and code of conduct. 
• Registered on Give Pulse and logging approved activities monthly. 
• 25 hours of approved volunteer activity.
• 10 hours of approved Continuing Education. 
• Completed up-to-date background screening (an initial check and subsequent checks every 3 years.)

You may apply for Emeritus status if you’ve been registered for at least 10 years or volunteered a total of 500 hours as a Certified Master Gardener Volunteer. All requirements for Veteran Status still apply, except the following: 

• 1 Volunteer hour 
• 5 Continuing Education hours 

Withdraw:
To cease active participation or to withdraw from the WSU Master Gardener Program, volunteers must notify the program coordinator in writing. In the event a volunteer does not provide notice of withdrawal, but ceases to participate, program coordinators shall attempt to receive notification from the volunteer in writing. Void of communication, program coordinator shall document attempts made. After withdrawal, volunteers may NOT represent themselves as a WSU Master Gardener or use the phrase master gardener to represent themselves.

Leave of Absence:
Active volunteers may request a one-year leave of absence from serving the WSU Extension Master Gardener Program without a need to retake training. Leaves of absence shall be granted by the program coordinator in alignment with annual volunteer reapplication. A volunteer may only be granted a single one-year leave during their tenure as a WSU Master Gardener volunteer. 
 A volunteer absent from the program (not logging hours on Give Pulse, Submitting paperwork, yearly application or responding to outreach) for more than a year must reapply and is subject to all fees, training, and internship requirements.

Every Master Gardener must re-apply to the program every year. It is Washington law. Before you re-apply, please ensure that you are committed to the Master Gardener Mission Statement. As a University backed program, there is a perpetual emphasis on: learning; teaching others what you have learned; and connecting with your community through documented volunteering activities.

Volunteers currently enrolled in the WSU Extension Master Gardener Program, while acting in good faith within the scope of their official WSU duties, are covered under the WSU workers’ compensation coverage through the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) for injuries/illness resulting from their volunteer activities pursuant to RCW 51.36. Timely entry of volunteer hours into the volunteer database is imperative. L&I coverage may include hospital, physician’s care, prescriptions, ambulance, and other associated costs. Loss of income is not covered.

Add: action button to the re-application form