Our Kansas Nonprofit: Do We Need Comp?

If your Kansas nonprofit pays staff more than 20,000 dollars in total a year, yes, it must carry workers compensation, because being a nonprofit does not exempt you from the Kansas Workers Compensation Act. Tax-exempt status changes how you file with the IRS, not your duty to cover the people who work for you once your payroll passes the state's line. The main wrinkles for a nonprofit are volunteers, who are usually not employees, and paid staff, who count toward the threshold like anyone else.

Who this is for: Kansas nonprofit and charitable organizations with paid staff, or about to add it, including community groups, religious and educational organizations, and social-service agencies.

The short version

A nonprofit must carry workers comp once its paid payroll passes 20,000 dollars a year, the same as any employer.
Being tax-exempt does not exempt you from covering your paid staff.
True volunteers who are not paid are generally not employees, so they usually are not counted or required to be covered.
Part-time and seasonal wages count toward the 20,000 dollar line.
Grant agreements, landlords, and partner agencies often require proof of coverage before you can operate.

Paid staff, volunteers, and officers

Kansas treats a nonprofit like any other employer when it comes to paid workers: once your paid payroll passes 20,000 dollars a year, you must cover your staff. Volunteers are usually different. Someone who genuinely donates their time for no pay is generally not an employee, so their time does not count toward the payroll line and they typically are not required to be on the policy, though some organizations arrange separate accident coverage for active volunteers. Paid executive staff and officers of the organization are counted like other paid workers when you figure the threshold and coverage.

Who they are	Counts and covered?	What to do
Paid staff (full or part time)	Yes, wages count toward the line	Cover them once your payroll passes 20,000 dollars
True unpaid volunteers	Usually no	Not counted; optional accident coverage available
Paid executive director or officer	Treated like paid staff	Include in the coverage count and policy
Stipend or paid interns	Often yes	Treat like employees if they are paid for work

Where the gray areas hide

Two situations catch nonprofits out. The first is the paid volunteer: if you give someone a stipend, a regular allowance, or in-kind pay for doing work, they may look like an employee rather than a true volunteer, and that can pull their pay into the count and the coverage. The second is a working board member or officer who also does day-to-day paid work; that paid role is treated like any other paid position. When you are unsure whether someone counts, treat the question the way Kansas does, by looking at whether they are really paid to work for you.

A Kansas City example

Illustrative, not a quote. A food-bank nonprofit in Kansas City, Kansas has four paid staff earning a combined 120,000 dollars and dozens of weekend volunteers. Because the paid payroll is well over 20,000 dollars, the four paid staff must be covered. The unpaid volunteers are generally not employees, so they are not required to be on the comp policy, though the board adds a separate volunteer accident plan for peace of mind. The organization includes its paid executive director in the policy. A grant agreement requires proof of coverage, which the nonprofit provides with a certificate. See our workers comp for nonprofits page.

Real questions Kansas owners ask

Does our Kansas nonprofit need workers comp?

Once your paid payroll passes 20,000 dollars a year, yes. A nonprofit is an employer like any other under Kansas law, so tax-exempt status does not remove the duty to cover your paid staff over that line.

Do we have to cover our volunteers?

Usually not. A genuine unpaid volunteer is generally not an employee, so their time does not count toward the payroll line and they are not required to be on the policy. Some nonprofits still add a separate accident plan.

Are our paid officers and staff counted toward the threshold?

Yes. Paid executive staff and officers are treated like other paid workers, so their wages count toward the 20,000 dollar line and they are covered once your payroll passes it.

What about a volunteer who gets a stipend?

That can change the answer. If someone is paid a stipend or in-kind compensation for doing work, they may look like an employee rather than a true volunteer, so their pay could count and they may need to be covered.

Do paid interns count?

Often yes. If an intern is paid for their work, their pay generally counts toward the payroll line and they are treated like an employee. Unpaid interns are closer to volunteers and usually are not counted.

Why do our funders ask for proof of coverage?

Grant agreements, landlords, and partner agencies want proof to manage their own risk. Even when you have covered everyone required, you often cannot sign the agreement or use the space without a certificate.

We only pay one part-time employee a small wage. Do we still need it?

It depends on your total paid payroll. Kansas requires coverage once all paid wages together pass 20,000 dollars a year, so a single small part-time wage on its own may keep you under the line, but add it to the rest of your payroll first.

Why Kansas owners choose Morrow

We shop the right market for you. In Kansas you buy workers comp on the open, competitive market from any private insurer licensed in the state, because there is no state fund, and if no carrier will take you the state's assigned risk plan, run by the national rating bureau, is the guaranteed backstop, so we can shop your rate freely and still have a fallback for hard-to-place work.
We catch pricing mistakes. Your price depends heavily on the category your work falls into for pricing (the class code). Put people in the wrong category and you overpay for years. We review your payroll and classifications before you buy.
Proof of coverage, fast. Need a certificate (proof of coverage) for a general contractor or a landlord before Monday? We turn those around the same business day for most carriers.
We help lower the score that drives your price. Insurers give you a score based on your past claims that raises or lowers your cost (the experience modification rate). We review it each year, flag errors, and connect you with return-to-work and safety resources that bring it down.
Real people when a claim happens. When someone gets hurt, we stay involved through the life of the claim, not just at renewal.

Related Kansas guides

Every Kansas business is set up a little differently. These companion guides answer the same question for other situations, plus the national explainers behind the terms used here.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Kansas rules and penalty amounts can change, so verify current requirements with the Kansas Department of Labor, Division of Workers Compensation or a licensed advisor before you rely on them. Last updated: July 2026.