What Steve is trying to do is truly honorable...just like the SAR people, he isn't getting a salary. I'll support his effort 100%, and yes, I would pay to be involved.
Not sure I should wade in here, but since SAR was mentioned, I'll give it a shot.
My out-of-pocket SAR expenses are considerable. Outside donations to my team (the CLMRG) go for group things such as radios, stretchers, and gas for SAR operations, but we members are responsible for our own expenses. Those expenses include not just gear and food, but also the costs of training, conditioning, and familiarization climbs. So it can cost money to volunteer. You do it because you are helping out, and because you get satisfaction from doing so.
Every bonafide charitable organization is nonprofit. They have income and they have expenses, and their directors decide how they should operate. To help a charitable organization, sometimes you donate time, like being a docent in a museum. Sometimes you donate money, as to the American Heart Association. And sometimes you donate both, as in SAR and--evidently--some trail maintenance activities.
For the costs associated with my volunteer activities, I'm not paying it to some hiking society. I'm paying it to REI, Albertsons, and Chevron. And, on rare occasions, to the local emergency room. No matter, it's all money out of my pocket.
It doesn't matter if it's an injured person on a cliff or a rundown trail, you get to decide whether you want to play the game. If the cost to you--in time and/or money--is worth the satisfaction you are getting out of it, you do it.
Costs are real. The AHS directors have evidently decided to pass some of it on to the volunteers, rather than suck it up themselves or look for outside donations. If you find that grating, there are plenty of other worthy organizations to devote your charitable energies to.
