Advice on choosing the right volunteering organisation
This page has advice on what you should look for when looking for a voluntary or gap year placement overseas.
Volunteer for a long term placement
It will fulfil your desire to contribute to a community in a meaningful way and be an experience that will develop you too. Employers and universities also know the difference in benefits gained over 6 months volunteering compared to a placement of only 2 weeks.
Work out the cost
Many organisations charge a fee, but look into what this fee means and how it is structured. Charities will generally charge you a one off fee for a set period of time. This is because it is the cost incurred to them at the length of time that is best for the community. Companies may charge a fee for a set period of time and then charge you more for every week / month after. This discourages long term volunteering! And can be very expensive.
Using a typical example; we will look at a ‘voluntourism’ placement and its costs compared to a similar one offered by a charity. The example in question is a 1 week (paying by week) placement in an orphanage in Vietnam ; it costs £699 for 1 week and £110 for each consequent week. Below we compare this to a similar type of placement (in terms of country and voluntary interest) to one offered by Lattitude Global Volunteering, a registered charity.
Working out cost example. Company vs charity n a placement working with children in Vietnam
| Company placement 12 weeks (max allowed by company) |
| £699 + (11 x£ 110) = £1909, on top of this you would have to pay for food and transport from the accommodation to the placement. These total an extra $130 (£83.50) per week. Total: £2911Includes food, accommodation, in-country orientation, local representation, 24hr support Not including: Flights, insurance, visa |
| Charity placement 18 weeks: |
Total: £1800Includes food, accommodation, in-country orientation, pocket money, local representation, 24hr support Not including: Flights, insurance, visa |
| What does that work out per week: |
| Company: £242.5 Charity:£100 Difference =140% more expensive to go with company. |
Some companies charge this way and it can be confusing and difficult to know exactly what you are getting. However, we can see that if you do the sums and look around you can end up paying less than half the cost by going with a charity. Watch out for organisations that try and charge you by week or month and have hidden costs such as local transport.
Does the organisation offer a matching process?
Volunteering shouldn’t be an ‘off the shelf’ opportunity. Like booking up a holiday. Organisations have a responsibility to ensure they are sending the right people to the right places. It would appear in this instance the community that is supposedly gaining from the benefit of a volunteer are not taken into account at all.
Does the organisation ask you to pay upfront?
(Or pay your deposit upfront). Again, this would appear to speak volumes about what that organisation is interested in – the volunteer or the volunteers’ money.
Be wary of ‘quick turnaround’
Some organisations will offer you the chance to volunteer within a couple of weeks. Be wary of these as the visa you are sent on may not be a voluntary visa but a tourist visa, as such what you can do whilst in your choice country may be very limited, and similarly the amount of time you may stay for may be relatively short. Ask about the visa. Quick turnaround also implies no or very limited matching process
Be responsible. When volunteering you are committing to a community or project, it is no longer just about you and your needs. Think about what is right for the people you will be volunteering with. Charities usually have this at their heart.
Does the organisation pay the placement?
It may surprise a lot of people but actually look for host communities that DO NOT get paid for you (this does not include a contribution towards living / food costs). It may be shocking but it is actually very logical. If a host community need and value the work you do, they do not need to be paid to host you. Some hosts that get paid may only be hosting you because they are being paid to do so. In which case volunteers find themselves short of things to do. They are not really needed but simply a source of income.
Does the organisation react responsibly towards its host communities?
This is something that is taken for granted by many volunteers. But always check that organisations work with their host communities to ensure the local work force are not being displaced by the volunteers. It is detrimental to those people and the local economy. And it may be happening without you knowing about it.
“… there is a real danger of voluntourists crowding out local workers, especially when people are prepared to pay for the privilege to volunteer “
Human Sciences Research council
A volunteering placement is a volunteering placement. Right?
No. Employers and universities are well aware of the difference between meaningful and long term voluntary placements compared to much shorter ones. So if you plan to use your placement as proof of skills and abilities, think about which sort of placements would be best for you. But if you are only thinking about your CV when you choose to volunteer, volunteering is probably NOT for you.
