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Volunteering offers a meaningful way to contribute to society, whether locally or abroad. People volunteer for many reasons—some to support causes they care about, others to gain new experiences, develop skills, or explore career pathways. While volunteering can be highly rewarding, it’s also important to ensure that opportunities align with ethical best practices and create genuine benefits for communities.
This page provides key resources and links to help you find volunteering opportunities that match your skills and values. It also includes guidance on ethical considerations, including the impact of voluntourism, and how to ensure your efforts contribute positively. Whether you’re looking for a gap year experience, a career-building opportunity, or a way to give back as a family, these resources will help you navigate the world of volunteering responsibly.
Volunteering and Voluntourism: The Good, The Bad, and The Questions You Should Ask
This 2018 post by Audrey Scott highlights the importance of thinking about the possible unintended negative consequences of volunteering and voluntourism – especially as the volunteer “industry” as a whole is currently estimated at $2.8 billion in annual revenue, and impacts directly on communities. She goes on to indicate the ethical considerations you should be aware of, and which questions can you ask to better ensure that your actions and any financial contribution are aligned with your values and expectations.
GlobalSL.org
An excellent resource for understanding ethical global service issues. This site amasses evidence-based tools and peer-reviewed research to advance best practices in global learning, cooperative development, and community-university partnership. It is edited and overseen by researchers and practitioners who work with multiple methods and represent diverse fields, all concerned with the question of how to responsibly and ethically grow partnerships between educational institutions and communities.
The Ethics of Volunteering: Beyond Good Intentions
This comprehensive article discusses the key aspects of ethical volunteering, including sustainability, cultural awareness, and transparency. It provides a framework for evaluating volunteer opportunities and highlights important considerations such as local presence, environmental responsibility, and skill-based matching.
The Dark Side of Voluntourism
This article offers a critical examination of voluntourism, discussing its potential negative impacts on communities and organizations. It addresses issues such as the “saviour complex,” dependency on foreign aid, and the exploitation of good intentions. This resource provides a balanced view of the challenges associated with short-term volunteer work in developing countries.
Helping Volunteers to Market Their Experience on Their Resumes
Many volunteers overlook their unpaid work when updating their resumes, yet these roles often develop valuable skills that employers seek. This article by Mary Agnes Williams provides practical tips on integrating volunteer experience into a resume, ensuring it holds the same weight as paid work. It offers formatting guidelines, advice on showcasing transferable skills, and strategies for making a strong impression—useful for both job seekers and volunteer coordinators.
Links to volunteer organisations and opportunities
The following sites provides some key services to link you with the volunteering opportunity that you are looking for.
Idealist, a project of Action Without Borders
This is a key site for people wanting to make a difference in the world. The Idealist vision is very cool: “we want to help build a world where all people can live free and dignified lives; where any person who wants to help another can do so; and where no opportunities for action and collaboration are missed or wasted – and we want to do this with you.” Provides opportunites internationally.
Volunteer Abroad with Global Vision International
Looking for a unique international travel experience? Make a difference in some of the world’s most critical conservation and community volunteering projects with GVI. Adventurous individuals can join over 60 projects including challenging Marine Conservation and Wildlife Research expeditions in Africa and Latin America and volunteer teaching and wildlife projects in over 30 countries worldwide.
VolunteerMatch
With an aim of bringing people together, VolunteerMatch is a leader in the US nonprofit world dedicated to helping everyone find a great place to volunteer. The organization offers a variety of online services to support a community of nonprofit, volunteer and business leaders committed to civic engagement. Operates mainly within the US.
Working Abroad
Working Abroad is the international networking service for volunteers, workers and travellers, which offers you the ability to take action for nature and society. Offers an introduction to a wide range of projects in most areas of the globe.
United Planet
United Planet is a leading international non-profit organization devoted to fostering cross-cultural understanding and supporting communities in need. As featured on CNN, United Planet offers one-week to fifty-two-week volunteer programs in 50 countries, called United Planet Quests. United Planet is also a new proud partner with the International Cultural Exchange Federation (ICYE), one of the oldest long-term volunteer federations with a 50 year history, offering 6-month and one-year volunteer opportunities worldwide as an alternative to the Peace Corps. United Planet Quests are open to people of all ages and nationalities, including skilled and unskilled volunteers.
UNV – United Nations Volunteer Programme
The United Nations Volunteers is the UN organization that supports sustainable human development globally through the promotion of volunteerism, including the mobilization of volunteers. It is administered by the United Nations Development Programme.