Our mission
About & mission
To send volunteers only to organizations that genuinely need them, want them, and know how to make the experience life-changing, and to make finding, booking, and preparing for that experience as simple as booking travel.
Curated, not commoditized
Depth over breadth, on purpose
Most volunteer platforms compete on breadth: thousands of listings, dozens of countries. We compete on depth: nine projects in eight countries, each run by a local nonprofit with years of hosting experience, offering only the kinds of work that reflect its genuine, established programs.
Every partnership gets real attention, or it doesn’t happen. Partners commit to formal safeguarding policies, trained on-site supervision, and regular reporting.
The bar every partner clears
How we choose who we work with
Every partner meets all three before we place a single volunteer.
- 01
Grassroots & community-rooted
Real organizations doing real work, never volunteer-hosting intermediaries, with an established track record, generally five years or more.
- 02
Safeguarding in writing
Formal safeguarding policies, especially for any work involving children or vulnerable populations, plus a trained on-site supervisor as your daily contact.
- 03
Honest about outcomes
Partners who can articulate clear, honest impact from past volunteer collaboration, not just “we need helpers,” and who welcome ongoing quality reviews.
Built on GoAbroad
Small brand, serious infrastructure
Volunteer Abroad is backed by GoAbroad, which has connected travelers with meaningful experiences since 1997. That means shared support systems, established partner relationships, and infrastructure a new destination never has to build from scratch.
- Since 1997
- GoAbroad has connected people with meaningful experiences abroad
- Nine projects
- in eight countries at launch, each chosen for genuine partner need