The following are suggestions for NGOs in developing countries interested in gaining access to foreign volunteers. This is a "getting started" guide, NOT a comprehensive guide: it's impossible within the boundaries of a simple web page to detail all an organization needs to do to host volunteers from other countries.

 

1. Make sure it is legal to host foreign volunteers
   Check with your national government and make sure that it is legal for foreigners to come to your country to volunteer, or that it's legal for foreign tourists to volunteer while they are on a tourist visa. Get the exact wording of the legal statue that allows this and post it on your web site to show potential volunteers you have researched and confirmed this. For instance, in most cases, volunteering by foreigners in Indonesia is illegal. Your web site needs to prove that foreign volunteers are legallyallowed in your country.
   

    
   

2. Involve local volunteers & show that involvement
   Your NGO should not try to recruit foreign volunteers if it does not already involve LOCAL volunteers. How can you ask people from other countries to volunteer for you if local people themselves aren't involved and invested in your work as volunteers? Involving local volunteers shows that local people endorse your organization and its work. 

    
   

3. Affiliation with international non-governmental organizations (INGOs)
   Your organization needs to be recognized, at least informally, by local offices in developing countries of organizations such as the United Nations Development Programme, OneWorld, Save the Children, Oxfam, World Vision, MercyCorps, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). If you are an organization serving wildlife, what affiliations do you have with international accrediting bodies that show what you do with wildlife is ethical and not exploitative? Such recognition takes much more than one meeting: it means that the staff at the local office is familiar with your organization's work because you have regularly updated the office about such, that a representative from the local office visits your organization periodically, and that the staff at the local office knows enough about your organization to be able to provide a reference for it back to the main office. You need these local INGOs affiliates to be in a position to verify your organization's credibility to others.

    
   

4. Collaboration with other local NGOs
   In addition to affiliating with INGOs, local organizations should be in a position to verify your organization's credibility to others. That means that, like international groups, staff at local NGOs should be familiar with your organization's work because you have regularly updated them about such, that they visit your organization periodically, and that they know enough about your organization to be able to provide a reference for it to other organizations. If you have engaged together with another NGO in a project, all the better!

    
   

5. Membership in formal networks and associations
   If your country or region has a network or association of NGOs, you should be a member. You can find these by contacting other local organizations to find out if such exists, or searching on the Internet for such.

    
   

6. Excellent online profile
   If you type your organization's name into google, what happens? Does your organization's web site come up (if you have such)? What about an online document by an INGO that references your organization? Or a newspaper article highlighting your organization's good work? Anything negative? An online profile adds to your organization's credibility.

    
   

7. A clear, complete, easy-to-use web site
   It's not essential that your organization have a web site in order to host international volunteers. But if your organization does have a web site, it should:
   • not have advertising for other companies and businesses (no banner ads, no google ads!)
     
   • be free of misspellings
     
   • well-designed, without lots of cumbersome graphics complete, with a listing of your staff, your board of directors, your organization's address, contact information, and at least a summary of your organization's budget.

    
   

8. Academic profile
   It's not essential, but it will certainly add greatly to your organization's credibility if it has been referred to in a university-related paper. Of course, it's not always possible to say yes to participation in an academic research project, given your other priorities. But your organization should try to, whenever possible and when asked, to participate, as such will add to the appearance of your organization as transparent and credible to anyone investigating your organization for such.

    
   

9. Have official papers in order
   You need to have copies of your organization's official government documentation/registration papers (if you are, indeed, officially registered), brochures, press releases, staff list and financial statements ready for review by other organizations -- or even by potential international volunteers. Volunteer-placement organizations will consider how quickly and completely you respond to their request for such, so get them in order and ready-to-share before you start meeting with such organizations. If you don't have any of this -- if you are a tiny grassroots-based organization that has not registered with your government and has no paperwork whatsoever, then you will have to formally partner with an organization that does have such, who can take formal legal responsibility for the international volunteer(s).

    
   

10. Draft documents associated with your planned involvement of onsite volunteers
    This step is essential if you are going to involve onsite foreign volunteers -- there's no substitute for it. Your organization needs to draft documents that detail the following, which you will eventually share and discuss with organizations that place international volunteers (it is very important that this information be in writing, even if it's all still being negotiated!):
    • the location(s) of the volunteering assignment(s) -- city or cities, neighborhoods, and exact addresses whenever possible.

    • the tasks volunteers will be expected to complete: working directly with at-risk children doing what? working directly with farmers doing what? will they do these tasks alone or in a group? will they ever be alone with a child or adult, even another volunteer, or always with multiple people and local staff in the room?

    • the resources that will be available to volunteers (translators? a desk? a car? a bicycle?)

    • the time frame for the volunteer to provide his or her service (what months and for how many months?).

    • a description of why the service of this foreign volunteer is needed, instead of a local person
      

    • how, after the volunteer departs, his or her work will be sustained or built-upon

    • detailed information about the volunteers' work environment. Will the volunteer have daily access to a phone? computer access? Will the volunteer need to have a security escort when traveling from housing to the volunteer assignment, or in any other situations, and, if so, who is going to provide this security escort? Will the volunteer ever be expected to be alone with a client or a child?

    • detailed information on to whom the volunteer will report to at your organization, who at your organization will supervise the volunteer's work, who at your organization will provide support to the volunteer as needed, what staff members at your organization will work with the volunteer and how, how the volunteer will be expected to interact with local people, etc.

    • information regarding translators. Will a translator accompany volunteers during his or her work? What percentage of the people the volunteer will work with speak English? Will your organization provide a translator?

    • detailed information about where your organization will house international volunteers, if the placement organization cannot provide housing (more and more placement organizations are requiring local hosting organizations to provide housing). Your organization must provide more than just a statement that your organization will house such volunteers; it needs to note where, and what the conditions will be -- Will it be with a family and, if so, what are their names? Will each volunteer have his or her own room? Will there be locks on the windows and doors? Will it be within walking distance of the volunteering assignment?

    • detailed information on how your organization will support the volunteer during arrival and departure into the country. Will there be someone at the airport from your organization to help the volunteer through the entry process? Will your organization provide transport from the airport to its location? Will your organization provide transportation assistance and help with customs and other officials when the volunteer leaves the country?

    • detailed information about the nearest health care facilities (individual doctor, clinic and hospital), and how your organization will or will not help to get a volunteer to such if needed, and explicit information on how the health care facility must be paid (in cash by the volunteer?).

    • detailed information about to whom the volunteer should complain regarding any issue - a name, an email address and a phone number.

    • detailed lists of what costs your organization cannot pay for (airfare, housing, bedding, food, transportation, security, insurance for the volunteer, etc.). Remember that most international placement organizations will expect your organization to bear at least some costs!

    • a draft evacuation plan for volunteers, in case of natural disaster or a man-made crisis, or, clarification that the volunteer placement organization is in charge of such. What assistance will your organization guarantee in the event of a flood, a hurricane, a tsunami, a mass fire, a military coup, a raid by a militant group, etc., and what assistance will your organization NOT guarantee?
     
    

If you do not have all of the above in place now, expect to take at least several months to do so. Without the above, no volunteer-placement organization will want to partner with your organization, and it's doubtful any sensible foreigner with credible skills and character will want to come onsite and volunteer at your organization.

No voluntourism!

Voluntourism is an insult for a program where people, usually of white European descent, from "Western" or "rich" countries, pay a fee to a volunteer hosting agency and to go to another country for a week or two:

• To do something that either is entirely unnecessary, even harmful or exploitative to animals (wildlife "rescues") or local people (helping "orphans"), or that local people would be preferred to be paid to do themselves (building a school, digging a well, etc.).

• AND/OR with little or not vetting of volunteers - as long as the volunteer can pay, the volunteer can go, and in some cases, even bring the kids! No request for any specialized skills or experience.

• AND/OR is via a program that talks a lot about how much fun the "volunteers" will have, a program that has a web site with lots of photos of the foreign "volunteers" interacting with wildlife (which, of course, is completely inappropriate and dangerous for the animals), but little or no information about why local people like this program, while they feel it is appropriate, how they lead all decision making for these local efforts, etc.

HOWEVER, if a program charges foreign volunteers to participate BUT:

• Does NOT take absolutely anyone and everyone that can pay to go - volunteers must have certain areas of expertise and must be vetted for such and they will be turned away unless they have the expertise needed, pass a criminal background check, etc.

• Has a web site that talks about how local people are directing the assignments and leading the foreign volunteers regarding tasks

• Can clearly show how foreign volunteers will be doing something local people are unable to do themselves, BUT, how the volunteers will be working alongside local people to build up their skills

Then it's usually not easily classified as voluntourism.

Take a hard look at your program and make sure there are no qualities, including statements on the web site, that could make someone say, "That's just voluntourism."

Refunds for payment

Also consider making a statement, in writing, that says your organization understands that volunteers are free to leave the program at any time, and what your refund policy is regarding funds that you charged onsite volunteers. If there is no refund policy, say so in multiple places (on your web site, on the document you have the volunteer signs, on the web page a person sees before they pay, etc.) but also make it clear that the volunteer is under no obligation to stay at the organization. Emphasize that you hope they will stay for four weeks or three months or whatever the amount of time it is you want the volunteer for, but remember, they are volunteers- and, in many cases, paying customers - and you have no right to imply that they must stay at a work site for ANY reason.

Note: some countries, such as the UK, assert that creating a written agreement with a volunteer that says the volunteer agrees to stay for a certain amount of time is an employment contract, and this could allow the volunteer to sue for payment for services.

Also see my advice for people interested in vetting organizations in other countries, and consider how your own organization would measure up to the vetting steps offered.

In addition, read this resource for Creating Group Volunteering Activities. It details just how much you will need to do to prepare a site for group volunteering. It's an expensive, time-consuming endeavor - are you ready?

If you would like to engage foreign volunteers online, rather than onsite, in high-impact, meaningful activities that benefit your organization, read through this list of ideas for high-impact virtual volunteering roles and activities. These high-impact assignments for remote online volunteers are best done in partnership with a university or professional association that will recruit and screen the online volunteers for you, such as UCD Dublin Volunteers Overseas or CECI in Montreal. Use the aforementioned information on this page to prepare for hosting online volunteers, adapting the recommendations as appropriate. If you want to master all that involving online volunteers entails, consider purchasing The Last Virtual Volunteering Guidebook.

Partnerships for recruitment

Once you have all of the above in place, you are ready to approach existing volunteer-placement organizations about hosting volunteers. Begin by looking in your local geographic area for local organizations already hosting such volunteers, and ask if they would introduce you to a representative of the volunteers' sponsoring organization, either face-to-face or via the phone. Such organizations include (and please note that this is not a comprehensive list):

• PeaceCorps (for USA citizens only)
  
• VSO (for citizens of the United Kingdom only)
  
• Australian Volunteers International (for citizens of Australia only)
  
• Cuso International, for Canadian and USA citizens
  
• NetCorps Cyberjeunes Canada (for Canadian citizens only)
  
• German Development Service, Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst, or DED (for German citizens only)
  
• Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (for Japanese citizens only)
  
• United Nations Volunteers, part of UNDP
• UCD Dublin Volunteers Overseas
  
• CECI in Montreal.

Embassies for other countries can also help put you in contact with volunteer-placement organizations.

Very short-term online volunteers can help your organization with translation and research tasks, designing publications and web sites, developing databases, and activities relating to marketing, fund raising and business planning, and these tasks don't require you to set up a partnership with any of the aforementioned. Here's how to recruit for short-term online volunteering (virtual volunteering) opportunities: