Types of organisations

Now that you have considered your motivations for volunteering and looked at the possible alternatives, it’s a good idea to start thinking about the type of organisation that is most suited to you. There are a large number of organisations that arrange volunteer placements, and the variety can be slightly overwhelming for someone who is just beginning to consider the options.

We have divided volunteer placement organisations into five categories: short-term/intercultural; long-term development; conservation/environment; recruitment/placement; and relief/emergency. All the organisations in the directory have been classified according to these headings.

Short-term/intercultural:

Provides a service to a community that is often on a short-term basis, or that focuses on the cultural learning experience. Can be for-profit or not-for-profit. For the purpose of this resource, the term is used to cover all organisations that:

1. offer short-term volunteer positions (from one week to one year);
2. do not require that volunteers have specific educational/professional qualifications;
3. are not primarily concerned with conservation/environmental work (a separate category is provided for these organisations)

Long-term development:

The focus of this work is on empowering local people. It often involves some kind of skills transfer, and will require specific educational or professional qualifications. For the purposes of this resource, all organisations classified as belonging to this category will:

1. Be not-for-profit;
2. Require that volunteers have specific educational/professional qualifications;
3. Include capacity building as a volunteer activity. This involves the transfer of required skills and knowledge to individuals and groups.

Conservation/environmental:

Primarily concerned with conservation/environmental work. These organisations have been classified separately, as there is an increasing number that works in this area and whose emphasis is slightly different to the intercultural exchanges. The term is used to cover all organisations that list their primary activity as relating to conservation/environmental work.

Recruitment/placement:

This category is used to cover organisations that match volunteers with placements or programmes, but that are not themselves involved in organising or running volunteer programmes. Such organisations may be for-profit or not-for-profit, and may or may not charge a fee for their services.

Relief/Emergency:

The focus of this work is on emergency situations, which could arise as a result of conflicts or natural disasters. It concentrates on basic needs, such as the provision of food, water, sanitation, medicine and shelter. Examples of work include food distribution and emergency healthcare. For many of these placements, specific professional and educational qualifications will be required, as will relevant prior experience.

Depending on the type of work in which you are interested, these categories aim to help you narrow down your choices within the directory. There can be advantages and disadvantages to all the different types of work, and it may be helpful for you to make a list of what you think these could be before making any final decision. You can use the box below to get you started:

Organisation	Advantages	Disadvantages
Short-term /intercultural	Chance to experience a country and work with local people	May be ‘gap filling’ if there is no long-term plan
Long-term development	Usually working very closely with local people, on long-term issues	Can take a long time to see the results of the programme
Conservation /environmental	Projects are often results-orientated	May experience tensions between the destruction of environmental resources and the need for economic development
Recruitment /placement	Can help to find the best theoretical match between your skills and the jobs available	Do not run programmes directly, so may not have strong connections with projects
Relief / emergency	Results of work are very visible	Can be very stressful on a personal level