International Volunteer Programs Association

A Cross-Cultural Solutions Volunteer Food Bank

Image source: Moteevate.com

I’m always writing about how important it is for volunteers to have information they can trust. As I’ve discussed before, there are many organizations that organize and vet opportunities but sometimes it can be difficult to tell how they choose the programs they feature. Do they have a financial incentive? Are they only featuring programs that agree to exchange online traffic? The average volunteer may find herself frustrated by the lack of straightforwardness and transparency. Sometimes it’s necessary to dig rather deeply to uncover the motives of an organization. Most of us simply don’t have the time, energy, technical expertise, or team of crack private investigators to do that kind of digging. This is where rating programs and associations with high standards can really help separate the legitimate opportunities from the rest.