Choosing a company to volunteer with

If you're looking for companies to volunteer with, there are a few questions you might want to ask to make sure you're travelling with a reputable organisation.

After all, you want to invest your time and effort in something worthwhile.

These are some of the questions you might want to ask when choosing a company to volunteer with.

Has the project been inspired by a real local need?

When you're choosing a company to volunteer with, it makes sense to establish that what you'll be doing will benefit local people.

Reputable companies to volunteer with will only work with projects that address a real need rather than one created by a marketing department.

Real Gap ensures that all its programmes are worthwhile and benefit the communities and environments they operate in. Take a look at our Missions and Values page.

Choosing a company to volunteer with: can I see an independent report on the benefits of the project to local people or environment?

Information from objective sources can help verity how reputable the company you're volunteering with is and how worthwhile the projects really are. Real Gap will be publishing updates for all our programmes on the website very soon.

In the meantime, if you'd like to hear about the benefits and achievements of a specific programme please contact a Real Gap advisor on 01892 516 164 or email info@realgap.co.uk. We'd be happy to tell you about them, and to convince you that by taking part in a volunteer placement through Real Gap, you really will benefit people and places.

Is there transparent information about where my money goes? An important question to as when choosing a company to volunteer with!

A clear outline of how your money will be used can be very helpful when looking at companies to volunteer with. For example, reputable companies to volunteer with will probably use your money to pay local organisations to provide things like accommodation, airport transfers, food and orientation sessions. They'll also need to cover their own costs of arranging for volunteers to go abroad, and for providing services such as an emergency contact in the UK. Take at look our Where does your money go? section for how your money is used if you book a volunteer placement through Real Gap.

When choosing a company to volunteer with, ask: does the organisation take steps to match your skills to the needs of the project?

Real Gap always tries to match people to projects - read our Why volunteer with Real Gap? page.

Both you and the people you're trying to help will benefit much more if you're well suited to a project. When choosing a company to volunteer with, look out for reputable companies who know the projects well and will ask the right questions to establish whether you'd enjoy them. If you're enjoying it, the work won't seem like work. These includes things like whether you'd prefer to work with animals, children or adults, how much hands-on contact you have with the animals and what the conditions are like. In third world countries, accommodation is often basic and while some people love going back-to-nature, others prefer a little more luxury.