Costs of volunteering abroad

Volunteering abroad is a special and above all unique experience that you will never forget. Your image of the world will change enormously, you will grow personally and learn the customs and traditions of another culture. You do not get paid for volunteering, after all, you do it because you want to contribute! Often there are costs associated with volunteering. In this blog, we explain why this is the case and which costs you can take into account.

Why does volunteering abroad cost money?

Organizations that volunteer abroad have to deal with many costs. These costs depend on the type of project. For example, consider a project where children are fed every day. The organization then needs money to pay for the food and possibly rent a kitchen. With construction projects, money is needed to buy building materials and with educational projects you can think of costs for chairs, tables, notebooks and pens.

Organizations have to be able to pay for the projects from somewhere. They often depend on donations, but also on volunteers' own contributions. As a volunteer abroad, you pay the organization for the cost of your chosen project. So you do not pay for the volunteer work itself, but for the things that have to be arranged for the project and for you.

In addition to the usual organizational costs, it costs the organization time to train you, some projects require transportation and extra security and often volunteers also receive guidance. When you volunteer abroad, it is nice to have a contact person to fall back on. Often an organization has someone who can be reached 24/7.

Volunteer clapping her hands together with a child

What costs do you pay for volunteer work abroad?

You pay for the project and the support you receive during the volunteer work. In addition to the costs associated with volunteering abroad, you also incur some expenses yourself. For example, you have to buy a plane ticket, which the organization does not pay for you. So these are just costs that come with a normal trip! You can think of:

A passport
Eventually a visa if you are staying for a longer period of time
The plane trip
Travel insurance
Required vaccinations (may be covered by your health insurance)
The real travel must haves such as a big suitcase

How can you raise money?

You can of course pay this amount yourself, but you can also raise money! For example, you can ask friends and family to all donate a tenner or you can look for sponsors who want to contribute to your volunteer work. You can also organize a charity run or benefit event or do odd jobs in exchange for money. So there are plenty of ways to save money to pay for volunteer work abroad!

Our volunteer jobs always list the costs. Still have some questions? Then respond to one of our volunteer jobs. The organization will then answer your question!

What are the costs associated with volunteering abroad?