Why Online Volunteering?

The Online Volunteering service connects development organizations with a diverse, abundant pool of people from all over the world with a variety of talents and expertise.

 

For development organizations, Online Volunteers present a tremendous and much-needed resource.
Online Volunteers have skills and expertise host organizations may not have, or that these organizations need to supplement the work of on-site volunteers. They may have sophisticated software or an active network an organization serving a developing country lacks. Online Volunteers help organizations stretch their on-site resources even further and to serve more clients.

 

For individuals, there are many appeals to Online Volunteering.
Online volunteering allows for the participation of people who find on-site volunteering difficult or impossible because of a disability, home obligation, or work schedule. Online volunteers learn about other countries, and learn about issues faced by the developing world. Online Volunteers can exercise skills they are learning in school or for the work place. Online volunteering allows them to take on roles and responsibilities their professional work may not provide. It may allow an expatriate to reconnect with and provide help to his or her homeland.

 

Online Volunteering is not meant as a replacement for face-to-face volunteering, and most individuals and organizations don't choose it over on-site service. Online Volunteering also isn't meant to take away paid positions at an organization.
Online Volunteering is just an additional way for people from various walks of life, all over the world, to connect with each other and contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

 

Read about studies and research on online volunteering.