Yes, if your opportunity follows our standard fair exchange guidelines. This normally means full board (food and accommodation), no mandatory participation fee charged to volunteers, and a fair workload.

Fee-based programmes, offers without full board, significantly heavier workloads, or other non-standard or commercial arrangements may still be considered for publication, but an editorial contribution may apply. See Publishing, contributions and paid programmes.

We welcome farms, eco-villages, NGOs, hostels, artists, families, community projects and other organisations offering volunteering, cultural exchange or meaningful learning experiences.

Each submission is reviewed individually for compatibility with Voluntouring.org.

Please use our host publication form.

The form asks for the information we need to review your opportunity, including tasks, working hours, accommodation, meals, costs, safety information and contact details.

Submitting the form is free and does not create any payment obligation. If a publication contribution applies, we will tell you the amount before proceeding.

Listings may remain online for a long time, but publication should not be understood as permanent placement.

Older listings may become less visible over time. We may periodically review, update, archive, mark as outdated or unverified, hide contact details, or remove opportunities that no longer appear current or suitable.

Hosts can also contact us whenever an opportunity needs to be updated, paused or removed.

A publication contribution does not guarantee permanent visibility or a specific position on the website.

Yes. Hosts remain responsible for screening applicants and deciding who is a good fit. You are free to reply only to shortlisted candidates.

No. Voluntouring.org is an independent directory. We do not manage placements, bookings, travel arrangements or payments between volunteers and hosts.

Hosts and volunteers communicate directly and make their own arrangements.

No. Voluntouring is not a membership platform for volunteers. We do not have volunteer accounts, volunteer profiles, or a volunteer registration database. For this reason, there is no concept of “registered volunteers” to count.

No. Voluntouring does not have an internal scoring, rating or reporting system for volunteer behaviour, including no-shows.

When we act as first contact for a listing, we may block obvious spam senders, but screening and selection remain the host’s responsibility.

In recent years many hosts have received spam or inappropriate messages. In some cases, we may therefore hide direct contact details to reduce abuse.

If contacts are protected, volunteers may be asked to contact Voluntouring.org first so that appropriate contact information or application instructions can be provided.

How contact details are managed may vary depending on the listing and may change over time.

These are the basic conditions we use to consider an opportunity a fair exchange and, in most cases, free to publish on Voluntouring.

A standard fair exchange normally includes full board (food and accommodation), no mandatory participation fee charged to volunteers, and a fair workload of around 4 to 5 hours per day, usually 5 days per week.

We also expect the listing to be transparent about the essentials, including tasks, typical daily schedule, days off, minimum stay if applicable, sleeping arrangements, meals, costs and relevant house rules.

These guidelines are not an automatic guarantee of publication. Voluntouring.org may decline opportunities that are unclear, unsafe, unsuitable or inconsistent with the purpose of the directory.

“Full board” means accommodation plus food every day.

This may include meals provided directly by the host, or a clear arrangement that provides sufficient food supplies together with kitchen access.

Hosts should describe the food arrangement accurately so volunteers know what is included before applying.

Publishing remains free for most traditional hosts who follow our standard fair exchange guidelines.

This means that a genuine hospitality or work exchange can normally be published free of charge when volunteers are not asked to pay a mandatory participation fee, the workload is fair, the conditions are transparent, and appropriate food and accommodation are included.

Some other opportunities may also be suitable for Voluntouring.org, including cost-recovery projects, structured internships, training programmes and other fee-based experiences. In these cases, a one-time editorial publication contribution may apply.

Where a publication contribution is required, our standard minimum contribution is €100.

The publication contribution is paid by the host or organisation to Voluntouring.org. It is completely separate from any fee paid by volunteers to the host.

It is not a commission on bookings or placements, and Voluntouring.org does not receive a percentage of the programme price.

A cost-recovery programme asks volunteers for a contribution that is mainly intended to cover direct costs created by hosting them, such as food, accommodation, local transport, materials, basic training or reasonable administration.

As a general reference, contributions of around €150 per week or less may fall within this category when they are clearly connected to actual hosting costs. This is a guideline rather than a strict threshold, since costs vary considerably between countries and projects.

A structured or commercial programme normally goes beyond basic hosting costs and offers a more organised package or service. This may include professional supervision, structured training, internship or placement services, orientation, academic credit, local support, organised activities or other programme services.

A low weekly price does not automatically make an opportunity cost-recovery. If an organisation is selling a structured programme or service rather than mainly recovering direct hosting costs, the opportunity may still be classified as commercial.

Similarly, the inclusion of food and accommodation does not by itself make a programme cost-recovery. These may simply form part of a commercial package.

Higher-cost structured programmes may be classified as premium commercial programmes for publication contribution purposes.

Being classified as a paid or commercial programme does not mean that the project is considered inappropriate or unethical. It simply means that it falls outside Voluntouring.org’s free publishing model.

All costs must be transparent before publication.

If volunteers are asked to pay any participation fee, programme fee, course or training fee, retreat fee, membership, deposit, donation, contribution or other charge, please tell us:

• the exact amount and currency;
• whether the payment is mandatory or optional;
• the duration covered by the price;
• what is included;
• what is not included when this is relevant;
• any additional mandatory charges or deposits;
• whether the price changes according to the length of stay.

External personal expenses such as international flights, visas, personal insurance and similar third-party travel costs are not normally considered part of the programme price unless they are collected directly by the host or organisation.

Hosts remain responsible for keeping this information accurate. Significant changes to participant fees may require the listing to be reviewed again.

The contribution depends first on the nature of the opportunity and, for structured or commercial programmes, primarily on the equivalent weekly participant cost.

The total programme price does not by itself determine the publication contribution. A long programme may have a high total price while remaining relatively low-cost on a weekly basis, while a short programme may have a much higher weekly price.

Our current standard publication contributions are:

Where a publication contribution applies, the standard minimum is €100.

The equivalent weekly participant cost is normally calculated by dividing the standard mandatory participant price by the number of weeks covered by that price.

When several standard programme durations are available, we normally use the shortest standard duration that can actually be booked. This helps prevent longer-stay discounts from artificially lowering the weekly equivalent of a programme that is also sold as a shorter experience.

If the shortest available duration is not reasonably representative of the opportunity, Voluntouring.org may use another standard duration when there is a clear editorial reason to do so.

The participant price includes mandatory programme, participation, training, membership or similar charges collected by the host or organisation. Independent expenses such as international travel, visas and personal insurance are normally excluded. Genuinely refundable deposits are also normally excluded.

For programmes priced in currencies other than euros, we may use an approximate euro equivalent at the time of review.

Classification comes before price. A relatively inexpensive programme may still be considered structured or commercial when the organisation is selling placement services, professional training, academic credit, substantial programme support or another organised service rather than mainly recovering direct hosting costs.

Likewise, a long-term grassroots project asking for a modest contribution mainly to cover genuine food and accommodation costs may still be treated as cost-recovery even when the total amount paid over several months is relatively high.

Voluntouring.org retains editorial discretion to classify unusual or borderline cases differently when there is a reasonable basis for doing so.

Sometimes.

Where a publication contribution is required, our standard minimum is €100. We do not normally apply lower intermediate publication contributions.

Small non-profit, grassroots or community projects may exceptionally receive a full waiver when the participant fee is genuinely intended to cover basic costs and requiring the normal contribution would create an unreasonable burden.

In other cases, a reduced classification may be considered where appropriate, but any contribution that remains payable will normally be at least €100.

This is considered individually and is not automatic simply because an organisation is registered as a non-profit or NGO.

Organisations submitting several genuinely different opportunities at the same time may qualify for a reduced combined contribution.

As a general guideline:

• 2 to 3 distinct listings: approximately 10% reduction on the applicable publication contributions;
• 4 to 6 distinct listings: approximately 15% reduction on the applicable publication contributions;
• 7 or more listings: please contact us so we can determine the most appropriate publication structure.

Where a listing is subject to a publication contribution, volume reductions do not normally reduce the effective contribution below €100 per listing.

The opportunities must be meaningfully different. Multiple near-identical listings created mainly by changing the destination, dates or minor programme details do not automatically qualify as separate discounted listings.

In some cases, one organisation page or a smaller number of representative programme listings may be more appropriate.

Volume arrangements apply only to publication on Voluntouring.org. They do not automatically include advertising, sponsored placement or social media promotion.

The contribution supports the editorial work involved in reviewing the submission, clarifying important details when necessary, preparing and formatting the listing, publishing it on Voluntouring.org, maintaining the listing and supporting the platform.

It also helps support the ongoing work required to maintain and review an independent directory of volunteering and meaningful travel opportunities.

The contribution pays for this work and for publication. It does not purchase a positive assessment, endorsement, preferential treatment, a guaranteed position on the website or any specific result.

In particular, payment does not guarantee volunteer applications, enquiries, placements, bookings, website traffic or conversions.

No. Publication on Voluntouring.org, advertising and social media promotion are separate activities.

We may occasionally share suitable opportunities through Voluntouring.org social channels, but this remains at our editorial discretion and is not guaranteed as part of a listing contribution.

For paid, commercial or high-cost programmes in particular, Voluntouring.org may decide that publication on the website is appropriate while social media promotion is not.

If a separate promotional or advertising service is offered, its conditions and any applicable cost will be communicated separately.

Submitting an opportunity is free and does not create any payment obligation.

Payment is requested only after we have reviewed the submission, confirmed that the opportunity can be accepted under our paid publication model, and informed you of the applicable contribution.

We will provide payment instructions and, when applicable, information concerning invoices or receipts.

A fee-based opportunity will not be published under the paid publication model unless the organisation has been informed of the contribution and has agreed to proceed.

Yes.

Submission does not guarantee publication, whether the opportunity would be free or subject to a publication contribution.

Voluntouring.org maintains full editorial discretion and may decline opportunities that appear unsafe, exploitative, misleading, insufficiently transparent, incompatible with our editorial standards, or otherwise unsuitable for the directory.

We may also request clarification or suggest changes before deciding whether to publish an opportunity.

Yes. Please send us a message with the link to your listing or its title and explain what needs to be updated.

Hosts remain responsible for informing us when important information changes, especially participant costs, accommodation, meals, workload, application procedures or contact details.

Yes. If you no longer need applications, you can ask us to remove, archive or temporarily hide your listing or contact details.

Voluntouring.org may also archive or restrict older listings when we are unable to confirm that the information is still current.

Keeping your information current is the best starting point. Clear tasks, dates, working hours, conditions, costs and good photos make a listing more useful to potential volunteers.

You can also contact us if your listing needs a meaningful update or refresh.

Here is a practical resource: how to attract volunteers.

Additional advertising or promotional opportunities, when available, are separate from normal listing publication and do not guarantee applications or results.

We strongly recommend a short video call before confirming a volunteer and confirming dates, workload, rules and expectations in writing.

It also helps to share simple house rules and practical information in advance.

Hosts remain responsible for screening and selecting volunteers.

Yes. Hosts and volunteers are responsible for respecting local laws and requirements, including immigration rules, visa conditions and any regulations concerning volunteering, internships, work exchange or hospitality.

Voluntouring.org does not arrange visas, permits or legal authorisation to participate.

We recommend that volunteers have appropriate travel insurance and health coverage, and that hosts communicate clearly about safety, tasks and living conditions.

Hosts are responsible for screening and selection.

We may try to help clarify or mediate some situations when appropriate, but our role is limited. Voluntouring.org is an independent directory and is not a party to arrangements made between hosts and volunteers.

Voluntouring is not liable for damages caused by volunteers. Please also read the disclaimer.

By default, hosts remain responsible for screening and selecting volunteers.

In some cases, Voluntouring.org may support first contact by collecting messages through a dedicated email address or by adding a simple application form to a listing.

This does not create volunteer profiles or a volunteer database, and it does not mean that Voluntouring.org selects or approves volunteers on behalf of the host.

Additional support may require a separate contribution depending on the work involved. It does not guarantee applications, suitable candidates, placements or other results.

If you want to discuss this option, contact us via the contact page.

We rely partly on online advertising to cover the yearly costs of maintaining Voluntouring.org, but advertising alone does not cover all the work behind the platform.

Publication contributions from fee-based and non-standard programmes help support this work while allowing most traditional fair exchanges to remain free to publish.

Donations, partnerships or other forms of support may also contribute to the sustainability of the project.

No.

A publication contribution pays for the review, preparation and publication of an eligible listing on Voluntouring.org.

Advertising, sponsored placement and other paid promotional services are separate activities and, when offered, have their own conditions.

Paying a publication contribution does not automatically purchase advertising, sponsored placement, social media promotion or preferential editorial treatment.