Best volunteering organisation

An organisation offering volunteering opportunities, such as the chance to work on conservation or social projects.







2011
Winner: Global Vision International (GVI), UK
"Global Vision International impressed the judges with the scale of their impacts on the ground. Placing 3,500 volunteers each year in 60 countries, GVI teaches over 10,000 people each year in six continents. And for GVI the proof of their work is in the performance of their students - in Guatamala their students were in the top 5% nationally examined in 2011 - proving that well-placed skilled volunteers can have genuine impacts. Their charitable trust already estimates £400,000 will be raised for their partners this year alone."

Highly commended:
Tiny Island Volunteers, Maldives

Previous winners

2010
Winner: Blue Ventures, UK
"Blue Ventures is an example of how social initiatives can contribute to local livelihood diversification, and support community resilience in the face of upheaval. In 2009 their project in Madagascar was threatened by the political crisis and many organisations chose to pull out of the country. Testament to their principles, Blue Ventures stayed committed to the project, with head office staff in London taking a 25% pay cut to ensure the maintenance of the jobs in Madagascar."

Highly commended:
Biosphere Expeditions, UK
BTCV, UK
The Great Orangutan Project, Borneo

2009
Winner: People and Places, UK
People and Places has exercised leadership in a sector bedevilled by poor practice and established a replicable business model. Committed to reporting transparently on the money that volunteers pay, they ensure that the volunteers meet their full costs and are not a burden on the community; and carefully match the skills of volunteers to the needs of that community without replacing local labour. They have taken the ground breaking step of having their work externally audited and publishing it online. These four principles set not only a practicable standard for operators to aspire to, but offer valuable guidelines for tourists seeking legitimate and socially beneficial volunteering experiences.

Highly commended:
Coral Cay Conservation, UK
Peru's Challenge, Peru

2008
Winner: Camps International, UK
Highly Commended in 2007, Camps International has now integrated their ‘pledge to the planet’ into their business plan and responded to the recent post-election violence in Kenya - which resulted in radically reduced tourist numbers - by maintaining local staffing levels and expanding their commitment to Kenya projects as a contribution to recovery.

Highly commended:
Blue Ventures Expeditions, Madagascar/UK
Voluntours, South Africa

2007
Winner: Azafady, UK / Madagascar
For demonstrating real achievements meeting the locally defined needs of communities in Madagascar and for producing detailed reports on impacts and being transparent about where the volunteers’ money goes.

Highly commended:
Quest
Camps International, UK
people and places, UK

2006
Winner: Biosphere Expeditions, UK
Biosphere Expeditions take teams of volunteers into areas that often see no or few other tourists and guarantee to spend at least two thirds of all expedition income directly in-country on the project. One of their main achievements has been preventing the cull of 50 wolves in the Carpathian mountains through the data collected by their teams of volunteers.

Highly commended:
Blue Ventures, UK

2005
Winner: Rural Organisation for Social Elevation (ROSE), India
ROSE have enhanced the health, education and quality of life for the rural poor in India by means of their volunteer based tourism programme

Highly commended:
Azafady, Madagascar