Our Vision

Our vision is to support the work of local community organizations in developing countries through the placement of international volunteers. We believe that local communities are in the best position to determine their needs, and we provide volunteers to help them achieve their goals.

Volunteering is a great way to contribute to the global community and gain experience, and also fosters personal growth.

Whether you would like to take a short volunteer vacation or a prolonged volunteer experience, the Global Volunteer Network provides challenging and affordable international programs.

Our Beginnings

Colin Salisbury, its Founder and Executive Director, launched the Global Volunteer Network (GVN) in December 2000, after spending time volunteering in Ghana, West Africa. While he was there he saw the tremendous difference volunteers could make in helping local organizations achieve their goals. Upon returning to New Zealand he spent some time researching the different volunteer organizations around the world and was amazed at how expensive and limiting many programs were in terms of volunteer opportunities.

Colin has extensive volunteer experience both locally and internationally with time spent in Ecuador, Ghana, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and Thailand. His background in Community Development and achieving a Masters in International Development has enabled him to provide challenging and affordable volunteer opportunities around the globe.

Our Status

The GVN Charitable Trust is a registered non-profit, Non Government Organization (NGO) based in Wellington, New Zealand. Our registration number is CC46460.

What We Do

GVN currently has volunteer positions available through our partner organisations in Cambodia, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Nepal, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Rwanda, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda, USA, and Vietnam.

GVN volunteers work in orphanages, schools, animal shelters, nature reserves and villages in the following areas: teaching, medical, HIV/AIDS awareness, community development, women’s empowerment, caring for children, wildlife conservation, environmental conservations, building and infrastructure construction.

GVN has volunteers from all over the world who apply for our programs online. Over the past 9 years the Global Volunteer Network have built up strong ties with grassroots organizations throughout the world, and placed over 14,500 volunteers.Program Fees

We aim to keep our fees to a minimum in order to make our opportunities accessible. The program fees volunteers pay will go to many different aspects of the program they participate in. These include the basic necessities volunteers will need in their host country such as transportation, food, and accommodation; project development and capacity building for our partner organizations; and administration, marketing, insurance, 24-hour communication, and other services provided by GVN. GVN currently has a staff of over 15 people who answer over 400 emails a day.

Please visit our website for more details about cost breakdowns and the benefits of volunteering with GVN.

The Global Volunteer Network Foundation

The GVN Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization in the United States. Our goal is to provide grants to local partner organizations working with women, children, and the environment. The GVN Foundation allows former GVN volunteers to remain connected to their projects through fundraising and also allows people who can’t volunteer to support our projects through donations. Our main annual fundraiser is Eat So They Can, where something as simple as sharing a meal with friends can change lives.

For more information about the Global Volunteer Network please visit:

www.globalvolunteernetwork.org