General Information
Although each project differs, there are some general characteristics that you can expect most of them to have.
Transportation
Almost all projects require volunteers to arrange and pay for their own transportation to the project site. The exception is the final leg to isolated sites; the sponsoring organization generally arranges this portion of the trip.
Special Requirements and Skills
Although some projects have no requirements for volunteers other than an interest and a willingness to work, others have very specific requirements. Many of the Sierra Club and American Hiking Society projects, for example, require superb physical conditioning. Other expeditions may require special skills, such as scuba certification. No project allows unqualified volunteers to register, however, so there are no on-site surprises for volunteers or project leaders.
Food and Housing
Many of the projects arrange for housing for all volunteers, along with some provision for meals. Both food and housing range from the bare minimum to semi-luxurious, and this is generally stated in the project brochure. On other projects volunteers are responsible for their own food and housing.
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Group Interaction
These projects are done in groups, and while some are larger than others, volunteers on any project must be prepared to spend extended time in close contact with a group of strangers. This means dealing with unpleasant situations as well as enjoyable ones. While the project leaders interviewed for this guide emphasized that most projects have few problems within the groups, they said there were occasional conflicts that just had to be worked out on the site.
Tax Information
The media has emphasized the tax advantages of volunteer vacations, but not everyone qualifies for them. To deduct your expenses for a volunteer vacation, there are several conditions that must be met. The most important one is that the organization must be registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt, nonprofit corporation; and many of the organizations in this guide are. But there are exceptions, such as the Sierra Club and foreign organizations.
The only way to ensure a tax write-off is to contact a knowledgeable tax accountant before registering for a trip.
What This Guide Doesn't Tell You
It is difficult, if not impossible, for any guide that covers as broad a range of activities as this one does, to comprehensively evaluate the organizations and how they run their projects. All of the organizations included here are reputable, and they have served thousands of volunteers over the years, but it would be impossible for all of those volunteers to have had only positive experiences. There are just too many variables. The only way you can find out if a particular organization is one that you will feel comfortable with is to contact them directly, ask specific and pointed questions of the staff, and locate some previous volunteers to interview.