Frequently Asked Questions
How can I volunteer with V2I?
We are regularly running skills-based volunteer projects with our NGO partners around the world. If you are interested in learning more about our projects or how you can participate, email our Volunteer Engagement Manager, Bryanna, at bryanna@venture2impact.org to set up a call to learn more!
What types of projects do you focus on and what type of volunteers are you looking for?
Our projects focus on education, empowerment, and economic development. Consequently, our volunteers tend to have business (marketing, sales, strategy, product and project management, leadership, etc.) and technology skills. You can learn more about past projects here
What would my commitment look like?
For travel abroad in-person projects, volunteers need to be fully committed for the week in-country and have the option of using their skills to help develop the project/elements of the curriculum in the months prior to departure.
For virtual projects, it depends on what the project looks like. Sometimes we have full day projects that take place across a few days like a hackathon, and other projects require a couple hours of commitment each week across 6-8 weeks like a training and mentoring program.
Why should I choose V2I?
Our model is grounded in connecting your skills with needs that exist in communities that can’t access those skills or can’t afford to pay for them. As an educated and skilled professional, we believe that you should use your energy and volunteering time to share those skills and create a resilient community rather than the alternative, which is usually going abroad to do something that’s not related to your skills at all (i.e. building a structure, painting something, etc). We are experienced at co-creating impact with international NGOs and at leading skills-based volunteer projects.
Returning to Travel FAQs
As North America is starting to open back up and a sense of “normal” is returning, we recognize that many people may feel ready to volunteer abroad again. We, too, look forward to hopefully interacting with our NGO partners and beneficiaries in person again soon, and these are the factors that are guiding the decision around when that can happen.
Guidance from stakeholders
We are looking to the Canadian and American governments, the CDC and Health Canada to be supportive of international travel. We are also monitoring the corporations where our employees work to open up their offices, have in-person events, and to allow travel for work and VTO purposes.
Local Community Capacity & RIsk
We do not want to expose the local community to unnecessary risk or strain the local health care system’s capacity by brining a volunteer team. We are also mindful of what the situation in the local context would require to run a volunteer program such as PPE or difficulty accessing beneficiaries.
Insurance
Before continuing travel, we want to make sure our volunteers’ insurance covers international travel and the V2I’s insurance enables us to lead volunteer abroad programs again.
VOlunteer Risk
We do not want to expose our volunteers to significant or probable unnecessary risk. We need to be confident that the local infrastructure can respond to emerging health risks.
Availability of flights & travel restrictions
We need flights to be readily available from all major cities to volunteer program locations and without the high risk of cancellation or long delays. The countries where our NGO partners work need to be welcoming of international travellers, and isolation cannot be required upon arrival or upon returning home.
Reputational risk
We do not want to expose Venture 2 Impact, the companies our volunteers work for, or our local NGO partners who host the volunteer programs to reputational risk.