Richard, it was great to speak with you briefly at ATWS. I think it is great that Planeterra has a list of best practices and is working to improve your own work and the voluntourism sector through being open about these things.

I do though disagree with this statement as a general rule: “Voluntourism programs are ideally no shorter than five days and optimally 14 days.” Perhaps, if you look through the lense of the the travelers desires, but I’m not sure that is the case from the program side.

If we define what “voluntourism” we are talking about it would help define the boundaries I think. I think, when it comes to teaching kids, the optimal wouldn’t be 14 days but a full school year or at least a semester. 5 days or 14 day rotations are not ideal, in my opinion. When it comes to a building project, if there is a community led initiative that is ongoing and there are areas where there are needs for extra hands, two days might be all the help they need. It depends, right?

Alexia, I think this would be a great topic for discussion. I find there is too much focus on trying to put an ideal length of time on “voluntourism” – and it is too difficult to do when the things that fall into that category are SO broad. The focus on WHAT the program entails and how it is designed is more important in my opinion.

I think that the list above are great things to consider when it comes to giving the voluntourists the best experience and they do border into the community needs. I think if we are focusing on community needs first, then we would be asking the questions from a different angle. The statement “Everyone needs to recognize that the end game is total community control” begs the question – why don’t we start with projects which HAVE total community control to begin with, and support those, rather than making our own and then giving them away?

Basically, I’m saying lets make two lists. One list which asks the questions from the voluntourist perspective: how can we make sure they are safe, learning, and contributing. The other list from the community perspective: where is the control, who determines the needs, how are boundaries set? That list might not include “it is because of the voluntourists that these tasks are able to be completed” but instead that they are completed faster, or that voluntourists are learning from the local communities so that skills are passed on etc.

Both sets of questions are important.

Thanks, Richard and Alexia!

Director Richard Edwards is taking part in the collaborative learning sessions on sustainable tourism in emerging destinations with other industry experts.

If all “volunteering abroad” was done by people with high level skills, which were not locally available, who were training people and improving systems so that they would all run better once she or he left…. well then, I am not sure I would feel so strongly opposed to this. As that is clearly NOT the case with most of the “volunteers” or travelers we all work with, then I think offering them a tax deduction is akin to telling them that that their VACATION is what is going to make a difference in the world. We are telling them “go away a week a year and you can save the world – you are doing so much good your time is akin to donating money to these projects” – but we all know that is not the case. It depends on the project, sometimes the money would be a lot more useful. Sometimes the impact the traveler has that will change the world is THEIR own changes in attitudes and actions once they leave – how they will travel, live and give in the future, is how we describe it at PEPY. They are traveling, and getting a break from their hectic lives, and we are helping the do it better.

It is ok to say this, and I think we all know this is true: THE TRAVELERS are often the ones who will and do benefit the most in these experiences…. and that is OK! We don’t have to go around hiding that fact! People are traveling and learning and giving back on their vacations, but it is STILL vacation. And for that, they should not get a tax deduction in my book. I have done three Habitat for Humanity trips, and I loved them, and they were part of my inspiration to start PEPY, but even then I felt strange that I could fundraise to pay for MY trip. I felt like I was cheating the system, and indeed, that is now how I view it. Those experiences changed my life, they were worth paying for, and so are many of the experiences we are all offering.

Rather than appealing to people’s desire for a tax deduction, lets appeal to their desire to be a part of something greater than their great tan. They will travel with us, and be better people because of it. THAT is worth paying for.

A definite great read….

This is long. I apologize to those of you who also have better things to do.

1. I don’t know Journey Etc. I’m not picking on anyone here. My comments are general.

2. Are you kidding me? Are you telling me that the only way I can have a sense of purpose and do good and volunteer abroad is with a non-profit? Because that is what you wrote in paragraph 2. “By volunteering with a non-profit…” I can do these things. I cannot even begin to point out how wrong you are. I can’t even be polite. It is simply the most inane statement I’ve ever read in a Blog Post regarding voluntourism. Here is why I write that:

3. You mentioned Cross Cultural Solutions in your Blog Post. I did not. But since you did I’ll tell you that they would rather see themselves as the “Peace Corps Alternative” than a voluntourism provider. They extraordinarily stunning website mentions this fact. They also say, on their site, that you can deduct the cost. A quote from their website: “100% of the payments towards the CCS program fee are deductible for federal income tax purposes.” That simply is not true.

4. PLEASE if you don’t do anything else, download IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions at http://www.irs.gov. That is your guide because if and when you are audited, and this deduction comes up, the IRS will follow, to the letter, this publication and will assume you read it. Keep in mind the expenses must be directly related to the volunteers’ work, and incurred only because of that work. The expenses can’t be personal, for family, or for living items or activities such as meals. Volunteers must keep reliable written records of the expenses. Most importantly, The volunteer cannot gain significant personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation from the travel.

5. Next do your homework. Download Form 990 for each non-profit volunteer program provider you have an interest in. Any non-profit who takes your money must, by law, display a link to their Form 990 which tells you how much money they make, how much money they spend, who is on the Board and their relationship to one another along with other interesting tid bits required by the IRS. If you pay any money to any non-profit and you have not read their Form 990 you have thrown your money out on the street. You mentioned Cross Cultural Solutions, so we’ll continue to use that example since you brought it up. And rather than a total rant, I’d like to make this comment useful for people. If you go to this link you will see that CCS is offering a link to see their Form 990. http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org/resources/sponsors.aspx and then if your computer behaves like my computer you will see that GuideStar, the protector of these things, delivers you an error. So on this GuideStar error page, you’ll need to type in Cross Cultural Solutions. They will be the first company to be listed out of 33 results. Now click READ REVIEWS on that page. I encourage you to do this for each organization (non-profit) you think you might volunteer with. (This particular review, a very nasty one at that, apparently was written by a tax deduction researcher for a donor.)

6. LASTLY, and I speak for my company here, we think it’s distasteful to deduct your trip. In fact, my personal (not company) position is that it is un-American. For anyone to spend their hard-earned money and their precious time volunteering to make life better for someone else and then at the end of the calendar year hold their hand out to our government and expect the government to reimburse them for volunteering is un-American. It is the height of hypocrisy and the very definition of narcissism. To think that much of yourself that you offer to volunteer and then expect money back from the government because of your offer to volunteer is simply an act that reverses the very definition of volunteering.

If I donate $500 to your charity and then deduct that $500 on my taxes, I didn’t donate to you. I loaned you $500 until the government repays me. How is that volunteering or donating? It isn’t. You’re not a volunteer. You’re working because you’re getting paid. Not there on the spot. But you’re deducting what you paid “to volunteer” and you’re getting a financial consideration from Uncle Sam. You got paid. You didn’t volunteer. Even on my most generous day you put yourself out on loan.

In the end, GeoVisions made a conscious choice to be a for-profit company and not a 501 c 3 charity. We had a choice. We provide great opportunities for people. And for host communities. And I am so proud of each and every volunteer that comes through our doors. THEY CANNOT DEDUCT A DIME. They are truly volunteering their money, their time and their talents. They are the true heroes that make the world a better place.