E-volunteering: Contribute to global development from home

Volunteer programs have long been a starting-point for global development careers. But in today’s constantly connected world, a new kind of volunteer has emerged: The e-volunteer. While international volunteer programs may be incredible and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, they also have their flaws. They can be costly and impractical because of the travel and time spent abroad, but also the ethics and value of work done has come under scrutiny in recent years, despite volunteers’ good intentions.

Read: Local vs. international volunteer: Is there still room for both?

But that’s where e-volunteering comes in. Today, often the most valuable skills people can offer global development organizations are not in-the-field but from the comfort of their own home. Online volunteering can take on a complete variety of roles: translation, mentoring, writing, and editing, outreach and advocacy, or even technological development. There are numerous ways to volunteer in the sector when it fits around your schedule and without traveling abroad.

Nonprofits often need people with specific skills, but only on a short-term or one-off basis — such as re-designing a logo, crunching large amounts of data, or modernizing a website — and often they don’t have the budget.