Community Choice Awards 2023: Volunteer Abroad

Based on the scores for all volunteer programs reviewed here on Go Overseas last year, here are the top volunteer abroad providers in 2023

There's no feeling quite like the one you get when you give back and truly do good to improve the world for someone else. Volunteering abroad is a powerful experience because it allows travelers to go out, experience the world, and hopefully change it for the better in the process.

Companies across the world offer services to help prospective volunteers reach areas with the greatest need; voluntourism is one of the biggest travel trends we've seen in the last decade. Here at Go Overseas, we strive to help prospective volunteers identify those companies who work with the local community, offer services that don't undermine local efforts, and ethically interact with the people or animals they serve.

When a volunteer wants to share their experience here, we ask them to rate the volunteer program on five categories, too: Impact, Support, Fun, Value, and Safety. Based on the scores for all volunteer programs reviewed here on Go Overseas last year, here are the top volunteer abroad providers in 2023.

Learn more about how we scored programs for this year's awards by clicking here.

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Overall Top Volunteer Abroad Providers

There are companies everywhere working hard to improve the world for the better. When these companies allow volunteers to join them from abroad on their mission, it's a powerful opportunity to literally change the world. It's also hard for volunteers to know which providers offer the best experience, across all the important areas that affect the volunteer experience. The following providers had top scores across all of the categories we ask reviewers to rate, making them the top volunteer abroad providers from 2023:

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  1. IVHQ Globe

    International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ) brings people together from all walks of life to make a difference...

    1st
  2. GIVE Logo

    Since 2011, GIVE has led hundreds of all-inclusive, award-winning & life-changing group trips around...

    2nd
  3. Think Pacific

    Think Pacific is a UK-based social enterprise dedicated to creating transformative experiences for...

    3rd

Top Volunteer Abroad Providers: Impact

Volunteering abroad, unlike other categories on this site, is the one category where it's not only important to understand how the experience changed the reviewer. It's also important to understand if the program achieves its goals and the work volunteers do has a lasting positive impact, so we ask reviewers to rate the impact of their program. The following providers had the top scores in the Impact category:

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  1. Sadhana Forest

    Sadhana Forest is an international volunteer organization working on water conservation, indigenous...

    1st
    1st
  2. UCESCO Africa

    United Cultural Empowerment and Social Community Organization – Africa (UCESCO – Africa), is a...

    2nd
    2nd
  3. Icon Travelteer

    Travelteer brings an innovative concept that is at the forefront of responsible travel and ethical...

    3rd
    3rd

Top Volunteer Abroad Providers: Support

While volunteering abroad is an opportunity for volunteers to experience freedom and independence they might never have before, it's also critically important that the volunteer abroad program they choose is available for any support they do need. We ask alumni to consider how much support the volunteer abroad program staff provide; the following providers had the top scores in the Support category:

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  1. Sadhana Forest

    Sadhana Forest is an international volunteer organization working on water conservation, indigenous...

    1st
    1st
  2. Logo Gili Shark Conservation

    We are an international marine research center that hosts researchers, scientists, and ocean lovers...

    2nd
    2nd
  3. The Excellence Center Logo

    The Excellence Center/Engage in Palestine, established in June 2011, provides intensive Arabic...

    3rd
    3rd
    3rd
    3rd
    3rd
    3rd

Top Volunteer Abroad Providers: Fun

We obviously think that volunteering abroad should be a fun experience -- in fact, we ask every reviewer to tell us how much fun they had overseas, for almost every program they rate on our site. For volunteer abroad programs, we ask alumni to share what they rate the social scene for their volunteer abroad program. The following providers had the top scores in the Fun category:

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  1. The Excellence Center Logo

    The Excellence Center/Engage in Palestine, established in June 2011, provides intensive Arabic...

    1st
    1st
    1st
    1st
    1st
    1st
  2. GVI Logo

    GVI is an award-winning organisation that tackles critical local and global issues through our...

    2nd
  3. AMIGOS logo

    Founded in 1965, AMIGOS is the safest, most authentic volunteer and immersion program in Latin...

    3rd
    3rd

Top Volunteer Abroad Providers: Value

Value is a tricky thing to score; everyone has a different idea of what they value and how much something is worth. Generally speaking, our goal in asking volunteers to rate the value of a volunteer program is for them to tell us whether they think the cost of their program was worth the money they paid. The following providers had top scores in the Value category:

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  1. Icon Travelteer

    Travelteer brings an innovative concept that is at the forefront of responsible travel and ethical...

    1st
    1st
  2. UCESCO Africa

    United Cultural Empowerment and Social Community Organization – Africa (UCESCO – Africa), is a...

    2nd
    2nd
  3. Passport stamp that reads Therapy Adventures, Do Good, See the World.

    We are Therapy Adventures International, a nonprofit organization bringing pediatric therapy...

    3rd

Top Volunteer Abroad Providers: Safety

Safety is one of the most important factors we ask reviewers to rate; almost every program on Go Overseas (even those that aren't in the volunteer abroad category) is rated on safety. In particular, we want to know how safe volunteers felt while volunteering and living in the local community. The following providers had the top scores in the Safety category:

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  1. Logo Gili Shark Conservation

    We are an international marine research center that hosts researchers, scientists, and ocean lovers...

    1st
    1st
  2. Atlas Kente Logo

    Atlas Volunteers is a volunteering group based in Abetifi, Ghana. We are ran by a mixture of British...

    2nd
  3. AMIGOS logo

    Founded in 1965, AMIGOS is the safest, most authentic volunteer and immersion program in Latin...

    3rd
    3rd