Volunteer World's Benefits
Platform Service
Support & Mediation
Flex Option
Refund Guarantee
Best Price Guarantee
Overview of the Deposit Process
The deposit serves as an initial payment needed to confirm your reservation for a program. It typically constitutes a small percentage of the program's total cost and is required upfront. Once the deposit is paid, the local organization responsible for the program will provide you with details about paying the remaining amount. This ensures that your application is processed smoothly.
For clarity on refund eligibility and the Flex Option, ensure you understand the Premium and Ultimate packages offered by Volunteer World. These packages provide varying validity periods for deposit credits: Premium credits are valid for up to 24 months, while Ultimate credits are available for a lifetime.
What happens if the program is canceled by your volunteer organization?
Unfortunately, there’s always a chance that the social project has to cancel a volunteer program prior to its start date, as they won’t be able to offer you your stay anymore. In this unfortunate event, Volunteer World offers a refund guarantee to provide double security for the volunteer.
Most deposits made to secure your volunteering spot with Volunteer World are non-refundable, unless the cancellation is initiated by the organization itself. Immediate reservations are made with third-party service providers upon deposit, which makes it challenging to issue refunds for voluntary cancellations.
Deposits are managed carefully due to immediate commitments made with third-party providers upon booking. As such, refunds in cash are not available, but they can be used for program reservations or stored as deposit credits based on selected package conditions.
Additionally, in cases where the deposit is not fully accepted by the program provider, Volunteer World allows you to transfer it to another project on the platform. This ensures flexibility and helps preserve the value of your deposit in case of unforeseen issues.
To utilize the Flex Option, initiate cancellation for your current program on the Volunteer World platform, select a new program matching your plans, and confirm your spot after receiving the new program offer. The deposit is then smoothly transferred to your new booking.
If you have already paid the deposit, you can either use the amount to cover the deposit for a different volunteer program (see Flex Option) or you will get a full refund.
If you have already made the final payment to your volunteer organization, it will be fully refunded as well.
Please note, that Volunteer World is not able to refund any third party costs that are not included within the service portfolio of Volunteer World or the volunteer organization. This means that costs for flight tickets, insurances, visa fees, etc. won't be subject to the refund guarantee.
In such cases, Volunteer World ensures that the process is smooth and transparent, keeping the volunteers informed at each step.
What happens in case of medical emergencies on the part of volunteers?
Unfortunately, in case of medical emergencies, you as a volunteer won't get your deposit back, but you can make use of our Flex Option instead.
The validity period for the Flex Option varies depending on the package chosen: Premium Package offers a 24-month validity, while the Ultimate Package ensures lifetime eligibility.
To make use of the Flex Option, simply submit a new application via the Volunteer World platform. Wait for the organization to confirm your spot, after which Volunteer World will guide you to apply your previous deposit to the new booking seamlessly.
Please note, if the deposit exceeds the requirement of the newly chosen program, the remaining balance will not be refunded or applicable elsewhere.
Please note: The refund guarantee is not applicable if the cancellation is initiated by the volunteer, even if the organization only updates the status of the application based on prior communication from the volunteer. This may include personal reasons of the volunteer or the volunteer’s own fault (e.g. violation against the Terms & Conditions, gross negligence, delayed submission of documents, delayed payments). Furthermore, the refund guarantee does not cover cancellations caused by ‘Force Majeure,’ including but not limited to Acts of God, fire, pandemics, floods, explosions, earthquakes, other natural disasters, war, civil unrest, or any strikes or labor disturbances. However, the Flex Option is most likely available in this event.
Travel Insurance
In any case, we strongly advise all volunteers to get travel insurance before their stay abroad. A travel insurance covers medical emergencies, emergency evacuations, trip cancellations, personal belongings and personal liabilities.
We highly recommend marking the 12-month validity period of the Flex Option on your calendar and purchasing travel insurance to safeguard against cancellations or emergencies.
Why you should always apply through Volunteer World?
In addition to the Flex Option, Volunteer World offers you more free benefits and security layers:
Quality Assurance: High ethical standards & transparent social impact
Flex Option: Change your reservation at no extra costs
Support & Mediation: We cover your back no matter what happens
Best Price Guarantee: We guarantee you the best price for your volunteer program
Do you still have some open questions? Our live chat will be happy to answer them :)