Cost and how to apply
Costs
|
UNA Exchange membership fee - membership lasts for a year |
£12 |
|
Standard Project - Projects in Europe, North America, Japan & Korea 2nd or 3rd Standard Project |
£150 £100 |
|
North/South Project - Projects in Africa, Asia, Latin America 2nd or 3rd Standard Project |
£175 £125 |
| Medium & Long term Project |
£200 1-3 months £250 3-6 months £300 6-12 months |
| North/South training weekend - for volunteers doing projects in Africa, Asia & Latin America | £30 |
| Global Education Training & Training For Trainers | £20 |
| Leaders training | £30 |
| Project in Wales | £50 for UK applicants |
| Weekend Project | £10 |
| Extra fees - payable to our partner organisation running the project (usually paid on arrival at the project) | Variable and only applies to some projects - see project description for details |
UNA Exchange placement fee
The placement fee you pay to UNA Exchange covers administration, promotion of our volunteer programmes, volunteer support / preparation, and also helps to run our programme of projects in Wales. A percentage of all placement fees is donated to a Solidarity Fund managed by the Co-ordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service (CCIVS), part of UNESCO. This fund supports the participation of volunteers from Southern countries who would otherwise be unable to participate in projects overseas.
Extra fees
Extra fees are sometimes required by our partner organisations to support the cost of running the project (volunteer's food and accommodation etc). They are required by organisations in countries where little or no alternative funding exists. A proportion of the extra fees charged also go to support the overall running costs of our partner organisations. Extra fees are paid by volunteers on arrival at the project unless otherwise stated.
Applications from volunteers outside UK
Due to an agreement with our international partners, we can only process applications from volunteers who are resident in the UK. Nationals of other countries currently living in the UK can apply through us. If you are resident outside UK, you need to contact a volunteer sending organisation in your own country. You can find a list of organisations in different countries by visiting the CCIVS website. If there is no organisation in your home country you can also contact the Asian volunteer network - NVDA, who can help arrange a placement for you.
Applying for projects
Our website lets you search and apply for projects online. Follow the instructions below to get a place on a project. Don't forget many projects fill up quickly so the sooner you apply the more likely your application is to be successful! The information below is for short or medium / long term international volunteer projects. To apply for European Voluntary Service you should go to the EVS pages. To apply for projects in Wales you should contact UNA Exchange.
1. Searching for projects
To join a project overseas you first need to choose a shortlist of projects from our website using the online Project Search. The projects database is regularly updated and we take projects no longer available off the site as quickly as possible. Because project availability can change so fast we recommend that you put a number of project choices in your application to maximise the chance of a successful placement.
You can search for projects using a combination of:
- Country - where the project is running.
- Project type - the main kind of work on the project.
- Keyword - put in any word here and search the project description (e.g. putting "festival" in Keyword will bring up all projects involving festivals).
- Gender - you need to put your gender as our partners try to keep gender balance on projects and sometimes places are only available either female or male volunteers.
- Age - the majority of projects are available for anyone over 18. However, there are many projects now running for under 18s and some projects have a maximum age limit.
- Dates you are available - by putting dates in the search you will select only those projects that have a start or end date falling within the range you give. Most projects have a fixed start and end date, however, some projects are more flexible, so make sure you check the project description.
2. Viewing project details
To get more details of any project from the project search - click view to go to the project details page. The information given in "project details" is a summary given to us by the partner organisation running the project. Please read these details carefully before selecting a project. More details (project infosheet) will be sent to you after you have been accepted on a project.
Some projects require an extra fee and this is given at the end of the project details page. If there is an extra fee, this will be paid directly to the partner organisation when you arrive at the project.
Some projects (particularly medium or longer term projects) require you to send additional information on application, such as a motivation letter. This can be emailed to UNA Exchange at the same time as applying or shortly afterwards. We won't be able to proceed with your application until we receive all necessary details from you.
3. Add projects to Your Project Shortlist
You can add as many projects as you like to your short list. You will then be asked to order them in priority while applying for a project. You can put down 5 choices for online applications or 8 choices for applications by post. Click on view shortlist to see which projects you have chosen and remove any from the list.
4. Applying for a project
When you have made a short list of projects you can now choose whether to apply by post or online.
Applying by post
To apply by post you download an application form (Main project) or application form (N/S project) and membership form and return the form and cheque for the appropriate fee to UNA Exchange. The address to send it to is on the back of the form. Please make sure you read the terms and conditions of application on the back of the application form.
Applying online
To apply online click on the link from the project shortlist page and follow the process outlined here:
(i) You will be prompted to give your membership status. See membership page for more details. At this stage you can add the UNA Exchange membership fee to your basket. Membership fee for one year is £12. If you are already a member of UNA Exchange you should have a membership number, please contact us if you haven't got one.
(ii) You then need to enter you personal details and information necessary for your application such as previous experience of volunteering and motivation. We also need to take details of an emergency contact for you and any information on health issues / special needs. These details will be sent to our partner organisations to apply for a project so please enter them in carefully. You can use the last field "General Remarks" to let us know if you are planning to apply together with another person, or if someone else will be paying for your placement fee. It is possible to apply with one other person but usually we can't place more than two volunteers on any project. Contact us if you want to apply with more than one other volunteer.
(iii) You will now be asked to rank your choices in order of preference. We suggest you enter a few options in case your first choice is unavailable. This way we can make sure you get the project that is best for you. Make sure that you definitely want to do all of your project choices before applying as you won't be able to change the choice later without incurring another placement fee (see terms and conditions). You should also make sure that you can organise travel to and from the project within your budget and that you have time to organise visas (if required).
It is possible to apply for more than one project but you need to go through the application process separately for each project. You need to pay a separate placement fee for each project. If you want to apply for more than two projects we can make a £ 50 discount on the placement fees, however, we recommend that you apply by post for applications of more than 2 projects. If we are not able to place you on any of your project choices we will contact you to see if we can find you an alternative. If we are unable to successfully place you on a project we will refund your placement fee.
(iv) You will also be told at this stage if you need to attend a training course before you go on a project. For a number of countries (mainly those in the developing world / global South), you will need to come to the UNA Exchange North South Orientation weekend before you join the project. It is possible to apply for a project before you join the training. If you have already done a North South Orientation weekend with UNA Exchange (within the last two years) then you can indicate this here. If you apply to join the North South weekend you will be contacted within a few days with more details. You can see more details of the weekend on our receiving training page.
(v) You then asked to review your details and read our terms and conditions. It is very important that you read these before applying as they contain important information about cancellations and refunds. By clicking in the terms and conditions box on this page you are confirming that you have read and accept these conditions.
(vi) You then proceed to a secure payment area via Paypal where you can pay by debit or credit card for the placement, membership and training fees. You do not need a Paypal account to pay, just your card details.
If you have any questions about applications and payments, please review the FAQ or contact UNA Exchange.