NY Times "Volunteer Tourism ... on a Budget" Misses the Point

Last week the NY Times ran Budget Excursions for Volunteers in their Travel Section. The article, from the title and throughout the text, takes the wrong angle. If you're interested in "doing good" while on vacation, there are a set of crucial questions to ask long before considering cost. These questions include:

1. Can the organization demonstrate long-term relationships in the community?
2. Can the organization demonstrate clear and systematic processes for (a) getting and (b) listening to community direction on several important questions, from selection of the volunteer project to and through project evaluation? 
3. Is the organization clearly cognizant of international development history and aware of potential macro-effects of volunteer groups (for example, the possibility of displacing local workers)? How does the organization address these challenges?  
4. Can the organization articulate its theories of development and community partnership? 
5. Is the organization a transparent and accountable nonprofit organization or does it use another organizational model (business or less-than-transparent nonprofit are two common structures that offer less clarity for volunteers curious about where the funds go). 

There are other important questions to ask - many of which will be mentioned in the blog post I'll have on Monday on the Good Intentions are Not Enough blog. I hope you'll share your thoughts about the issues raised here and the post there once that goes up on Monday. 

My apologies for the lull in posts: travelling around the world, moving across the country, starting a new job, and addressing a whole set of family changes and challenges keeps a person busy! Thanks for the notes in the interim. If you like the content and conversation here, please follow the conversation by inserting your email on the right --- or re-post or tweet! Thanks for reading!