Paying to Volunteer - why so expensive

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Permalink Reply by Eve Lopez on August 12, 2009 at 6:26pm

Hi, Jonathan. I am a two-time alumni of CCS Russia. I too, was a bit stricken by the price. It's an expensive program, no doubt about it. I am a working-class person, and I had to save money for probably about a year before I volunteered the first time. I am not the fundraising type, so I didn't try it.

I think I chose CCS for the first time, despite the price, because I knew I wanted to go to Russia and I couldn't find another as-respected program.

When I got to Russia, and I realized how much money it costs to run the operation there, I was actually surprised that it is not MORE expensive. I wondered how they could afford to run the organization on just what we volunteers paid.

Here's where I realized our money went to (in Russia):

The salaries of four translators, one secretary, one director and two very sweet drivers who took us back and forth to our placements, etc.
Office supplies and craft supplies for the kids
Gas money for the drivers
Three (really good) meals a day
Excellent accomodations in a hotel
24-hour on-call staff


When I saw the people in Russia whose salaries depend on CCS, my ideas of the money it costs kind of changed a bit. Plus, I actually got to visit CCS headquarters when I was in New York last year. I actually wanted a job at CCS, but there wasn't one available. I talked to a couple of people there, and I remarked that even though it costs thousands of dollars per volunteer, I couldn't see how that money alone supported the whole operation in each country. Especially when there aren't always volunteers signing up.

As it turns out, it doesn't. The owner of the company routinely goes into his pockets (along with the board members) to pay for everything that the volunteers' costs can't cover. The owner (I forget his name) actually didn't even receive a salary until recently.

So, as it turns out, even the amount of money we spend doesn't fully cover the whole thing. CCS is different than other organizations, I think, in that it offers a complete support system for each volunteer. It also seems to go out of its way to hire people who are committed to certain values. All the staff in Russia were professionals, extremely nice, very helpful, and all went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure we were all safe and having a good time.

Feel free to contact me privately if you have any more questions. I do wish you much luck no matter what your decision is! Volunteering abroad has changed me in many ways. I'm actually moving to Russia in a few weeks to become an English teacher, since my experiences in Russia were so overwhelmingly positive.

- Eve

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Permalink Reply by William Kennedy on August 14, 2009 at 9:58am

Hi Jonathan,

My wife and I completed two weeks in June in Yaroslavl. It was a most rewarding and interesting experience for both of us and we plan to return next year.

Re overhead cost:

I endorse all that Eve has said below. In addition the program is now housed in a new apartment building. The quarters are comfortable and the food is excellent. All 11 members of the staff are extremely competent and motivated. The program is tightly run.

Being met at the airport and driven directly to Yaroslavl ( four hours)certainly eased the introduction to the country as well as the exit. I have looked at accomodations in rented apartments in Moscow and Leningrad whose costs well exceeded what we received thru CCS, not even counting food, interpreters,seminars,excursions, transportation etc.

Bottom line is that the price in my view is a bargain for what we received.

Bill Kennedy

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Permalink Reply by Kara Biland on August 26, 2009 at 7:30pm

Dear Jonathan,

I am a Program Enrollment Manager at Cross-Cultural Solutions and also an alumna—I’ve volunteered in Brazil, Peru and Tanzania with CCS. I wanted to share with you a blog I came across recently that can give you yet another perspective on the value of a volunteer program with CCS.
http://wanderlust-laura.blogspot.com/2009/08/cross-cultural-solutions.html
I’m available by phone until 6pm Pacific Time (1-914-632-0022 or toll free at 1-800-380-4777) or email at Kara@crossculturalsolutions.org. I would be happy to discuss with you the value and unique advantages of volunteering through CCS, and whether our programs are a right fit for you, or I can put you in touch with recent alumni that you can speak to about our programs.

Hope to connect with you soon.

Sincerely,

Kara Biland
Program Enrollment Manager
Cross-Cultural Solutions
2 Clinton Place
New Rochelle, NY 10801, USA
1-914-632-0022 Phone
1-800-380-4777 Toll-Free (USA & Canada)
1-914-632-8494 Main Fax
kara@crossculturalsolutions.org

Interested in volunteering abroad?
Watch a video, see photos, and meet our volunteers at www.ccscommunity.org

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