Cost breakdown
Understanding how funds are managed is essential when you take part in a humanitarian project, which is why Freepackers explains openly how its costs are organised.
Where your contribution goes, euro by euro
Take a real case: a two-week programme at an animal shelter in Argentina.
- €2,100Total participant budgetThe amount paid to Freepackers for the programme.
- €500Freepackers operationsProject audit, preparation, and support before and during departure.
- €1,450Received by our partner in Argentina€1,600 transferred, less €150 in bank charges.
- €1,100Direct donation to the projectThe rest, around €350, pays for the volunteer's logistics on site.
Indirect costs cannot be worked out project by project: they are spread across the year, then shared between all programmes.
How a price is set
What determines the budget of a programme
The local cost of living
A programme in Australia costs more than one in Thailand: accommodation, meals and transport follow local prices.
Facilities and staff
The more specialised a project, the more it needs: vehicles, tracking equipment, laboratory work, vets, keepers.
The donation that keeps the project alive
Part of your budget stays on site, so the NGO can carry on its work after you leave.
Indirect costs, spread across the year
They exist for every programme and are worked out across all projects, never on a single one.
Bank charges
International transfers to our partners have a cost, taken on every payment.
Setting up and auditing projects
Every project is visited, checked and set up before the first volunteer arrives.
Management and development
Following projects over time: working with the local teams, adjusting, opening new ground.
Flexibility guarantee
If health, weather or dates get in the way, we absorb the extra cost.
Exchange rate guarantee
The price you are quoted does not move, even if the local currency does between booking and departure.
Local permits
The standards and permits required by the authorities of the host country.
Public liability insurance
Cover that protects participants and the organisations hosting them alike.
On site
What the logistics cover
Organised by the host organisation, with the share of the budget transferred to it.
Safety and first aid
Written protocols, known to the local team and applied from the day you arrive.
Supervision and training
Local supervisors and coordinators train you in the work of the programme.
Equipment and materials
Everything the programme calls for, provided on site: tools, protective gear, field equipment.
Accommodation, and sometimes meals
A place to stay for the whole period; depending on the project, meals are included.
Local transport
The journeys the programme requires, between your accommodation and the project site.
Why a single package rather than a list of fees
These costs come with any international placement or volunteering experience: they would have to be organised and paid for in any case. By bringing them together in one transparent package, we make sure participants are hosted directly within the NGO. That is what makes real immersion possible, and what gives local organisations genuine financial support.
Joining a project takes serious means: logistics, supervision, equipment, a sound organisation behind it. Paying for a humanitarian trip can look like an obstacle. That is why we keep track of every funding scheme for international mobility, and pass on the grants and schemes you are entitled to.
Before you arrive
Projects selected for you
We are a team of ten. Every programme we offer has been through these four stages.
- 1
Finding the local organisation
The team travels the world to find organisations that are reliable, known and experienced.
- 2
The nature of the programme
Projects built on learning and exchange, with a real local impact, never emergency relief.
- 3
Preparing for the project
You receive the tools and the information to leave prepared, whatever your budget.
- 4
Working with the local teams
Our long-standing partners host participants regularly: there is often a place for your profile and your dates.
What your budget guarantees you
Ground we know
No greenwashing: projects visited, checked and followed over time.
Professional support
Provided by professionals, never by other volunteers or interns.
A small team you can reach
Advice from people who know you. No call centre here.
Support made for you
Before, during and after: there is always someone to answer your questions.
The tools to go
Information, a preparation kit and funding routes, whatever your budget.
What that adds up to
- €1,300,000Paid to our partner NGOsOver the last ten years.
- 10People in the teamA small organisation, reachable and independent.
- €0Public funding receivedFreepackers lives on participants' contributions alone.
Your contribution does not only fund your own project: it supports every project Freepackers sets up.
Our independence
We are an independent organisation. We receive no help from the state or from our partner organisations: Freepackers survives on the financial contribution of participants alone.
We carry out no lobbying activity, directly or indirectly, and we use no lobbyist to influence legislation, public policy or regulatory decisions. Should that ever change, we undertake to adopt and publish a responsible lobbying policy, in line with our mission and our values.
We do not claim to end poverty, injustice or inequality. We want to help make the world better through targeted, local action, at our own scale.
