Terms and Conditions

It is important that you understand the Terms, Conditions and Cancellation Policy of Volunteers For Peace (VFP). Before you sign up for a project, you are required to read and accept the conditions below:

Placement Information

VFP places US Citizens, volunteers residing in the USA and some Canadians. If you are from another country please contact us (vfp@vfp.org or 802-598-0052) before registering to be sure we can place you.

VFP places volunteers on a space available basis and encourages volunteers to register as early as possible to increase their chance of acceptance.

VFP and our international partners reserve the right to refuse placement to any volunteer with no obligation to provide a reason. Many projects have a 2 person/per country limit to allow for citizens from many nations to attend their project. So if you are looking to have more than 2 US citizens attend the same project, check with us first.

Volunteers with disabilities, allergies, or medical conditions must disclose this information on their registration form to ensure the project they select is appropriate and able to accommodate them.

Volunteers under 18 years old are required to submit a signed Parent/Guardian Authorization Form prior to participation.
Registration Fees and Refunds

VFP’s registration is $400 per project, $550 if you are under 18 years old. VFP does not offer any refunds once we start processing your application. Please be sure you can participate in the project before you register. Exception: If we cannot place you in the project you selected or another project of your choice you will be issued a full refund.

No Response Policy: We must be able to contact you to ensure placement and participation in a project of your choice. We always initiate contact by email and follow with a phone call if we do not receive a reply. If you are contacted by VFP and do not respond in 7 business days we will cancel your placement. Prior to acceptance we will refund 50% of your registration fee. If you were already accepted there will be no refund.

Last Minute Registration: If the project you selected begins less than a month from the date of registration, a $100 expedited processing fee will be deducted from any refund you may be owed.

Foreign Citizen Registration: VFP can only place US Citizens or volunteers currently residing in the USA. A $50 service fee will be deducted from all registration refunds to foreign citizens. To avoid this fee, please contact us to be sure we can place you before registering.

Change Placement Fee: We strongly discourage volunteers from changing their project choices. VFP requires a $150 change placement fee for each change requested after we processed your registration form, which is normally within hours after we receive it!

Project Information

VFP projects arise from a grassroots, community-based need. Volunteers should be prepared to work about 6 hours a day.

Projects outside the USA are organized and supervised by sponsoring voluntary service organizations in host countries and not by VFP. VFP makes no guarantees as to the quality of work or living conditions on individual projects.

Living conditions are communal and basic. Volunteers will live and work together with others from different countries and should be prepared to contribute to cooking, cleaning, and other daily activities.

On occasion, a project may be cancelled or the project content changed on relatively short notice. In such cases every effort will be made to accommodate previously accepted volunteers in an alternative project. When you register, you are assuming such a risk and agree to be flexible if and when such a situation arises.

VFP and our international partners reserve the right to terminate a volunteer placement if deemed necessary. Reasons for refusal or termination include, but are not limited to: illegal activities, dangerous behavior, offensive behavior, or not participating in the work. In the event that the placement is terminated, you are required to leave the project location immediately without a refund.

Volunteer Responsibility

You are entering a group situation that depends on your willingness to contribute, adapt, and take responsibility for your experience. Volunteers are expected to cooperate fully with host organizations and other participants.

If you elect to leave a project or group, either temporarily or permanently, you do so at your own risk.

Volunteers are responsible for arranging and paying for their own transportation, and for obtaining necessary passports, visas and vaccinations.

Volunteers must keep VFP informed of their current contact information for the forwarding of the project Information Sheets and last minute details. We communicate exclusively by email unless otherwise requested.

If a volunteer feels that project conditions (work, living, transportation, etc.) are not in keeping with personal standards of safety or comfort, s/he should pursue the issue initially with the project leader & other participants and the local host organization and then with the national service organization. VFP’s ability to intervene in such instances is limited but we appreciate feedback and use it in determining future project offerings.

Volunteers should research travel warnings, health outbreaks, and the political situation in countries they plan on visiting in order to make an informed decision about the safety of travel to a location.

VFP strongly recommends that volunteers make sure they have accident insurance for death or injury and travelers’ insurance to cover loss of airfare, registration fees and other consequential damages.

The use of illegal drugs is unacceptable in our projects. Substance abuse is a major social problem and is an obstacle to overcoming the social and economic problems that afflict the world community today. Local hosts reserve the right to restrict or prohibit the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs and to expel you from the project with no refund of registration fees if you do not comply.

Limited Liability

VFP’S Liability is strictly limited to the refund of the volunteer registration fee/s in the event a project is canceled or changed after the volunteer’s acceptance to the project. VFP shall not be liable to any volunteer for (1) failure of any aircraft, ship, train, vessel or other means of transportation to depart or arrive according to any schedule, agreement or otherwise; and (2) any injury or loss to the person or property of the volunteer arising from, or in any way connected with, the volunteer’s participation in a project arranged through VFP, including but not limited to any injury or loss caused by clerical errors, mechanical difficulties, riots, wars, civil disobedience, strikes, labor disputes, weather conditions, acts of God, public enemies, quarantine, the absence of any necessary governmental approvals, or any other beyond control of VFP.