About us
Over the past 50 years, VSO has remained steadfast in its belief that the greatest impact on poverty and disadvantage is through volunteers sharing skills. At the same time, the organisation is always evolving and working to stay at the forefront of innovative work in developing countries.
VSO is an international federation of member organisations that all contribute resources to a shared development programme. The Federation member organisations are based in Canada, Kenya, the Netherlands, the Philippines and the UK. Volunteers are recruited in India through an organisation called iVolunteer, and VSO also recruits and raises funds in Ireland.
The Senior Management Team meets monthly and is responsible for setting corporate and group annual objectives and budgets, organisational policy and terms and conditions for the employment of staff.
The Directors of Federation Members Team is responsible for establishing policies and practice related to Volunteer Recruitment, Fundraising, and Public Engagement, as well as working with SMT to determine Corporate Strategic directions.
VSO’s Board of Trustees, the International Board, includes a Trustee from the Board of each Federation member.
The Council is the highest ruling body in VSO. The Council elects members to the Board of Trustees and acts as a constitutional check on the Board’s decisions.
VSO UK and VSO International are the same charitable entity and therefore accountable to the International Board of Trustees, but scrutiny of UK operations has been delegated to the UK Committee (a sub-committee of the Board). VSO UK therefore operates as a division of VSO in the UK, as well as a sister organisation to the other Federation members.
Information about VSO’s activities and accounts can be found in our 2006-7 Annual Review.