IDENTITY VERIFICATION
The identity verification system helps us build a trustworthy community while protecting HOSTS from spam and unwanted messages. Safeguarding HOSTS is a priority because without them VB can't offer you volunteering opportunities. To finally put an end to spam messages, only verified VOLUNTEERS can contact HOSTS.
For the first 8 years, all you had to do was register on Volunteers Base and you could contact hosts immediately. We had a very small amount of spam messages and we dealt with it manually, so it worked just fine. Unfortunately, everything changed drastically in 2020 when we saw a massive increase in the amount of spam messages requesting paid work, invitation letters, visa sponsorship, etc. Something had to be done, otherwise the hosts were going to leave the website. Since the site is non-for-profit, we don't have a budget to pay for some fancy third-party ID verification system. A donation based proof of identity was the best alternative so it was implemented. There is no minimum or maximum donation amount, it's totally up to you to decide what is fair. As a reference, paid volunteering networks like WorkAway charge 50€ per year for a membership. The main goal is to verify your name, to protect hosts from spam, and to generate a small revenue to cover the cost of keeping the website alive ❤
The following logo will be displayed in verified profiles and verified projects.
