About IAVE
Who. What. Where. Why.
Our Mission
IAVE creates a more just and sustainable world by enabling the leaders, organizations, and environments that empower volunteers. At IAVE, we know that when people get involved in their communities, things change for the better.The estimated 1 billion people worldwide who volunteer each year create a collective expression of civic engagement that builds community cohesion and resilience that is fundamental to making a better life for us all.
We believe that volunteer leaders, be they individuals or organizations, are critical to supporting, valuing, and developing volunteering at the national and regional levels. They are the convenors of myriad local organizations in the communities they serve, harnessing the power for collective action, and promoting the role of volunteering at the local and societal level. These leaders – and volunteers in general – are the world’s advocates, activists, and change-makers. Our renewed mission centers on ensuring that volunteers are safe and supported in their work and allowed to become recognized as legitimate and important actors in achieving a just and sustainable world.
To learn more about IAVE, read our Strategic Plan and get to know our three pillars below.
Our Pillars
Advocacy
IAVE advocates for the global recognition of volunteering as vital to the creation of a just and sustainable world. We strive for equity and a diverse share of voice to include volunteering leaders and organizations and to create an enabling and empowering environment for global volunteering.
Knowledge Creation & Sharing
IAVE advances volunteering’s global practice, efficacy, representation, and influence by generating an evidence base around effective volunteering at the individual, organizational and societal level. We connect and convene people together to share experience, expertise, and ideas. We are recognized as sector thought leaders and generously share our data and evidence broadly.
Leadership Development
IAVE creates spaces which affirm and grow a global culture of volunteering, giving recognition to the importance of volunteers enhancing social cohesion. We accomplish this through supportive networks such as our Global Corporate Volunteer Council (GCVC) and our Global Network of Volunteering Leadership (GNVL) and through global convenings such as our biennial World Volunteer Conference.