Financial Contribution

EcoSwell is a for Impact non-profit organization and as such we do not distribute any surplus income as profit or dividends. Nonetheless, just as a for-profit organization, we have costs for our operations which we need to cover in order to be able to exist.

By being a non-profit, we can keep costs down and make our placements more accessible than other programs. We aim to keep our operational costs as low as possible by working efficiently, ensuring that we can make a real and positive impact in the present and are able to keep the organization moving forward into the future. One of our main sources of regular income are the financial contributions from our volunteer interns for their placements, without these we would not be able to pay our staff or sustain our organization. Your financial contribution also directly funds our projects, so you're having a positive impact just by signing up.

For every volunteer intern that joins us, we plant a tree with local families in our zone of influence as part of our community greening initiative.

Our Allocation of Funds

Below you'll find the financial contribution information for our in-person volunteer internship and our online volunteer internship.

In-person volunteer internship financial contribution

Financial contributions for the program will depend on period of stay with us and the position that you apply to. In all cases, the longer you stay with us, the lower the weekly contribution becomes. The table below shows contributions required in relation to the participants time with us per position. Your financial contribution includes/covers the following (for further info on these, click here):

• Comfortable accommodation throughout your stay at the EcoSwell House with an office workplace and resources, fully-equipped kitchen, shared-bathroom and shared-bedroom depending on the amount of volunteers at a time, access to clean water, electricity and internet 99% of the time.

• Food (delicious, plentiful and healthy). We cover all your meals throughout your stay with us (any meals you may have in restaurants are not included).

• Pre-departure logistics organisation and guidance.

• Transport within Lobitos and airport pickup from Talara.

• Constant one-on-one guidance and technical support from the bilingual (English & Spanish) EcoSwell team to ensure positive work results.

• Firsthand experience on running a sustainable development NGO in a developing country - we are a small, dedicated team and you will be involved in decision-making processes with us since day one.

• Facilitation of local contacts, including community leaders and inhabitants, organizations, local government, universities, businesses and institutions.

• Constant local community engagement.

• Submergence into the EcoSwell lifestyle: daily world class surfing (all levels - surfing lessons and equipment rentals available, but not included), exploring new beaches, yoga, library access, baking/cooking, personal development within other fun activities.

• Other activities, such as swimming with wild turtles, artisanal open sea fishing with local fishermen, within others are affordable and can be arranged but are not included in the program.

Online volunteer internship financial contribution

All of what is included in our in-person placement above, except for the activities which require you to be in person in Peru.

As part of our online volunteer internship you can expect to get involved in the following:

• Our online project work (studies, research, data analysis, project monitoring, admin, etc) 

• Educational seminars provided by our Directors including but not limited to:

  • NGO/Social enterprise creation and management seminar

  • Renewable Energy

  • Ecosystem restoration

  • Research methods in the development of vulnerable communities

*All payments must be made in United States Dollars (USD$) according to the amounts shown in the table above - Exchange rate fluctuations of other currencies are not considered. Taxes, insurance and financial costs (eg: costs of sending money, bank commissions, etc.) and any other extra costs (flights, visas, vaccinations, personal insurance, personal spending money, etc.) are not included. Minimum period of stay is 2 weeks. The details and information of the selected insurance will have to be sent and approved by EcoSwell beforehand, as being appropriate.

In order to ensure that all participant expenses are covered, the final financial contribution amount needs to be paid in USD. We do this in order to avoid exchange rate fluctuations from other currencies which may result in not the right amount being paid.

If participants decide they want to stay with us for longer during their stay, they can (subject to availability). The additional financial contribution is calculated based on the weekly rate of the total amount of time the volunteer intern has stayed with us. The longer the duration of your stay, the lower the weekly rate you pay.

Fundraising

We encourage our candidates to fundraise (as a lot is learned from this experience, it’s fun and it helps us by spreading the word!) for their placement’s financial contribution. You can access a guide on how to do it here. If you have any questions or need any specific advice, please contact us.

How to secure your place with us and conditions

Since we have limited spaces, if you have been accepted we will need you to secure your placement by depositing a non-refundable 30% of your placement’s total financial contribution within 1 week of being accepted. Full payment will be required 4 weeks prior to your arrival at the latest. A refund of the 70% of the full payment (minus all transaction costs) will only be available if cancellation is confirmed 30 days before your start date. No refunds of any kind will be available within 30 days of confirmed arrival date. EcoSwell is not responsible for any personal decisions to leave before the scheduled time, nor for any breach of our safety procedures and risk assessments, for any natural disasters or health risks, for any local, national or international events or for any reasons in general of force majeure that can affect a placement time already scheduled. Payment details will be given by our team during the application process.