VSO Collective
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1958
- HeadquartersCity Of London, United Kingdom
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
VSO Collective firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- VSO Collective
- Legal name
- VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas)
- Website
- https://vsointernational.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1958
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
VSO Collective industry classification
Industry- Product category
- International Development Services
- NAICS
- Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230), Human Rights Organizations (813311)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Health Systems Strengthening & Global Health Technical Assistance (BPADAEAH), Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Risk Management (BPADALAK), Democracy, Human Rights & Governance Assistance (BPADABAG)
Keywords
Where VSO Collective is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- City Of London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
VSO Collective business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Individual donations: VSO receives donations from individual supporters globally, including monthly giving programs and one-time contributions. They operate donation pages on their website and engage supporters through newsletters and campaigns.
- Government and institutional grants: Major funding from UK government (FCDO), European Union, and other institutional donors. The Volunteering for Development programme was a £70.5 million multi-year grant from UK government (2017-22).
- Foundation partnerships: Partnerships with foundations including Lego Foundation, Ikeas Foundation for specific programmatic work.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Monthly | Monthly donation program |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
VSO Collective product offering
Product offeringCore offering
VSO is a volunteer-based international development organisation that places skilled professional volunteers alongside local communities and partners to deliver programmes in inclusive education, adolescent and youth health and wellbeing, resilient livelihoods, and climate resilience. It operates through four practice areas (Inclusive Education, Inclusive Health, Resilient Livelihoods, Climate Resilience) and named projects such as ENGAGE, RECOVER, Make Way, Speak It Loud, ACTIVE, and the Prison Health Programme, reaching 24.8 million people across 36 countries under its 2022-28 strategy.
Product overview
VSO is an international development organization that creates change through volunteering rather than sending aid. The organization operates as a portfolio of development programs organized around four main areas: Inclusive Education, Inclusive Health, Resilient Livelihoods, and Climate Resilience. Key named projects include ENGAGE (girls' education in Nepal), RECOVER (COVID-19 economic recovery in Cambodia), Make Way (sexual reproductive health in East Africa), Speak It Loud (gender-based violence in Zimbabwe), and the ACTIVE program (citizenship in Zimbabwe). Major funding comes from UK government (FCDO), European Union, and private foundations. The organization does not appear to offer a technology product; rather, it delivers human development outcomes through volunteer mobilization, community partnerships, and program implementation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- VSO Volunteering Programmes
- Inclusive Education
- Adolescent and Youth Health and Wellbeing (Inclusive Health)
- Resilient Livelihoods
- Volunteering for Development (VfD) Programme
- ENGAGE (Empowering a New Generation of Adolescent Girls with Education)
- RECOVER (Rural Employment for COVID-19 Economic Recovery)
- Make Way
- Speak It Loud
- ACTIVE (Active Citizenship Through Inclusive Volunteering and Empowerment)
- Prison Health Programme
Quantifiable outcome
- 24.8 million people reached (4.2M directly, 20.6M indirectly) in first two years of 2022-28 strategy
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use VSO Collective
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
VSO Collective technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
VSO Collective partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Lego FoundationcorePartnership with Lego Foundation to champion play-based learning in Rwanda through teacher training programs implementing innovative community engagement models.
- Ikeas FoundationcorePartnership to create climate resilient livelihoods, particularly in Kenya where youth are supported to turn waste into work through collaboration with ICDI and Taka Taka Solutions.
- DanChurchAid (DCA)coreLead implementing partner in the RECOVER (Rural Employment for COVID-19 Economic Recovery) project in Cambodia, a three-year initiative co-funded by the European Union.
- People In Need (PIN)coreConsortium partner in the RECOVER project implementing economic recovery programs for fishing and farming communities in Cambodia.
- Women in Law Southern Africa (WLSA)corePartner in Speak It Loud project in Zimbabwe providing free legal representation to women survivors of gender-based violence to seek justice and child custody.
- Rescue 1122 (Pakistan)corePartnership with Pakistan government emergency services for disaster response training. VSO has trained over 1 million youth on emergency response and formed 5,000+ Community Emergency Response Teams.
- Lawyers' Environmental Action Team (LEAT)corePartner in Tanzania CLARITY project providing legal support to communities affected by mining and environmental damage, working to access justice for human rights violations.
- Tanzanian Women Chamber of Commerce (TWCC)corePartner in Tanzania CLARITY project providing social and legal support to women in mining, helping women miners access justice and improve working conditions.
- Geita Women Miners Association (GEWOMA)coreLocal women's miners group in Geita, Tanzania - one of the few women's miners groups in the country, supported through CLARITY project for equitable access to mining sector.
- Theatre for a ChangeminorImplementing partner in Bangladesh and Tanzania using drama to interact with communities and challenge perceptions of gender norms.
- Global Partnership for EducationminorCollaboration on education initiatives, including policy work in East and Southern Africa.
- Samfya Association of Persons with Disabilities (SAPD)minorLocal partner in Zambia implementing EYEE project for youth with disabilities, supporting entrepreneurship and employability skills development.
- HumentumminorGlobal network for civil society support; Kathryn Gordon, VSO Executive Board member, serves on Humentum's global board.
Scale indicators14 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
VSO Collective competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Mercy Corps: Major international humanitarian and development NGO operating in conflict and crisis-affected countries with programmes in livelihoods, health, and education. Comparable in geographic reach, donor base, and programme portfolio structure.
- BRAC: Large international development organisation operating across education, health, livelihoods, and climate resilience in Africa and Asia, with significant overlap on community-driven programming and country presence in Bangladesh, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
- Plan International: International development organisation focused on children's rights and gender equality, with strong overlap with VSO's inclusive education, gender-based violence, and youth health programmes. Comparable donor base and country footprint.
- Peace Corps: The US government's primary international volunteer placement programme, sending American volunteers to work on community development projects abroad. Most directly comparable peer given its volunteer-for-development methodology, government funding model, and country-based placement structure.
- CARE International: Global humanitarian and development federation working on poverty, women's empowerment, health, and education across 100+ countries. Comparable scale, multi-donor funding structure, and focus on marginalised communities.
- UN Volunteers (UNV): United Nations programme that deploys volunteers globally to support peace and development initiatives. Direct peer in the volunteer-for-development space with similar deployment model, UN agency funding base, and global country footprint.
- Habitat for Humanity: International non-profit deploying skilled volunteers to build housing and community capacity in developing countries. VSO's Co-CEO Donné Cameron previously held senior leadership at Habitat for Humanity; the organizations share a volunteer-driven model and faith-inspired roots.
- Save the Children: Leading international children's rights and development NGO operating in 120+ countries with significant overlap on inclusive education, child health, and adolescent wellbeing programming comparable to VSO's portfolio.
Emerging players
- Restless Development: Youth-focused international development agency placing young volunteers in community programmes across Africa and Asia. Strong overlap on VSO's youth volunteer and adolescent health/wellbeing focus but with a narrower demographic and smaller scale.
Broad incumbents
- Oxfam International: Global confederation of NGOs working on poverty, inequality, and development with significant scale across education, livelihoods, and humanitarian response. Larger and broader portfolio but overlapping donor base and many of the same institutional partners.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
VSO Collective social profiles
Digital presenceVSO Collective financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
VSO Collective leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles18 records
VSO Collective subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries3 records
VSO Collective funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
VSO Collective M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about VSO Collective
What does VSO Collective do?
VSO is a volunteer-based international development organisation that places skilled professional volunteers alongside local communities and partners to deliver programmes in inclusive education, adolescent and youth health and wellbeing, resilient livelihoods, and climate resilience. It operates through four practice areas (Inclusive Education, Inclusive Health, Resilient Livelihoods, Climate Resilience) and named projects such as ENGAGE, RECOVER, Make Way, Speak It Loud, ACTIVE, and the Prison Health Programme, reaching 24.8 million people across 36 countries under its 2022-28 strategy.
Is VSO Collective a public or private company?
VSO Collective is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was VSO Collective founded?
VSO Collective was founded in 1958. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is VSO Collective based?
VSO Collective is headquartered in City Of London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does VSO Collective make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Individual donations are the primary driver. The others are government and institutional grants and foundation partnerships.
Who are VSO Collective's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Mercy Corps, BRAC, Plan International, Peace Corps, CARE International, UN Volunteers (UNV), Habitat for Humanity and Save the Children. Restless Development is listed as an emerging player. Oxfam International is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does VSO Collective have an API?
No public API is recorded for VSO Collective.
What industry is VSO Collective in?
VSO Collective's product category is International Development Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADAEAK, Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming, with a secondary code of BPADAEAH, Health Systems Strengthening & Global Health Technical Assistance. Its NAICS code is 624230 and its SIC code is 8300.