Your hours can be worth more than your time.
Many employers pay a grant to the nonprofits where their staff volunteer, and many also offer paid time off to do it. If you have served on an IEP team, staffed an event, or given professional time to our work, your company may already owe that work something. Search your employer below to find out.
Some employers will pay you to go.
Volunteer Time Off is paid leave set aside specifically for volunteering. It is a normal benefit at a growing number of companies, and most employees who have it do not know they have it.
That matters more at IEP than at most organizations. A mission team to Guatemala runs about a week. For most working volunteers the thing standing in the way is not money, it is vacation days. If your employer offers VTO, that obstacle disappears.
Check your HR portal for "Volunteer Time Off," "VTO," or "paid volunteer days," and ask whether an international service trip qualifies. Many policies cover it. Some require the organization to be a registered 501(c)(3), which we are.
Thinking about going?
Our teams travel throughout the year for surgical weeks, clinics, construction, and education work. Volunteer grants and VTO both apply to that time.
See upcoming teamsDoes your employer offer volunteer incentives?
Start typing your employer's name. If your company runs a volunteer grant program, you will see the hours required, the amount paid, and how to submit a request. Paid volunteer time policies often appear here too.
The employer search tool did not load
A browser extension, ad blocker, or corporate network filter may be blocking it. Ask your HR or community giving team directly whether the company offers volunteer grants or paid volunteer time, or email donor@i-ep.org and we will help you find out.
You can copy the organization details your employer will ask for from the block further down this page.
Employer not listed, or no program yet? Ask your HR team to consider starting one, and email donor@i-ep.org. We are glad to speak with your employer directly.
Find your program
Use the search above, or ask your HR or community giving team. Look for "volunteer grants," "Dollars for Doers," or "matching time."
Tell us your hours
Use the form below. Most employers ask us to verify your total, so we need a record before the request reaches us.
Submit the request
Fill out your company's form. It will ask for our legal name, EIN, and address, all ready to copy below.
We confirm the hours
Your employer checks with us and sends the grant directly. We follow it through to payment.
Volunteer grant programs generally count time given directly to the organization. If you have done any of the following for IEP, it is worth checking. When you are unsure, ask us rather than assuming it does not count.
- Serving on a surgical or medical mission team in Guatemala
- Construction, water filter, and cookstove installation work
- Teaching, tutoring, or trade training support
- Packing and preparing supplies for a team
- Volunteering at the Esperanza Gala or another IEP event
- Pro bono professional services given to IEP
Employers differ on whether travel time counts. Ask us before you submit and we will tell you exactly what we can verify, so your total matches what we confirm.
Organization Details
Copy these straight into your employer's volunteer grant form. Searching by EIN is usually the most reliable method, because several organizations use similar names. If the form asks for a category, International Esperanza Project is a public charity working in international relief, health, education, and community development.
Thank you. We have your hours on record.
When your employer contacts us to verify, we will have something to verify against. If we need one more detail, we will email the address you gave. Questions in the meantime: donor@i-ep.org.
Tell us your hours before you submit.
Volunteer grants work differently from matching gifts in one important way: your employer will ask us to confirm how many hours you served. Sending them a total we cannot verify is the most common reason these requests stall. Take a minute here first and the rest goes smoothly.
We use this only to verify and credit your service. We never sell or share donor information. See our privacy policy.
What is a volunteer grant?
What is Volunteer Time Off, and would a mission team qualify?
How do I document my hours?
Does travel time count?
Can I request a volunteer grant and a matching gift?
I gave time but I am not sure it counts. Should I bother?
Where does this employer information come from?
How much of a grant reaches programs?
You already gave the hardest part.
Time is the thing people have least of, and you gave it. Asking your employer to recognise that costs one form and a few minutes, and it turns work you have already done into funding for the next team.
Gave money as well as time? Your employer may match that too. Request a matching gift.
