We’re a proud bunch in the office this month as we celebrate a special announcement…
Our Founder and Executive Director, Dan Radcliffe, has been named the New Zealand Young Entrepreneur of the Year in recognition of his inspirational start-up story and the global impact that IVHQ is making, enabling thousands of international travellers to volunteer abroad affordably through providing safe, responsible and sustainable volunteer programs.
Established in 2007, Dan has grown IVHQ to become the world’s leading volunteer travel company with volunteer programs in over 25 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. To date, IVHQ has placed 37,000 volunteers abroad, contributing over 2.7 million volunteer work hours.
Dan launched IVHQ back in 2007 following his own volunteering experience in Kenya. Having completed a Master of Business degree, Dan quit his prestigious corporate job after only three days. He quickly realised that he wouldn’t reach his potential working in the corporate world and headed off travelling in search of inspiration. Dan wanted to volunteer abroad but when researching the opportunities available with existing volunteer travel companies, he was surprised by the cost and felt that there was a lack of affordable options available. Registering with the cheapest and most reliable company he could find, Dan traveled to Kenya to volunteer in August 2006. Although he enjoyed the experience, he was disillusioned with the large disparity between what he had paid, and the actual cost of the volunteer trip. He was also concerned at the lack of transparency around where his fees were being spent. While in Kenya, Dan began meeting with potential partner organisations and this was the first step in establishing what would become IVHQ - the rest is history!
All of the IVHQ team are hugely proud of Dan’s achievement! To us it not only demonstrates that great inspiration can come from volunteer travel, but it also shows that building an organisation around strong values of affordability, responsibility and transparency absolutely pays off. Well done, Dan!
