The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme connects Member States, UN agencies, and funding partners with UN Volunteers to address critical global challenges. Through the Full Funding programme, partners sponsor UN Volunteers assignments to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Why Sponsor UN Volunteers?
Sponsoring UN Volunteers allows organizations to directly support global peace and development efforts. As a funding partner, you can choose to sponsor nationals from your own country or from other countries of your choice, empowering them to apply their skills to urgent global challenges and have them serving in their country or abroad.
UN Volunteers play a crucial role in advancing key development UN projects, particularly at the country and regional levels. They also play a vital role in humanitarian efforts and tackle the world’s most pressing issues.
In 2023, 709 UN Volunteers worldwide were fully funded, with 73 per cent women and 55 per cent UN Youth and University Volunteers. Of these, 7 per cent were UN Volunteers with disabilities.
Partnerships Satisfaction
In a survey conducted in 2024, Full Funding partners highlighted the significance of their strong collaboration with UNV, with more than half of them identifying the opportunity to offer their nationals a chance to work for the United Nations as the most significant benefit:
“This full funding partnership enables skilled volunteers from diverse backgrounds to contribute without financial barriers, bringing in specialized expertise.” Dayoung Jeong, funded by the Government of Korea in 2024.
To learn more about the real-life experiences of UN Volunteers, watch below the Behind the scenes of a UN Volunteer of Carla Enrica, UN Volunteer fully funded by Switzerland, and the experiences of Yiran Zhao, Xinhao Yao, and Xiangyu Jin, UN Volunteers fully funded by China.
Become a Partner!
Partnering with the UNV Full Funding programme is a direct way to contribute to global peace and development. Whether you're a government, foundation, university, civil society organisation or private sector entity, you can sponsor UN Volunteers and contribute to the 2030 Agenda:
• Reach out to the UNV Partnerships Section to exchange on how you can get involved and sponsor an assignment: partnershipsupport@unv.org
• To learn more about the partnerships and the programme details consult the UNV Full Funding Programme Report 2023 and Annual Report 2023.
Full Funding partners are encouraged to support UNV also through the Special Voluntary Fund. Please refer to the page on The Special Voluntary Fund.
