(The following article originally appeared October 17, 2008 in the Philadelphia Business Journal)

Cosmic Volunteers flattens the road abroad

Good deeds overseas made easier

by Adam Stone

Lots of people scale Nepalese heights in search of spiritual enlightenment.

Scott Burke came back with a professional revelation.

If he could find satisfaction volunteering in far-flung locales, maybe others would too, and maybe he could help them to do it. Thus was born Cosmic Volunteers, a Philadelphia outfit that pairs volunteers with do-good opportunities overseas.

“We had a woman go to Ghana this summer and set up medical screenings for orphanage kids,” Burke said. “We have teachers who go into schools for months at a time. We have a kid from Oregon helping people in Africa right now to arrange new basketball leagues and coaching clinics.”

Burke earned a bachelor’s degree in literature from Franklin & Marshall College before going off to work for nearly a decade in the information-technology field. By the end of that time he was done with sitting in cubicles.

“I wanted a challenge, I wanted to see what else might be out there,” he recalled. “I wanted to do something different, and at the same time I wanted to help some people.”

This led to a three-month stint in 2000 teaching in Nepal. The project was organized by a group Burke found online and while his trip went smoothly, he saw other volunteers ride a bumpy road in their efforts to help those in need.

“I saw a lot of organizations doing a really bad job. They weren’t picking people up at the airport, there were no orientations, no support. Volunteers were getting sick and the coordinators were nowhere to be found,” Burke said.

Cosmic Volunteers patrons say Burke knows how to do it right. “They are really helpful in getting things set up on the other end, helping you to get your shots, your visa,” said Lehigh University student Rick Arlow, who did a seven-week stretch in Ghana. “They sent a really good pre-trip guide about how to act, certain things about the culture.”

Word has spread and this year Burke will send about 250 volunteers abroad. A month in India costs $989, while Ghana costs $825 for a month. The business gets 30 percent. The rest of the money covers room, board and logistical support. Customers pay their own airfare.

The demand is great — Burke said 50,000 to 60,000 Americans volunteer overseas each year — so is the need.

“I have visited so many places over the years, orphanages, hospitals, schools,” he said, “and they are literally begging me for volunteers.”

Cosmic Volunteers has met those pleas in China, Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Nepal, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam. Burke has visited most of those countries as he has set up programs.
Success in this business means working as close to ground level as possible. It doesn’t work, Burke said, unless he knows his local partners firsthand.

“I will always make a visit before I send any volunteers to them, to check out their references, check out their operation to make sure they are on the up and up,” he said.

Cultural differences can stymie those efforts.

“In a lot of places people would rather tell you a lie than have you not feel bad, and I have to weed through what they are saying and what they actually mean, working through language barriers and accents.”

Surprisingly, perhaps, gender is a key factor in predicting success in a given location.

“Typically, the women have been much better at this than the guys. All over the world I find more dishonesty in men, whereas the women seem much less ready to let me down,” Burke said.

It’s more than just a matter of being let down. When the system fails, there can be serious consequences. “I can be dealing with a situation where folks will miss an airport pickup and now I have a 16-year-old girl from Wisconsin stranded in an airport in the middle of the night in Ghana,” Burke said. “That’s pretty much as bad as it gets.”

Global logistics notwithstanding, Cosmic Volunteers is thriving and its owner is looking toward further growth. In particular, he would like to formalize his operation.

As things stand, clients can name their destination and their dates and Burke will make it happen. He’s like to start coordinating more formal trips with set dates and programs, ensuring that people are kept busy and are able to focus on the projects at hand.

“It’s less work for us, it’s more money, and I think the volunteer gets more out of something that is a little more focused and structured,” Burke said. 

Up Close

Name: Scott Burke

Age: 39

Company: Cosmic Volunteers, 3502 Scotts Lane, Philadelphia, Pa. 19129

Best business decision: To pursue geographical expansion

Key challenge overcome: Finding credible business partners overseas

Advice to other young entrepreneurs: Talk to a lawyer and a financial person, get professional advice