Sorry but I don't believe in all this voluntourism stuff.

I read too much about companies wanting thousands of pounds from people who in return get to build schools and homes in the third world.

Fine, but if you are just doing physical work then you are taking a job of a local person. By paying for the position you are undercutting someone who probably is only looking for a couple of dollars a day.

I have been a VSO volunteer for the past two and a half years. They insisted that I had proper experience in my area of expertise and that the training I gave to people on my post in Vietnam, enabled local people to take over my job when I left. That is sustainable volunteering.

If you have a thousand dollars or so burning a hole in your pocket, write a cheque and send it to someone who needs it. Don't burn it up in air fares and hotel costs in order that you can go and give out food to poor people or play games with orphans. What do you really leave behind?

There are plenty of good volunteer programs but go with funded charities and government organisations who will place you properly and pay you a subsistence wage. Aim also to do at least a year - and only do work where you have professional experience and that cannot reasonably done cost effectively by a local person.

It should not cost you money to be a volunteer. If it is then the chances are your expertise is not valuable enough to attract proper funding. In which case you should ask yourself exactly what you are contributing.

Oh and I just checked the link to Exquisite Safaris - luxury philanthropy? Ick.

I think that there are volunteer opportunities available in locations that don't require a great deal of money to get too. WWOOF is an organization that is in most countries and for a nominal fee one can find lots of sites that need help in establishing organic gardens, etc.
IMHO The purpose of philanthropic travel is personal growth from helping others, not visiting worldly sites, though if one can do so, that is an added benefit.
In the local college here, students raise funds each year to take trips to other countries and spend time helping where needed. Many times local companies have underwritten part or all of the trip. So, if someone truely wants this sort of experience it is attainable.

Philanthropic travel is a fantastic concept and a sign of the changing times. The paradigm of what it means to be an environmentalist and/or socially responsible is changing. I argue it MUST change. Not enough people are going to make a real difference by selling everything and giving it to the poor or a worthy environmental non-profit (especially rich folks). The problems we face are too big and the resources going toward solving them are too small in the all-or-nothing system we have today. I would argue that the only way the world is going to change is if we change the way the world does business.

Example: Sam Adams, CEO of Exploitative International goes on vacation every year to Europe and spends $5,000. Who benefits? Expensive hotels, shops, airlines and Europe. The other option is Sam goes on a Philanthropic vacation, spends the same $5,000 and helps a village build a well giving it access to clean water. Who benefits? Expensive hotels & shops in a third world country AND the small village. Sam is going to spend $5,000 on his vacation every year regardless. And the reality is he will NOT forgo his vacation and write a check to a worthy non-profit.

Net, net, Exquisite Safaris isn’t going to change the world single-handedly, true enough. But if the travel industry changes the way it does business (similar to that of Exquisite Safari), we have a real and effective way of redirecting those resources to where they are needed. And if all industries change the way they do business…who knows?