Mission:
To build an active network of people and organizations in developed countries committed to ending extreme poverty around the world.

Background:
NetAid is a public-private partnership between the United Nations Development Programme and Cisco Systems Inc. that was launched in 1999 to raise public awareness and promote action in the fight against poverty. The organization works through a global network of partners, including the UN and its offices throughout the developing world. Its flagship programs are NetAid Online Volunteering, which connects volunteers to projects via the Internet, and NetAid World Schoolhouse, which works to put more kids in schools.

Outstanding Feature:
Since early 2000, NetAid Online Volunteering has connected volunteers with organizations in developing countries through a service managed by the United Nations Volunteers Programme. By working on projects that can be completed online, such as creating fundraising plans, translating documents, and building Web sites, volunteers benefit from the convenience of working wherever and whenever their schedules permit. The online set up also makes it easy for prospective volunteers to search for assignments by the type of work they want to do, field of interest, area of expertise, geographic region, language, and time availability. NetAid processes volunteer applications and passes the information to organizations looking for assistance.

The program has assembled a pool of nearly ten thousand volunteers on to support some three hundred organizations in sixty countries. To learn more about the work being done through NetAid, site visitors can read about the recipients of the organization's 2003 Online Volunteer of the Year Awards.