UtilForge does not yet run a volunteer programme. This is the code every volunteer would be asked to follow, published first so that organisations and the people they serve can read the standard in advance.
The short answer. UtilForge does not yet run a volunteer programme. This is the code every volunteer would follow: never ask for passwords, codes or money, never take control of a device, never keep a person's details, work in public or in pairs, and follow the host organisation's rules.
Last reviewed 5 October 2026. These are UtilForge’s own rules. They are a commitment, not a legal policy, and an organisation that hosts a volunteer may have rules of its own that go further.
What a volunteer never asks for
- A password, a PIN, a code sent by text or app, or a card number. Nobody helping a person check something needs them.
- Money, for UtilForge or for themselves, or any payment, gift or loan.
- Access to an account, an email inbox or a phone.
What a volunteer never does
- Takes control of a device remotely. If a person needs help with settings, the volunteer says what to tap and the person taps it.
- Handles a person’s money, or makes a payment for them.
- Keeps anything. No copies, no photographs or screenshots of private details, and no notes that hold names or numbers.
- Gives legal, financial or medical advice. UtilForge’s pages are general information, and a volunteer says so and points to the official body.
- Sells anything, takes a commission or recommends a paid product during a session.
How a volunteer works
- In a public or shared setting, or with a second person present. A volunteer does not visit a home alone.
- In plain words, in the language the person is comfortable with, explaining what is being done and why.
- At the person’s pace, and the person can stop at any moment without giving a reason.
- Within the rules of the host organisation. Where the law of a country requires an official background check for helping vulnerable adults, the host organisation says so, and the volunteer completes it before helping anyone.
If something goes wrong
A volunteer who suspects that a person has already lost money or shared a password points them to how to report a suspicious text or call and to where to report, country by country, and tells the host organisation. Concerns about a volunteer go to UtilForge through the contact page.
A volunteer who breaks this code is removed from every list that UtilForge keeps.
What this page is waiting on
A volunteer programme needs a legal home for UtilForge and a way of checking volunteers, and neither is in place yet. Until they are, nobody is recruited, and this page sets the standard that any future programme would have to meet.
Related guides
Free
The free field guide
is the handout.
Check first is a 28-page PDF (Portable Document Format) file that a volunteer, a clinic or a family can print and share.