Voluntary Aid is also known as charity aid. It is money collected by agencies such as Oxfam and ActionAid which is then spent on a variety of different schemes. Governments can sometimes also contribute to voluntary aid schemes. Most of this aid goes towards long term development, for example in training farmers in efficient farming techniques that also prevent soil erosion.

Charities also have campaigns to collect funds and provide emergency aid after a disaster, for example, flooding in Mozambique.