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This article recalls the objectives of the Johns Hopkins program for an international comparison of the non-profit-making sector, which has formed the basis for investigations into voluntary help in both France and Europe. Before analysing the results of such investigations, the methodological problems encountered when assessing voluntary help are examined : definition and delimitation of voluntary work, degree of reliability of the investigation results, and the advantages and disadvantages of voluntary work when seen in money terms. Voluntary help in France is then analysed: level of engagement, targets for voluntary work, economic weight of voluntary help, kinds of engagement, and socio-demographic characteristics of the voluntary helper population in France. Lastly, new data on voluntary help in twelve countries of Western Europe and four Central and Eastern European countries, is compared to identical data for American voluntary help to show up the special features of voluntary help on both sides of the Atlantic. The European data is then presented in a more qualitative way to uncover four alternative forms of voluntary help in Europe.