Fundraising Tips & Resources For Volunteering Abroad
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Fundraising is a great way to make your dreams of volunteering abroad a reality. Don’t lose heart if you do not have enough cash. You can any day raise fund by approaching people who are interested in your cause and also make good contacts while at it. We sat down with our volunteers and the sales team to bring the best fundraising sources for you. So, don’t get put off by the heavy price tag of your program fee. here is what we finally compiled:
#1 Go online-create a personal blog or website
You can easily create a website or personal blog for your fund-raising and also can share your photos and blogs from your experiences. Quora, Newsvine, WordPress, Weebly, a lot of free blog hosting sites are available that lets you create free blogs. Having your own blog or website help you to reach the people who are interested in your cause and can support you financially. It is an impressive way to get people to take action. A simple question on Quora can get you tremendous traction. Therefore, if you truly want to spread the word about your fundraising ideas, start blogging today.
#2 Become a social butterfly-Leverage your social media presence
The real power of social media comes by engaging your donors, volunteers and supporters. It is the easiest way to promote your events, website or blog. Even if you don’t have a mass of followers, you can build a community on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ to reach out your potential sponsors.
#3 Set up an Online Fundraising page
You would be surprised to know that the World Wide Web is your ultimate resource pool for fundraising. You can choose one of the many online crowdfunding websites like Fund My Travel or Travolta. A great thing about these websites is that they let you advertise and appeal for your volunteering travel abroad. You have to set up a profile, create a write-up about your travel, invite all your friends, use pictures, videos and make it as interesting as you can.
Here is a list of crowdsourcing or fundraising websites from where you can raise fund online:
1. https://www.volunteeringsolutions.com/fundraise
2. https://www.justgiving.com/
4. https://www.firstgiving.com/
8. https://www.giveforward.com/
#4 Market yourself: Sell your travel plan
To convince people that they are giving their money to a worthwhile cause and the program you are participating in will give something back to the society, you will have to sell your purpose. Advertise your volunteering plan in your social club, sports club or gym. If you are a student or college goer, prepare a plan of the particular program, print it out and paste a copy on your school, college or university notice board. You can also visit some universities website that directly handles volunteering for their students. You can also circulate the enclosed press announcement to publications like your local newspaper, alumni magazines, church bulletins, or any organization bulletins. Working professionals can circulate an email in the office or put up a notice on the corporate portal. This will surely be a wonderful start for your fundraising quest.
#5 Plan ahead and start saving
Volunteering is a life-changing experience and to make this experience worthwhile you have to plan in advance. Remove all bottlenecks, start saving in advance. Most of the volunteers that sent us reviews wanted to volunteer more. These volunteers came on a short trip of 2-3 weeks. If you are planning for a longer volunteering trip then you should start planning 6 to 7 months in advance. Start as early as possible and keep in mind that fundraising will take time and effort. Try to cut out your weekly luxuries, make your weekly savings calendar. Students or college goers can do some part-time job. If you are already working somewhere and want to take up a volunteer trip without spending much, you can approach your HR to initiate corporate group volunteering.
#6 Ask for direct donation and write well-targeted letters
It is a good idea to approach small or local business and communities for your volunteer program fee. Often small businesses are happy to donate in exchange for their business promotion. To do so, write well-targeted letters to them, including all the necessary information like your reasons to volunteer abroad, a background of that particular project, a specific amount of donation. You can also invite them to your online fundraising sites and request them to join you on your social networks. In return, you can help them in branding, by putting their trademark or logos etc on your t-shirt. While writing, make sure to keep the letters short and simple.
#7 Start at home
Philanthropy starts at home. Share your fundraising efforts with your family. Show them that you have already started advertising your volunteer travel fundraising. This will not only showcase your seriousness for the cause but would also convince your family to back you up with money. Make a list of friends and family members who can support you with money, tell them about this trip, you can also invite them to join in. If you are going in a group you can ask MNCs or big companies for sponsorship.
A successful fundraising depends on how you plan it and the less stressed out it will be. So start early, stay organized and have fun.
Comment to let us know how you raised funds for your travel! Share this to help others.
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