Preparing for a Volunteer Experience Abroad: Fundraising
Most volunteer programs involve some costs to cover expenses related to local travel, lodging, meals, travel/health insurance and more. Although it may seem counterintuitive to pay to volunteer, there are significant costs involved in preparing, sending, training, and supporting volunteers abroad. Typically, volunteer-sending organizations, volunteers and host country partners work in a partnership to share these costs. Compared to many traditional study abroad programs, volunteer abroad program fees are typically lower, and the program fee is the volunteer's contribution to the overall cost.
According to Erin Barnhart, Director of Volunteerism Initiatives at Idealist.org, the key to financing a volunteer abroad experience is to check out all options. “There are hundreds and hundreds of ways to volunteer. For example, some short-term work camps can be as inexpensive as $100 to $200 per project. There are also programs that offer financial support or scholarships as well as sponsored programs for individuals with particular skills. If you find a program that’s a good fit and is a bit more expensive, you just need to be creative. Approach friends and family and talk about the work that you’re going to do. It’s a great way for others to connect globally. People are interested in being global citizens and you can share your volunteer experience by starting a blog or sending updates from abroad. Invite them to be investors in your experience.”
Shannon Coe put her energy and creativity to work to finance her volunteer trip to Cuba. “My husband and I invited sixteen people to a fundraising dinner. We served a ten-course meal and asked for donations of $50 a plate, and we raised quite a lot of money that evening. I also gave a presentation about Wheels for the World to the local Kiwanis club. Normally Kiwanis doesn’t give money to people volunteering internationally, typically the money has to be used in the local community, but they must have really liked the presentation. They gave me $500.” Coe also received support from friends and her church.
Jade Marshall also tapped into local community organizations to raise money for her volunteer trip to Peru. “For many months previous to going I wrote letters to local companies and charitable organizations. Some were not able or interested in funding me and some were very kind. My greatest help was from the local Rotary Club. In return for their donation, when I came back I gave a presentation about my trip to them.”
A student at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Tamer Mahmoud approached the Director of Student Affairs at RIT about sponsoring his participation in a Global Reach Out Initiative, Inc (GRO) program in Thailand. In exchange for the cost of his airfare, Mahmoud gave a presentation about his experience in Thailand to the school community when he returned home to New York.
Many volunteer-sending organizations offer support and resources to assist individuals in their fundraising efforts. “Our program enrollment managers can walk you through all of the various resources available. We have start dates already in place up to a year in advance so an individual can enroll in a program today then take up to a year to fundraise. We can also arrange payment plans,” says Kam Santos, Director of Communications at Cross-Cultural Solutions (CCS). CCS also provides volunteers with sample flyers, press releases and fundraising letters and can put future volunteers in touch with alumni for additional tips on successful fundraising. Like many volunteer-sending organizations, CCS is a non-profit organization, so contributions from family, friends and employers to an individual’s program fee are tax-deductible. Outside of individual fundraising, Santos adds, “There are some limited grants and scholarships out there, for example, Travelocity’s Change Ambassadors Grant program, and the Volunteers for Prosperity Service Initiative program. There are also some interesting grants offered by the National Geographic Society.”
Cultural Embrace offers fundraising support to individuals, as well as a point-reward system by which individuals can earn money towards their own volunteer program fee by giving presentations about Cultural Embrace to members of community organizations or campus groups. Discounts for selected programs are advertised monthly on the Cultural Embrace website.
Often youth, teachers, full-time students and senior citizens qualify for discounted airfares through agencies such as STA Travel or on specific airlines. Some volunteer abroad programs may also include airfare in program fees in order to receive discounted group fares.
Although most volunteer-sending organizations charge a program fee for volunteers, there are a host of volunteer abroad opportunities available that offer living stipends to people interested in longer-term assignments, such as the Peace Corps, and to those with specialized skills. Organizations that provide funding or stipends for international service include Winrock International, UN Volunteers and WorldTeach. Also, many health organizations provide funding for doctors and medical personnel to serve overseas.
Just two months after the 2004 Asia Tsunami devastated the countries of Thailand, Indonesia and others, H’Sien Hayward, a graduate student in psychology at Harvard University, volunteered to co-lead two workshops for clinical psychologists, social workers, psychotherapists and school psychologists working with tsunami survivors in Thailand. Hayward and her colleague purchased their own airfare to Thailand because “it was important to us to contribute to the tsunami relief efforts.” Thai and U.S. organizations covered all other expenses for the trainings. “Particularly important to the success of the training was having the logistics facilitated by the people on the Thailand side, including accommodations at a wheelchair-accessible hotel, transportation, meeting room space, food and evening activities. This enabled us to hit the ground running, start the training the morning after we arrived and focus solely on our work during the duration of the stay,” adds Hayward. For more information on skilled volunteer abroad opportunities with stipends, and a list of more organizations, visit the International Volunteerism Resource Center.
Finally, if volunteer abroad program fees are simply too high for your budget, you might consider going independently. This puts you in control of how much to spend on housing, transportation, meals, and other costs.
Jamie Rau, who has a physical disability, discovered a volunteer opportunity on her own in Oaxaca, Mexico. Growing up in Southern California, Rau started volunteering in Mexico at age ten. “Even before college, I think I had gone to Mexico ten or twelve times, but always to volunteer. I actually graduated with a degree in International Relations because international travel had made such a big impact on me. Since I had committed so much time in Oaxaca, I decided I would go back after graduation. It ended up being one of the best fits for me in terms of the impact it’s had on my life,” says Rau.
Divertigranja, where Rau volunteered, is a farm and petting zoo that seeks to educate children, teachers, and other visitors about the importance of protecting the environment while promoting the full inclusion of people with disabilities in Mexican society. Divertigranja relies heavily on the contributions of volunteers. Most volunteer positions are for a minimum of one month and include either a furnished place to live close to the farm or rustic housing on-site, access to a communal kitchen, an opportunity to acquire or improve Spanish language skills and occasional group field trips to local attractions. Volunteers are asked to contribute a variable weekly co-op fee to defray some of the costs as the organization has limited resources.
One of the co-founders of Divertigranja is a wheelchair user and the organization has a history of welcoming people with diverse disabilities to volunteer on the farm. Rau reflects, “I found that disability was a big part of why international volunteers came to the farm. Many wanted to understand the context of having a disability in another culture. It was about people with and without disabilities treating others with respect and caring for the environment. I think what brought us together is we didn’t want to see disability awareness as something we did only at the farm. The longer term vision is to involve volunteers in human rights campaigns or even business-related awareness of disability rights in Oaxaca and all of Mexico.” Learn more about volunteering abroad independently by visiting the Going Solo page on the International Volunteerism Resource Center.
The International Volunteerism Resource Center also has comprehensive information on financing a volunteer abroad program – from fundraising and scholarships to volunteer abroad opportunities with living stipends. Visit NCDE’s Funding Resources for additional information and tips on scholarships, fellowships, fundraising, and how to keep disability benefits while abroad.
While fundraising is often aimed at covering international airfare and program fees, many people also seek donations to give to the host community. Prior to leaving for South Africa, Azulai Booker sought donations for the day care center where she was going to volunteer. “We asked all our friends to donate money so we could get the kids toys and other items. I’m so proud that some gave backpacks full of latex gloves, Kleenex, wipes, coloring books, crayons, and postcards of Washington, DC. I was amazed at the gifts that I got. Once there, I asked ‘Would it be appropriate for me to give them this?’ and they looked like they were about to cry. They said, ‘Wow, thank you, thank you.’”
