Fundraising

Once you've decided to volunteer with Projects Abroad, you can start focusing on the details of your time abroad such as how to fund your trip. You'll receive a fundraising guide once you are accepted as a volunteer. You'll also have the opportunity to create a personalized fundraising page through our MyProjectsAbroad platform. This page will allow others to donate directly toward your program fee. You can share this page in emails and on social media. Every little bit helps!

Social Media Fundraising

Take your personalized fundraising page provided by Projects Abroad and post it to Social Media! Supplement gifts for donations on sites like Facebook and Instagram. Your friends and family can directly deposit donations to your fundraiser, and your fee will continuously shrink. Instead of a gift, request donations for occasions like:

Birthdays
Religious holidays
Middle School Graduation
High School Graduation
College Graduation

Sources for Funding

One way to fundraise is to visit your local communities. Neighborhood organizations love to encourage and assist people to go out in the world and make a difference. See if any of your community-based groups can assist you in your fundraising journey.

School and university grants
Lions Club, Eagles club, Rotary club in your area
Your local place of worship
Local and international charities and trusts

Fundraising Events

Holding a fundraising event in your school or community can often be one of the most successful ways to raise money for your trip. These require dedicated and advanced planning though. You can utilize your creativity to set up new and unique fundraising events. In the past volunteers have held events such as:

Bake Sales
Car Washes
Community Meals
Quiz Nights
Open Mic Nights
Theme Parties
Dance Nights

You should publicize your event as much as possible. Make posters, e-mail your friends, and post your event on social media to get as much support as possible. You can contact your local radio or newspaper to attract sponsors. Think about who you know and who can help you - anyone in a band? An owner of a restaurant or store? Our Fundraising Guide is packed with inventive ideas.

Sponsorship

Many companies would consider sponsoring you if you approach them in the right way. Our Fundraising Guide will give you ideas on how to write the most effective letters. Before you target them consider the following:

Does the company have a local interest in your school/university/community?
Does the company have an interest in your project or destination?
Can you offer the sponsor an opportunity for promotion via advertising for a sponsored event on local radio/in a newspaper/on a poster/on a T-shirt displaying their logo?

A Part-time Job

Don't underestimate the value of ordinary work! Here is an example of how a part time job can help: Working for $8.00 an hour for 4 hours twice a week earns $64.00 per week - $256 per month - $3,072 a year.

Fundraising as a Group

Often times students, friends, and colleagues choose to plan a project together as a group and work together for fundraising. This is a great idea and allows you to pool resources and share ideas. We've even had students and teachers form volunteer abroad clubs at their school to plan years ahead and fundraise together. Find out more about planning a Custom Group Trip.

Financial Aid

We don't have the capacity to offer scholarships and financial aid to our volunteers. This is because we don't receive any outside financial support ourselves. Instead, the program fees you pay help support meaningful projects around the world and provide you with everything you need to volunteer abroad. We're also happy to help with suggestions and ideas on fundraising for your trip. There are lots of ways to raise the necessary funds and we recommend trying as many of them as possible!

While we can't provide financial aid directly, we've compiled a list of external scholarships which can be applied to Projects Abroad programs. Please note Projects Abroad has no affiliation with any of these scholarships and cannot help you apply for or secure any possible funding they may offer.