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Rotary Clubs, Kiwanis Clubs, and other volunteer clubs may offer modest funding to individuals planning to volunteer abroad, provided you offer an educational presentation to the club members upon your return. Contact your local club chapters.
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Your Employer May Have a Contribution Matching Program
Many businesses will match employee gifts to a qualifying nonprofit organization, with differing guidelines in each company (be sure to find out what they are at your employer).
Some, such as Frito-Lay, for example, have 2 for 1 contribution matching for contributions in conjunction with volunteer work!
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Scholarships and Fundraising Resources:
Civic Organizations
Rotary Clubs, Kiwanis Clubs, and other volunteer clubs
may offer modest funding to individuals planning to volunteer abroad, provided you offer an educational presentation to the club members upon your return. Contact your local club chapters.
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Scholarships and Fundraising Resources:
Grants
Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) has two scholarships for US students:
Bowman Travel Grant: for high school or undergraduate students participating in a CIEE program or program of a CIEE member institution. Award amounts range from $500-2,000. In most cases, awards are issued as vouchers to Council Travel, to be used towards the purchase of the student's airline ticket to their program destination. Application deadlines are usually in April and October. 888-COUNCIL ; ISICGrants@ciee.org.
The Bailey Scholarship is intended to promote increased participation in Council’s International Study Programs by members of groups which have traditionally been under-represented in study abroad, especially ethnic minority students. 888-COUNCIL
American Medical Student Association
Website includes an excellent online guide to fundraising, "Creative Funding for International Health Electives" useful for all students.
Reference Service Press
"Financial Aid for Study and Training Abroad and Financial Aid for Research and Creative Activities Abroad" (Reference Service Press). The RSP databases are also available online to America Online subscribers (keyword RSP), or through some university libraries.
University of Minnesota, International Study and Travel Center (ISTC), Scholarships Database
An excellent, free online database of scholarships. Search categories include study, research and internships as well as location and other variables.
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Your Employer May Have a Contribution Matching Program
Many businesses will match employee gifts to a qualifying nonprofit organization, with differing guidelines in each company (be sure to find out what they are at your employer). Some, such as Frito-Lay, for example, have 2 for 1 contribution matching for contributions in conjunction with volunteer work!The companies we currently know of that provide matching gift programs are listed here. If you and/or your sponsors work for any of these companies, please ask about their matching gift programs. That information is available only through the corporation. Please email us at info (at) globeaware.org if you know of any additional corporations with matching gift programs.
When I promised to take Grace to any country she could conjure up, I intended to fulfill my end of the bargain. But I was worried and, as such, rational thought went out the window. I imagined the worse case scenarios: Grace would contract a mutant form of malaria; civil war would suddenly break out; my family would disown me for endangering both of our lives. I wanted Grace to see the "real" Africa, but I could not schlep her around the continent as if I were traveling solo. At the same time, I didn't want to take her on a luxurious safari where we'd encounter the big five but be deliberately sheltered from the pervasive poverty that plagues some of the world's most beautiful countries.
by Megan Quitkin
Enter Globe Aware, a non-profit volunteer vacation company that hooks adventurous travelers up with room, board, cool activities, and a work project to benefit the local community. Think mini Peace Corps. [...]
Read the rest of the article at Tonic.com.
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Email Fundraising Campaign
One way of raising funds (perhaps the easiest way) is the following method. Our system provides the capability for you to collect tax-deductible donations from your friends and family online (a receipt will immediately be sent as donations are made) to sponsor your Globe Aware volunteer participation (as one might for a Breast Cancer Walk). You will be notified of each donation on your behalf. Feel free to use the following templates. Simply choose your program below, email it to your friends and family, and fill in the spaces with your personal information. In the subject line of the email, "Please support me in developing global sustainability" works well. If you write a short personal note on these mass-produced notes, you are more likely to get a greater response.
Please note that to accept online donations Globe Aware is charged a 4% processing fee, plus 50 cents per transaction. Please understand that if you are fundraising online and you go above and beyond the cost of your program fee, that any reimbursement towards airfare will include a deduction of the fees charged by the online credit card processing system. If your donors sponsor you via check, this will not be the case.
Destination-specific email fundraising templates:
Email Fundraising Letters
A previous and fantastic intern left my former 9-to-5, where she was making mere peanuts researching in an office, to take a job in Costa Rica and make a difference in the world. Since then, I've had a major crush on the country, and write it up whenever I can.
Of course, Costa Rica is one of those destinations that, because of underdevelopment, is a pure, natural place to see, but also a difficult place to wrangle. Sure, there are tons of beach getaways, but if you're looking for more of a rainforest or cultural trip, many tour companies are a little lacking. This also makes it an expensive trip. Not to mention there are areas of the country that are so underdeveloped the locals are in desperate need of help. On the other side of this equation, greedy land owners buy large amounts of Costa Rican property to harvest the natural resources, leaving nothing for natives, and barren holes behind. Costa Rica remains a conundrum.
Luckily, I was tipped off to a voluntourism company called Globe Aware which organizes trips to Costa Rica, Peru, Romania, Nepal, Vietnam, Jamaica, and more, with a catch- you do community service while there. The tasks are more experience than labor and range from providing language conversation to Peruvians studying English, to assembling wheelchairs in Cambodia. Lodging and meals are provided on most tours, which last an average of a week and cost around $1200 (10% discount for minors).
And if you'd love to take one of these trips, but just don't have the money, Travelocity has, from time to time, offered a $500 grant to deserving individuals who would like to spread some love across the globe. Their voluntourism page highlights tours saving Leatherback Turtles in Costa Rica (yay!), assisting medical operations in Tanzania, and even cleaning up US parks.
- Frill Seeker Diary.
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Scholarships and Fundraising Resources
- Apply for a $5,000 Voluntourism grant from Travelocity's Travel for Good program. Please do not apply if you are under 18 unless you are traveling with a parent or legal guardian.
- Email Fundraising Campaignwith included thank you gift (con: reduces amount you keep per donation, pro: may dramatically increase volume of contributors to your campaign)
- Your Employer Contribution Matching Programs May Have a Contribution Matching Program
- Teachers may be able to get support from Fund for Teachers©
- Check with local Civic Organizations
- Register with Phoneraiser and start a campaign to earn money while recycling old cell phones and ink cartridges.www.phoneraiser.com
- The Student Youth Travel Association Youth Foundation also has four options that are available at different times of the year.
The most popular destinations are Costa Rica, Peru and South America, according to the Lasso study. And the most popular volunteer activities were building and teaching, following by community development (including caring for children) and conservation.
Nestoria recently traveled to Costa Rica (via globeaware.org) to help with a sea turtle project. She said this kind of trip is ideal for newlyweds because volunteers stay in private shacks and patrol the beach at night collecting sea turtle eggs.
"During the day, there might be beach clean-up, but there is chilling out," Nestoria said, "a lying-on-the-beach vacation, but also giving back to the local community."
She encourages newlyweds to remember that the trip is not about them; it's about the needy community. This can seem counter to the Bridezilla-style wedding where the couple is the center of attention.
"Just make sure your motives are in the right spot," Nestoria said.
American Medical Student Association
American Medical Student Association website includes an excellent online guide to fundraising, "Creative Funding for International Health Electives" useful for all students.
Other Resources
Reference Service Press "Financial Aid for Study and Training Abroad and Financial Aid for Research and Creative Activities Abroad" (Reference Service Press). The RSP databases are also available online to America Online subscribers (keyword RSP), or through some university libraries.
