Some people may have not have the funds to take a TEFL course, travel the world, volunteer and earn a living Teaching English. Fundraising allows people who could not normally afford the adventure of world travel to do so. There are several ways of fundraising, including crowdfunding, sponsorship, and various kinds of fundraising events . Going abroad for a gap year or career break can be costly even for people who are committed to living frugally. If the individual intends to spend this time volunteering, it doesn’t mean that they get to travel the world for free – they will still need to find a way to finance this experience.
Fundraising to Teach and Volunteer Abroad
The most common reason for why people miss out on the opportunity to travel or volunteer abroad is lack of money. These individuals will have no problem appreciating how such an adventure would be a life changing experience. However, many give up on this dream because they do not know how to finance it. Fundraising is where an individual (or group) attempts to collect contributions from other people in order to help them complete some goal.
If friends, family and community members can be convinced that the proposed project is interesting enough, or noble enough, they may be willing to invest some of their own money to make it a reality. Indeed, if someone wants to visit Thailand to teach English to underprivileged children, there are likely to be other people who want to support this effort by providing some cash not only for expenses but also for the TEFL training that the person needs to become an effective teacher.
Fundraising to Pay for a TEFL Course
In order to work successfully as a volunteer teacher abroad, it is necessary to have some training such as the standard 120-hour TEFL teacher training course. This will not only provide the individual with some skills for the classroom, but also means they are in a better position to apply for teaching jobs. This course does require an initial financial investment, but those who are interested may be able to raise the funds to cover the cost of this through fundraising. Once people have completed this course, they will have many more options when it comes to working abroad. It can even mean that if people decide to stay living abroad permanently, they will have a way to make a living.
Fundraising for Travel
In order to be able to raise some funds to finance a trip, the individual needs to be able to convince other people that it is somehow in their interest to provide this money. The most obvious type of noble cause is volunteer work abroad, as there are many people out there who want to have a positive impact on the world, and financing a volunteer can be a way to do this. However, it is also possible to win support for projects that do not involve charity work.
For example, in recent years there have been people who won funding for travel documentaries. So long as the project is presented effectively, there is the possibility of finding people who are willing to fund it. Another approach would be to organize some type of event that people will be willing to pay to attend, or to provide some type of product or service that people will want to buy, such as bake sales or car washes and the like.
Types of Fundraising
If people who are looking to raise some money to fund their travels abroad, there are a number of ways that they can go about this. The most popular types of fundraising include:
- Using the profits from some type of organized event such as: a barn dance, sports competition, art exhibition, New Year’s Eve party, magic show, or quiz night. The benefit of this approach is that it can even attract people who are not particularly interested in the cause – they just want to take part in the event.
- Crowdfunding often involves using the Internet, and it means that a group of people contribute to a pool of money (see below).
- There are sponsorship and grants available that are just waiting to be claimed. So long as the individual meets the criteria to apply for this money, they have a good chance of obtaining it.
- It is also possible to raise funds by selling products or services.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is a type of fundraising that deserves special mention here because it can be particularly effective as a means to raise finance. The success that people will have with this approach will almost fully depend on their ability to sell the idea. It does take a great deal of effort and research to create a proposal that is likely to win crowdfunding, but if people are serious about traveling around the world it will be worth it. There are now a number of web sites that can help people interested in this type of fundraising including:
It is worth visiting these websites to see the approach that other people have taking in order to win funding for their travels and volunteer work abroad.
Tips for Successful Fundraising
In order to have a good chance of raising funds to finance a trip abroad it is a good idea to:
- A common reason for why people do not sound convincing when looking for funding is that they have not done their homework. So for example, if the person wants to teach English in Southeast Asia, they will need to be able to provide some type of breakdown of the costs and potential benefits to show that their ideas are not half-baked.
- It looks more professional if those seeking funding can create some type of pamphlet or brochure that provides the key information about the proposal.
- Every person will have something that they are good at or something they really enjoy, and it is worth considering if this talent can be used to assist fundraising.
- It can be a good idea to target people who are most likely to be sympathetic to the project. For example, there are people who feel strongly that a good education should be available for everyone, and they may therefore be more likely to contribute some money to volunteers who want to work in schools abroad – there should be no problem finding people who are sympathetic to this type of important educational work.
- If people are organizing some type of event to raise money, they will need to plan everything careful so that the cost of putting on the event is not going to be more than the money raised – this can be tricky.
