DON’T LET A SMALL BANK ACCOUNT DEPRIVE YOU OF A VOLUNTEER VACATION
Vacation Volunteers are needed worldwide for service program opportunities. One to six week options.
Don’t have a vacation budget? Not to worry, if you’re offering yourself as a “vacation volunteer.” As mainstream interest grows for programs combining travel with service abroad and at home, more Americans are engaging online funders to support their humanitarian efforts. If you think you can’t afford to join thousands of other “vacation volunteers” worldwide this spring and summer, take a look at potential donors at work, through civic organizations, and in your social network.
Global Volunteers reports that a wide demographic of their service program participants – ages 9 to 90 – have used online fundraising pages to help defray their personal cost of volunteering for one to six weeks. Global Volunteers, an international development assistance organization founded in 1984, mobilizes 200-250 volunteer teams annually to work on community-driven projects on five continents. Team members pay a tax-deductible fee covering their food, lodging, ground transportation, project materials and the like.
For instance, through personal pages on Global Volunteers’ website, team members on short-term service programs who promote their planned volunteer efforts to friends, colleagues and family members, raise up to the full cost of their travel-related costs, including program fees and airfare. All program costs are tax-deductible for U.S. taxpayers. Volunteer coordinators help applicants create their own service project pages in minutes.
“I only had three weeks to raise my entire program fee of $2,695,” said social work graduate student Jenica Hamilton. “ I was surprised that a few people gave large donations like $100-$200, but most people gave around $25. I know the economy is bad, and people don't have extra money to give. I asked them to give any amount they could, knowing that a lot of small amounts adds up! “ she added.
In addition to covering her program fee, Jenica’s supporters donated her airfare through “frequent flyer” miles. “ I loved that Global Volunteers had a website where people could donate. That made it very easy, and people knew it was a long-standing, reputable volunteer-abroad organization, so they were very supportive.”
Personal blogs and Facebook also help volunteers reach out to fans and subscribers to support their volunteer work – and expand the impact of their work globally. Hamilton created a blog, posted a plea on her church’s website and mailed letters to friends and family members that don't have Facebook. “My friends and family came through in a big way,” she said. “Many of them passed along my link or the special volunteer business cards I created for this project.”
Meagan Minott of MA not only raised the full program fees for back-to-back Peru and Ecuador service programs, but also brought two suitcases of requested supplies and clothes she obtained through a "needed items" drive at her church before her trip. “When I signed up for the trips I wrote a letter explaining what I was doing and why, and asked for any sort of donation. I sent the letter to all my close and extended family as well as family friends, neighbors, teachers, distant relatives etc. I received an overwhelming response and received donations up until the week before I was to leave to Peru on my first trip.”
“I took the semester off from school that fall and when I found Global Volunteers it was a perfect fit, Minott said. “ The fact that Global Volunteers provided me with the means to create a fundraising page was very helpful. Global Volunteers is the only volunteer program I found that allowed you to fully fundraise all of your costs and helped you in doing so. All other programs were much more expensive and more of a volunteer 'vacation' rather than a strictly volunteer trip. So, my donors knew it was serious.”
The Harrington family of five raised their program fees together for their spring Costa Rica program. They found it to be a “low pressure” way to reach out to friends and schoolmates, and by way of their emails and posts, got their extended family interested in and excited about this type of service travel. It turns out that other family members have now inquired about joining future programs, and fundraising for themselves.
Some volunteers have demonstrated special creativity in their promotional approach, such as holding an online auction of personal paintings, directing bat mitzvah contributions to program donations, and using matching grants to complete the application process.
Contributions made to Global Volunteers are tax-deductible for U.S. taxpayers. Volunteer opportunities include caring for children, teaching conversational English, helping establish a library, planting community and school gardens, rebabilitating community buildings and the like.
The Global Volunteers website also contains tips for approaching funders, scholarship advice, and sample fundraising pages. To learn more about these successful fundraising techniques and to join a Global Volunteers service program, call 800-487-1074 or visit www.globalvolunteers.org.
-30-
Contact: Michele Gran 800-487-1074
Tags: