Fundraising for Volunteer Travel

Some of our volunteers have asked about fundraising for their trip to Peru. One of the great things about volunteer travel, as opposed to regular leisure travel, is that it's easier to ask people to contribute money towards your effort to help children in Peru than your effort to drink Tequila Sunrises at a poolside bar in Cancun.

Fundraising can be done in several ways, and I think it's helpful to look at your potential pool of contributers as occupying circles around you. 

Family and close friends

The first circle are those closest to you, like your immediate family and closest friends. These are the people you would feel most comfortable approaching directly to contribute with no strings attached and would likely contribute the largest individual sums. If they believe as strongly in what you are doing as you are, and they know that you need the financial help to make the trip happen, they could be your best bet. You could ask them to:

• Contribute financial help in lieu of gifts they would otherwise give
  
• Collecting donations on your behalf (think of the parent who sells Girl Guide cookies in their office on behalf of their daughter)
  
• Help you organize a fundraising event (silent auction, party, show, concert)
• Just give you money

In the case of Para el Mundo, we made use of our closest friends and their resources to put together a concert at the Rivoli in Toronto. Our headliner was Samba Squad, an exciting percussion ensemble that had everyone dancing. We had t-shirts and ball caps made and sold craft items previous volunteers brought back from Peru. After ticket sales, donations collected during the show, and swag and craft sales, we had raised about $2000 for PaM that night.

Friends and co-workers

Outside that close inner circle are the remainder of your friends and your co-workers, who would likely attend your fundraiser, kick in a few bucks to your cause, but not make a substantial contribution beyond that. This group is a lot larger than your inner circle, but they still know and trust you. Pitching your plan to fundraise to them should be easy, but they won't feel as obliged to help you out. The key to getting funds from this group is offering something in return, even if its recognition on your website for contributing, or promoting their own business or interest. If you have a blog or a website and they have a band, you can write up a post in return for their contribution. Some ideas:

• Start a blog about your effort to get this trip off the ground. People like these kind of stories, and want the hero (you!) to succeed. In your blog, publicly recognize and thank the people that help you. Be sure to ask for donations which can be done through PayPal or Facebook. Here is an article on collecting through facebook applications.
  
• Find something to sell. You could start an Ebay auction and ask people to donate items that you can sell. If you're really nice, you could offer to share in a bit of the profit! Check out the companies that schools use for fundraising. A simple Google search should turn up hundreds! Find something unique to sell. An educational tour company I worked for once recorded a Christmas CD and made it availabel to schools as a fundraiser!
  
• Hold a fundraiser. It could be something as elaborate as a concert or a show, or as simple as a dinner party. Figure out what your costs will be and sell tickets that will cover your costs and then turn a profit. Add to your profit by selling other items. Don't over-estimate your turnout or choose a venue and entertainer that will leave you struggling if people don't show up in droves. A general rule for expected numbers is only count on 50% of your "yes" responses to show up. People are more polite than they are honest and would rather tell you they are coming than tell you they are not, even if they don't plan on attending.
  

The general public

This is the largest group (obviously) and the hardest to sell. Everyone is asking for money. Everyone is needy. There are people starving all over the world, and with the current economy, people are generally less willing now to let go of their hard earned money to help strangers. The key to getting funding from strangers is having a compelling story, not asking for much, and offering something of equivilent or greater value than what you are asking them to contribute. Ideas for this group would work with the other groups.

• Ask businesses to donate something you can give away or auction/sell in return for advertising, mention of sponsorship, etc.
  
• Sell tickets to a show, or fundraiser you are hosting as above. Make sure to promote the heck out of your event in the media. Contact all the papers and local bloggers!
  
• Start a word of mouth or social media campaign (like on facebook) asking for contributions of $1. Set a target date and maybe a website. Try to find something of value to offer for that $1. Here is a guy who made a ton of cash by selling pixels of a website for advertising. This has laready been done, so you probably won't have any luck replicating it, but it might give you some ideas.
  

One last thing...

Figure out which kind of fundraiser will bring the biggest return for the effort spent. However, no matter what you choose to do to fundraise, don't expect the money to flow easily and without effort. Treat your fundraising like a job, create a realistic goal and work your hardest to achieve it. The surpass it. When you are successful, be sure to thank those responsible for helping you. When you return from your trip, make sure those who helped get copies of your photos and some kind of souvenier. 

Then share your experience with the rest of the world!