How to Raise Money for Your High School Study Abroad Experience- Part II

Last week, I began a multi-part investigation on how to raise money for your high school study abroad adventure. I concentrated on methods that would prove the student’s desire and commitment level. Foreign exchange programs can be very expensive, so the student must really have it in his or her heart to go. I wrote about things like controlling spending habits, selling personal items, trading personal items for more valuable items that you can sell for cash, blogging for money, and lastly, getting a job.

Today, I am going to focus on asking others to help finance your experience. The first part of this process involves your local community. The second part involves looking for scholarships that support such trips, and I will tackle this in a subsequent entry.

Local

Appealing to Your Friends and Family for Cash
A study abroad experience falls squarely into the category of “personal development”. In some programs, you may be doing a portion of service work, as well, which is great. However, it is likely that you will have your best shot of raising money for your trip from the people who love and care for you already. These are the people who will be most likely to make a contribution to your journey.

If you do decide to try this route, I would recommend being extremely honest and polite in your approach. Clearly define what your plan is for the trip and what you expect to get out of it. Be armed with information, facts, and testimonials from past participants in the program. The more answers you have prepared ahead of time, the better your chances for a gift.

A personal meeting works better than a phone call, and a phone call works better than a letter when making your appeal. Be sincerely grateful for any amount you receive. Remember, it all adds up. Also, be sure to make it known to your relatives that if they can’t help out, you totally understand and are fine with that. You don’t want to alienate anyone by your query.

Get the Media Involved
If you are really bold, and you think you have something pretty special planned, it can’t hurt to take your case to the local media. Radio, newspaper, or television coverage of your cause could be quite beneficial.

First, I would recommend drafting a press release about your planned adventure. Try to come up with some sort of hook, something that separates your trip from every other kid who wants to travel the globe. Perhaps you’ll be studying something groundbreaking that will help you in your future studies and career, or maybe you’ll being serving a poverty-stricken group of children. After all, if you’re planning such an experience during your high school years, you really should make it something amazing. If your high school study abroad trip doesn’t have something hook-worthy, I would reconsider your plan at a fundamental level.

Practice your pitch to the local news outlets before contacting them. I would also suggest setting up an informative website that gives information about you, your plans, and a promise to keep in touch with your donors, perhaps through a blog on your website, while you’re on the trip.  You can even set up a “Donate Now” button on your website and run it through PayPal. The website will serve as a great contact point for media, as well as for donors who don’t know you personally. As an added feature to your site, I would recommend asking a few of you teachers, your church pastor, or a school principal to write testimonial letters about you and post them on the site, as well. Of course, let these folks know you will be publicly displaying their letters. The more positive arguments you have, the better your chances of success.

Tapping Your Church Community
When deciding what kind of an adventure overseas you would like to embark upon, there are many opportunities within churches. Many denominations have foreign mission programs already in place. If you belong to a smaller church, inquire with your pastor about opportunities he or she knows within the denomination at large.

Many times, these larger churches will have separate funds set up to help people defray the cost of travel and lodging while serving on a missionary trip. I’ve seen churches hold fundraising events like spaghetti dinners to raise money for overseas trips. This is a great help. Oftentimes, however, churches will ask you to make a report to the congregation when you return. These can include your personal testimony, a slide presentation, and any other interesting experiences you had.

Tomorrow: Finding Scholarships

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