Quest Fundraising Tips

A United Planet Volunteer Abroad Quest is an amazing learning experience and journey that will change your life! However, many volunteers ask us, “Why should I have to pay to volunteer?” The answer is that volunteering in a developing country is different from volunteering on a Saturday afternoon in your hometown. Volunteers who travel abroad need accommodations, food, emergency health and evacuation insurance in addition to in-country transportation and orientations to ensure their safety while living abroad. Since UP places our volunteers with host families, there are costs that our host communities and partner organizations simply can not afford. For all of these reasons there is a fee associated with United Planet Quests.

Before you consider participating in a Volunteer Abroad Quest, you may have concerns and questions about how you are going to pay for it. The good news is, you can raise funds to pay for your Quest itself as well as for the airfare - and all donations are tax deductible! Below you will find several fundraising ideas and tips on how to raise money to fund this once in a lifetime experience. For additional money saving tips on airfare and choosing a program that is within your budget, please visit United Planet's special savings page to download our Guide to Cost Savings 2009.

1. Create your own Online Fundraising Page!

United Planet volunteers can create their own online fundraising page through First Giving in partnership with United Planet. A fundraising page helps enormously to spread the word about your Quest. This page can feature photos and information to encourage family, friends and colleagues to donate. It can also and will send out personalized emails to generate support. Sponsors can donate on the site and these donations go directly to your Quest which are tracked and monitored by you and United Planet. It only takes a few minutes to create and is well worth the effort!

Please note that First Giving does require a fee to cover operational costs.  A 7.5% fee will be charged to volunteers to offset the processing expenses.

Please click here to set up your own fundraising page.

2. Contact your Local Media

Let your entire community know about the life-changing adventure you are about to embark on! Contact your local weekly and daily newspapers to help spread the word about your Quest, direct people to your fundraising page, and encourage donors to contribute. In doing so, you may be given the opportunity to share your story with hundreds of readers. This can not only help to bring in financial support, but can also draw much needed public attention to the international community you will be working with during your Quest.

If you would like to contact your local media, the United Planet Communications Team would be happy to offer you 'tips' on how best to go about this. Please contact the team at quest@unitedplanet.org for more information.

3. Create a Letter Writing Campaign

The most efficient and effective way to reach a large amount of potential donors is through a letter writing campaign. You can craft a personal letter that explains why you have chosen to take part in a United Planet Quest, how much it means to you, and what it will mean to the community you will be serving. Here are a few tips to get you started!

Create an email distribution list to send out frequent emails about your fundraising efforts and needs, updates on money raised so far, and details of the Quest journey before and after you return.

5. Host an Event
Another great fundraising idea is to hold a fundraising event. Here are some event ideas:

• Free servicea in exchange for a donation: Babysit, wash cars, take care of a pet, host a bake sale or volunteer to do yard work.

• Basketball, softball, baseball or other sports tournament: Ask your town to provide the field or gym facilities for this event. Have local businesses donate prizes for winners and invite your community to come cheer the participants on!

6. Apply for Student Scholarships/Grants

Remember to stay positive. If you truly believe in something, the people that care about you will believe in it too!

All donations should be made payable to “United Planet”. Unless you have created an online fundraising page, please have your sponsors send their donations to your home address. Keep careful record of all your donations. After making copies of the donations for your reference, please forward them to:

United Planet
11 Arlington Street
Boston, MA 02116

Please contact us if you have any further questions regarding fundraising.

GOOD LUCK!