Volunteer Forever: Julie, thanks so much for taking the time to share with us how you were able to surpass your goal so quickly!

Julie: I am very happy to share my fundraising experience and hope I will be able to help a bit, but to be honest, I mainly read the articles you sent and followed the tips you gave.

1. How did you let your friends and family members know about your fundraising campaign?

Julie: To advertise our campaign, we created a Facebook page and updated it every two days. We included the link of every blog post we wrote on Volunteer Forever and posted pictures of our volunteer organization.

I think pictures are quite good to help people imagine in a more concrete way what we are going to do. This also gives our donors evidence of the volunteer organization’s legitimacy and trustworthiness.

After posting our campaign on Facebook, we also sent private emails to our families and friends of our parents who are not on Facebook. The message we wanted to spread was not "donate, donate, donate”! Instead, our goal was to remind people every other day that we were raising funds and why we needed the funds for our trip. We did so by writing blog posts such as: "Why we are raising funds", "Why do we go?”, “What do we need money for?", and "Testimonials from previous volunteers".

In addition to asking for funds, we also invited people to help us by giving books or tips for teaching lesson plans.

And of course, we also let our network know on a regular basis how far we were from the goal both in terms of our fundraising and the supplies we collected.

Lastly, we included small incentives as well: t-shirts for our most generous donors and badges/postcards from Bali for everyone who contributed. It’s important that your personal network knows that you are not using the money they give to buy presents for other donors (even if it sounds quite obvious). We would have loved to have organized a charity event, but did not have time to do so.

In summary, our approach was not to harass people, but to really try to involve them in our experience.

Volunteer Forever: That is a common theme we have seen with other successful fundraisers on our site: be persistent, but also be personable, gracious, and humble when asking for donations.



2. How did you follow up with potential donors who were initially unresponsive?

Julie: Our friends are quite young, meaning they are often students or young workers. We did not want to harass them too much if they could not donate, but we did remind them that even 5 Euros (the minimum donation amount) would help us.

Volunteer Forever: That’s a great tip. I loved how in your video, you suggested that for the price of a latte or beer, your friends could support you on your volunteer journey to Bali.



3. How helpful was the video in leading to your fundraising success?

Julie: The video was an excellent tip. I recorded with my webcam for one afternoon and had fun with Windows Movie Maker then (there is an equivalent for Mac). Making it only took me half an hour maximum. It was really worth it regarding the results! It drove traffic to the fundraising page. People understood we were really involved. The message was simple: you have the opportunity to help a good cause (even with 5 Euros), you know where the money is going and you will see the impact of your donations. If you cannot give, you can support us by sharing our Volunteer Forever page or by following us on our journey.

Volunteer Forever: that’s absolutely right! In addition to donating, people can support you by sharing your campaign with their personal network.



4. Do you have any other tips you'd like to share?

Julie: I was a friendly student in high school. I called my previous teachers and one of them brought me books, stickers from London, and she even made a donation.

Another example: I helped a friend with a job application and she thanked me by giving 10€. I helped another previous English teacher by giving her students advice about Business School interviews and she thanked me with a donation. It is obvious that you must not ask for donations every time you help your friends, but when they see your next Facebook post, they will think about donating twice!

What I want to say is that anyone can help, you have to think about all your potential networks (previous jobs, internships, friends of friends) and send them the right message.

Also, be friendly and helpful with anyone. It always pays back :)

Volunteer Forever: thanks so much for sharing your story and giving back to the Volunteer Forever community. We hope all of our fundraisers can achieve the level of success that you have!

Ready to put these tips into action? Click the button below to launch your fundraising campaign or sign into your Volunteer Forever account!

As you know by now, crowdfunding definitely takes a lot of effort in order to raise awareness of your campaign and get people to donate to your volunteer trip. But now that finals are over and summer is fast approaching, check out these 10 tips to kick your fundraising campaign into high gear. Even if your trip is only a week away, following these tips will go a long way in helping you reach your fundraising goal.

1. Tweak your campaign description to make it more clear and concise

Your campaign description is your opportunity to win over the hearts and minds of your personal network and convince your friends and family to donate to your campaign. You'll need to appeal to your donors' hearts by showing that you'll be embarking on a worthwhile journey where you'll have the opportunity to serve others and grow as a person. But, you'll also need to appeal to their minds by clearly demonstrating that your trip is viable and realistic.

In short, you'll need to tell a compelling story for why you're volunteering abroad and why you need to raise funds. Be sure to clearly articulate where you're volunteering, what you'll be doing there, what your trip expenses are, how you'll add value to the host community, and what you expect to learn from the experience.



2. Re-post your Volunteer Forever campaign on Facebook

Nearly 60% of all donations received on Volunteer Forever originated from Facebook, making Facebook posts the number one driver of contributions for our fundraisers. When you think about it, this statistic isn't too surprising given that many of our friends and family members are on Facebook.

Once you have put together a great fundraising page (see tip #1) and have received a few donations from your closest friends and family members, be sure to heavily promote your page on Facebook. Julie, one of our most successful fundraisers on Volunteer Forever, shared her campaign on Facebook every other day. Julie ended up generating over 4,000 views of her Volunteer Forever page and raised $3,345.

While you certainly want to be persistent in promoting your fundraising campaign, be sure your Facebook posts are positive and humble. When asking for donations, you definitely do not want to come across as entitled or overbearing!

If you have friends and family members who are Facebook hold-outs, let them know about your fundraising campaign by e-mailing them your Volunteer Forever page.

3. Follow-up with friends and family members you've reached out to

If you've e-mailed your fundraising page to your personal network and shared your page on social media and haven't gotten a lot of interest for your fundraising campaign, then it's time to individually follow up with your potential donors.

When starting a campaign, I'm sure you had a list of people (i.e. parents, grandparents, aunts & uncles, friends, etc) who you knew would contribute to your fundraising efforts. Don't despair if these people have not contributed to your campaign yet. Just keep in mind that people are very busy and often need several reminders before they will donate.

You can follow up with these potential donors with an individual e-mail, private Facebook message, phone call, or even a text message. Text messages are especially effective since they have a 99% open rate (i.e. they will definitely see your reminder). Acknowledge that the other person may be extremely busy, but be sure to politely remind them that your fundraising campaign has a deadline and that their contribution is crucial to making your trip a reality. 

4. Add a new high-resolution photo of yourself

When a potential donor lands on your page, you only have a few seconds to get them interested in contributing to your campaign. Including a high-resolution photo of yourself on your campaign page provides instant recognition to donors. Don't miss the opportunity to grab the attention of your donors with a great photo of yourself! There are no hard and fast rules for what kind of photo to use, but do make sure that the picture is high-quality. Here's a great picture that one of our fundraisers, Billy, used for his campaign:



5. Thank your donors publicly and ask them to share your campaign with their networks

Thanking your donors publicly is a fantastic way to demonstrate gratitude to the people who have contributed your campaign. It's also a great way to raise awareness of your campaign. For each donation you have received, consider thanking the donor on Facebook and Twitter. You'll likely get several "Likes", "Shares", "Retweets", and "Replies". This engagement is an additional way to capture the attention of your personal network and your donors' personal networks, which is a necessary first step to getting your next donation.

6. Write a new blog post and share it on social media

Blogging on Volunteer Forever is a great way to get potential donors to visit your fundraising site without repeatedly asking for donations. Best of all, we've added a powerful new feature to make sharing your Volunteer Forever blog posts even more effective for fundraising: donors can donate to your fundraising campaign directly from your blog. Popular blog topics include: a description of your trip expenses, explaining why you're volunteering abroad, and providing more information about your volunteer organization

7. Create a YouTube video and include it directly on your Volunteer Forever campaign

If you're looking to supercharge your fundraising efforts, then you must add a video to your Volunteer Forever campaign. Fundraising campaigns with a video raise on average 114% more than campaigns without a video! Indeed, one Volunteer Forever fundraiser created a video for his campaign and exceeded his $1,500 fundraising goal in under two weeks!

Want to add a video to your Volunteer Campaign, but don't know where to start? Don't worry- you don't have to do anything fancy. Consider creating a two to three minute video recording with your webcam where you talk about the following:

• Where are you volunteering?
• What kind of volunteering project will you be doing?
• When is your volunteer project?
• What organization or community are you supporting?
• How will the local/host community benefit from your time and effort?
• How will you use the funds that you raise?
• What do you hope to gain from the experience?
Tip: common responses include preparation for your professional goals, gaining a deeper understanding of a new culture, or contributing to a cause that is near and dear to your heart.


8. Create an awesome incentive for people to donate

Some donors will need a little more incentive to make a donation to your campaign. If you have a special talent such as cooking, consider making a home-cooked meal for donors who contribute over a certain amount. Here are a few ideas for incentives from actual Volunteer Forever fundraisers: post cards, gifts from an exotic location, invitation to an exclusive welcome home party, and even a pledge to abstain from alcohol.

9. Reach out to your local or college campus newspaper and get featured in an article

Local newspapers are often happy to feature members of the community who are volunteering overseas. Volunteer Forever fundraiser, Drew, who raised over $3300, was featured in his local newspaper where he had an opportunity to talk about his trip to Rwanda. Furthermore, the newspaper included a link to Drew's Volunteer Forever fundraising page.

You can often get in contact with an editor at your local newspaper by visiting their contact page or staff directory on the newspaper's website. Getting featured in the newspaper is definitely an accomplishment that is worthy of sharing with your personal network and potential donors!

10. Ask your volunteer program/organization to share your fundraising campaign on social media

Your volunteer organization likely has a strong social media presence on Twitter and Facebook. Take advantage of this additional support by sharing your fundraising page with your organization and asking them to post your campaign on their official Facebook and Twitter pages. You'll be surprised at the creativity of your organization when they post your campaign, which you can use for your own outreach efforts!

Ready to put these tips into action? Click the button below to launch your fundraising campaign or sign into your Volunteer Forever account!

By day I'm a travel blogger, and by night I'm a career development enthusiast. I love both so much that I started a business to train aspiring travel writers. And one thing I've learned over the years is that you can't immerse yourself in a community of travelers without coming across crowdfunders and the growing popularity of this online donation strategy. Then the other day it occurred to me that crowdfunding and the job search are super similar.

For both, you're asked to talk about yourself and to get people interested in what you’re saying and what you’re doing. And for both, your ultimate goal is something potentially life-changing. I don't think many of us want to straight-up beg for money, and we're awkward about approaching friends and family for donations. It's why we'd pretty much rather apply for a job--preferably a completely awesome one--and earn that income rather than just ask for it.

Crowdfunding sure feels like begging when you're new to it--but it doesn't have to be! To help you overcome that "Oh gosh, how do I make it sound like I'm excited, like I need a push, but I'm not groveling?" thing, I'll put this into a different perspective: think about crowdfunding like you would with a job application.

Tip 1: Be Clear and Concise

From interns to job seekers to volunteers applying to long-term projects abroad, my first question is, "What's your elevator pitch?"

Many don't know what an elevator pitch even is, and many more who do--well, they stammer something, but it's neither clear nor concise. An elevator pitch is a 30-second overview of who you are, what you want to accomplish, and why you specifically are the one to accomplish it.

Crowdfunding for a volunteer abroad project is extremely similar to the job search in this regard. You want to go abroad, you know you're the person for this project, you know this is the group you want to work with, but you need to convince others to support your fundraising campaign to get there.

As you think about your campaign page introduction, consider this to be your elevator pitch. Write an outline covering some very basic points above, but don't elaborate on one too much yet--that's what your blog is for (which we'll get to later). Give your potential supporters an elevator pitch explaining in just a few sentences--no more than 120 words--why you are worth their donation.

Tip 2: Be Thorough

When I graduated from college, I wanted to send my resume to every hiring manager in Washington, D.C. I thought that if just one found it interesting, I could land a job. It didn't matter where that job was (within reason), as long as I could cover rent.

Obviously that's not the way to do it--yes, you could land a job based on a generic resume, but could you have gotten a better one if you'd tailored your cover letter to that company? It takes more effort but goes much further if you know who you're addressing, what specifically to highlight from your background, and how to communicate that you're the best person for that particular opening. If you're called in for an interview, research the heck out of that company! Demonstrate that you know your stuff, and if given the chance, you'll be a major asset to them--they should spend money to train you, give you the salary you deserve, and allow you to grow and contribute to their mission.

This all extends to your crowdfunding campaign: what interests you in this volunteer project? It'll go further if you give your donors something tangible to latch onto, rather than "I'd like to experience something new and exciting." Well, how is it new and exciting?

"I'd like to give back" doesn't cut it either. What did that host community give to you in the first place? Is there a better way you can communicate your urge to do some good--for yourself or for someone else? Why did you choose that particular volunteer organization over another one? Why does Ecuador catch your interest over Cambodia? Why do you have to physically go there, instead of simply sending money? Knowing all of this will make your friends and family inspired and proud to support you.

Tip 3: Update Your Blog

Employers absolutely Google your name when you apply for a job--especially as you make it to the interview portion. I've done it, all of my hiring manager friends have done it, and your presence online can make or break your application. I give bonus points to applicants who showcase their interests and abilities--in a comfortable, public way, not a creepy, TMI way--through parts of their social networks, websites, and blogs that they share with the world.

Don't think for a second that campaign contributors won't want to do the same thing. Regardless of how much or how little they're giving, the more interesting information you share, and the more active you show that you are with your campaign, the more willing they are to lend their support.

Volunteer Forever invites you to create a blog directly on their platform. If you're iffy about setting up your own elsewhere or making your current one public to people who are Googling your name, add one here and keep it active!

It's a simple way for people to see that you're keeping up-to-date as your trip approaches, and that you want to share your progress, goals, updates, interests, and everything else you can think of, with anyone that would like to learn more and support you. Best of all, Volunteer Forever has a donate button at the bottom of every blog post, so it’s even easier to raise funds through blogging.

Tip 4: Develop Incentives You Can Deliver

We've all overestimated our abilities at one time or another. Whether it's in a job interview, in school, or elsewhere, it's just the way things work--in fact, there's a name for it! The Dunning-Kruger Effect happens when we think we're able to do something way better than we actually can.

In my first job out of college, I severely overestimated my web design experience, but was so confident about it that I totally BS'ed my way through the interview and got the job. Fortunately it involved only simple HTML stuff for the most part, so I was able to quietly learn as I went. If I was asked to develop an entirely new theme for that organization's website, it would have become abundantly clear I wasn't the right person for that job.

The point is, I promised work that I couldn't deliver.

On most crowdfunding campaigns, you're required--or at least encouraged--to develop incentives, or rewards, for your donors. If someone gives $5, you can send a personalized postcard. For $10, a pair of earrings. For $20, a dorky video of you singing a song of their choice while standing atop a volcano.

As you develop your incentives list, keep it to ones you can actually deliver. If you say you'll deliver one new box of markers to a primary school for every person who donates $15, be sure that school accepts and wants boxes of markers. If you say you'll send a delicious local food to people who give $50, be sure you can legally ship it to that person's location. Only promise rewards that you can deliver.

Tip 5: Network!

About half of the job seekers I've coached visibly cringed at the word "networking" when first presented with it. They shouldn't. It's not the same as schmoozing. If you've seen Glengarry Glen Ross, Ricky is more of a networker while Shelley is a schmoozer. Ricky confidently adapts lessons from Shelley for his purposes and his clients' interests, while Shelley oozes desperation. They're two sides of the same coin.

Connect with others that can help you, and that you can benefit in return. Start small with your campaign by emailing, calling, sending letters, and taking your friends and family out for coffee. Be honest: Tell them you're fundraising for your volunteer abroad trip, and what you need to get there. If you do the "Oh no, I just wanted to catch up" thing, they'll roll their eyes and maybe donate a bit, but they would much rather you just tell 'em. Show--don't feign--interest in what they're doing as well. Who knows? Maybe you can find a way to help them with something else in return.

As a next step: join a club or find a group of like-minded people. I'd recommend doing this before starting your campaign, and being active before it launches. Stay active after it ends, and again, be honest. Let your common interests guide you. Join the conversation, contribute to their work, and they'll be happy to reciprocate--or at least spread the word. Same with the job search: find a group related to your career path, and stay active, because you'll never know where it can take you.

And finally: apologize for nothing. If you post your campaign page on Facebook, don't say things like, "I would never do this but..." or, "Yes, I know, another fundraiser...but I promise this one is worth it!"

Be confident. Tell your story and don't be shy. Focus on who is contributing rather than who isn't. Create the campaign you'd want to donate to, and if you show, tell, and keep the updates coming, you'll be well on your way to that life-changing volunteer trip.

Tip #1 Prove Your Intentions to Volunteer Abroad

Julie: "My network knows that I don't just talk the talk, I walk the walk. This is my second volunteer trip to Uganda, and I intend to keep going back. People know I am passionate; that I not only volunteer abroad, but also at home. I think they feel confident supporting me, because they know I do good work."

Volunteer Forever Analysis: In Julie's simple, but powerful fundraising video, she lays out exactly what she will be doing in Uganda and she clearly articulates her passion for women's rights and education. She also very nicely lays out that all funds that she raises will be used for her program fee, airfare, room & board, and travel medication.

Video is an extremely powerful medium to connect with your network. If you haven't already, consider putting together a personal fundraising video to explain why you are volunteering abroad. Need help with your video? Shoot us an e-mail  through our Contact Page and we'll help you get started!

Tip #2: Share Your Volunteer Forever Fundraising Campaign Often

Julie: "I posted a link to my page on Facebook and Twitter almost every other day. I also blogged regularly, and shared my posts on FB and Twitter. I learned that people need to be reminded constantly. I sent emails to friends and family. Then, I sent more emails to those that did not donate asking them to visit the page and share it if they could not donate."

Volunteer Forever Analysis: During her 60 day campaign, Julie had over 4,000 page views (that's a lot of people viewing your page!). In addition to asking your personal network to donate, be sure to ask them to share your fundraising campaign with their networks as well! Volunteer Forever has made it easy to share your fundraising campaign. With just one click, you can share your fundraising page on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and many other popular social networks. Visit your profile here and share today!

Tip #3: Persistence Pays Off

Julie: "I was extremely persistent and diligent. I learned that people need to be reminded constantly. They are busy. They get distracted. They may see one of my posts and think, 'oh yeah, I want to give to Julie's campaign', but then they forget until they see the post again. That's why I kept posting and sharing. I got over feeling like I was annoying people. I got over feeling afraid that they would say no. I just kept asking, and they gave. Social media and crowd sourcing are powerful tools. But, just like anything else, if we want them to work for us, we must put in the time and effort."

Volunteer Forever Analysis: We often get feedback from our users that they are afraid of being overly pushy if they reach out to donors directly or frequently share their campaigns on Facebook or through e-mail. However, donors may need several reminders before they even check out your fundraising page. And, even if they mean to donate, they may get distracted or decide that they'll donate at a later time (with you bearing the risk that they will forget!). As such, we strongly recommend following Julie's example of being extremely persistent and diligent. 

In addition to sharing her fundraising campaign every day, Julie was also diligent in blogging and sharing her posts with her network. On average, Julie wrote a blog post every three days. Blogging and then sharing your posts with your personal network is a great way to create fresh content to draw potential donors to your campaign page. Best of all, every blog post conveniently has a DONATE button at the end, making it easier for people to contribute after reading your latest update.

Julie's campaign has definitely been an inspiration to the Volunteer Forever community. We know you're feeling super excited now, so click the button below to start your own fundraising campaign.

Update: Julie decided to take advantage of our offer to extend her fundraising campaign by 30 days. We look forward to seeing even more success from her campaign!

Massolution, a leading crowdfunding industry research firm, has released their much-anticipated 2013 Crowdfunding Industry Report. As a contributor, Volunteer Forever received exclusive access to this report. Our expert team has analyzed this 96-page report and distilled the report to three critical insights that every fundraiser must know.

1. Crowdfunding is booming and why it matters to you

The amount of money raised through crowdfunding is booming and the growth rate is accelerating. In 2012, crowdfunders worldwide raised over $2.7bn (BILLION!) versus $1.5bn raised in 2011. This figure represents a growth rate of 81% year over year (an increase from 64% in 2011). Crowdfunding is expected to continue to grow in 2013 with a projected worldwide volume of over $5bn.

Fundraising for social causes (like volunteering abroad) remains the most popular category of crowdfunding. Furthermore, donation-based models of crowdfunding (where people contribute to your campaign without expecting anything in return) increased by nearly 50% to nearly $1bn raised. Finally, the average amount raised per donation-based campaign nearly doubled in 2012.

Why it matters to you: I just listed a lot of numbers, but the key take-away is fundraising for social causes such as volunteering abroad is becoming increasingly popular. Best of all, donors are increasingly supporting these fundraising campaigns and fundraisers are becoming more successful. As you’re sharing your Volunteer Forever fundraising page with your personal networks, you can be confident that many people are likely to react positively to your fundraising efforts by donating to your campaign. But, don’t get too excited just yet, because ignoring the next two insights could lead to crowdfunding disaster.

2. The importance of “Social Proof” in achieving your fundraising goal

Now that crowdfunding is becoming more mainstream, researchers are trying to understand why some campaigns succeed while others fail. For example, one of our fundraisers today just exceeded her goal of $3,000 and had her profile viewed approximately 3,000 times. We have another fundraiser who also had their profile viewed 3,000 times, but only raised $150 (far short of the fundraising goal). Both have well-written profiles, but why did one fundraiser clearly perform better than the other? According to the research report: “the well-known psychologist Robert Cialdini has referred to this phenomenon as social proof. ‘[W]hen people are uncertain,’ Cialdini said, ‘they look to the actions of others to guide their actions.’” Simply put, you must create a fundraising campaign that is believable AND you must demonstrate that other people have trusted you.

Here’s what to do :

1. Create a Personal Fundraising Video – video is a powerful medium to demonstrate that you are a real person and that your intentions for volunteering abroad are sincere. If you’re not sure how to create a personal fundraising video, click here for an example of a personal fundraising video that Volunteer Forever put together for one of our contest winners.
2. Personally Reach Out To Your 10 Closest Friends & Family Members - before you ask people outside your core network to donate to your campaign, you must demonstrate your sincerity and trustworthiness by having your closest loved ones and friends donate to you.  
3. Cash Donations – it's likely that you'll receive cash donations during your fundraising campaign. Be sure to take credit for these contributions by donating to yourself on Volunteer Forever and annotating who made the donation. Integrity is absolutely key here- don't be tempted to make any false donations to yourself! 

3. Social Ties are a predictor of fundraising success

The final key insight from this research report is that the size of your personal network matters. Wharton Business School Professor Ethan Mollick analyzed crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter, a popular fundraising portal for creative projects. Professor Mollick found that there is a strong relationship between the size of a fundraiser’s personal network (measured by number of Facebook friends) and the probability that the fundraising campaign is successful. Fundraising campaigns in which the project creator had only 10 Facebook friends had a 9% success rate. If the fundraiser had 100 Facebook friends, the success rate increased to 20%. Lastly, if the fundraiser had 1000 Facebook friends, the success rate jumped to 40%.

Here’s what to do: Don’t despair if you don’t have 1,000 friends on Facebook (I certainly don’t). Do realize though that you’ll need to employ extra assistance to raise awareness of your campaign. In addition to asking people to donate to your campaign, be sure to ask people to share your campaign across their social networks on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. It’s very possible that a long-lost friend, classmate, or co-worker may see your fundraising campaign through a mutual contact. Also, for your closest friends and family members, ask them to not only share your campaign, but advocate for you as well. For example, you can ask your parents or spouse to promote your fundraising campaign in their workplace or professional organizations.

Breaking it all down

As this research report shows, using websites such as Volunteer Forever to raise money for volunteering abroad is become more and more popular and donors are increasingly supporting these campaigns. Anyone in your personal network is a viable contributor to your cause. However, you’ll need to apply some key strategies when running your campaign. First, establish social proof by demonstrating your trustworthiness and having your closest friends and loved ones donate to your campaign. Then, reach out to your extended network via social media and e-mail and finally, to people and organizations outside your network.

By Chris Grezo

When people think of volunteering they often only think of teaching underprivileged children, handing out mosquito nets or painting the walls of an orphanage. But these activities can only happen if the right financial infrastructure exists 

If a school in a slum in Malawi hasn’t budgeted properly it might run out of funds half way through the year and quickly be unable to pay for school meals or staff wages. It might even have to close. If a women’s refuge in Nepal doesn’t make effective use of its limited income it might have to turn away vulnerable women and girls. If a health clinic in rural Tanzania isn’t able to produce clear and transparent financial reports, its international donor might have to withdraw vital funding.

In many ways good financial management is the foundation on which effective international development is built. Therefore volunteers with finance skills are in high demand. Qualified accountants have the training and experience to build the confidence of local finance staff and improve the systems in use at grassroots charities across Africa, Asia, and South America. Depending on the need, highly effective volunteer roles can last from two weeks to a year, either at a single small charity, or multiple charities, or the Country Office of a large international NGO.

“I found my time in Ghana to be extremely rewarding, on a professional and a personal level. I can honestly say that apart from achieving my professional qualification I have never been so proud of my achievements” – Jacqui, qualified accountant, volunteer with AfID

 Accountants are often surprised at just how helpful they can be to charities operating in developing countries. There is a tendency to imagine that you need to have knowledge of local tax law, or have red hot accountancy skills. Not true. Most of the work is about building the confidence of local staff and providing a sound knowledge of the basics. There are a huge number of ways accountants can help:

Coaching

By coaching staff and helping organisations change their own processes, volunteers empower local people to help themselves and run their own charities as efficiently as possible. In the past, Western charities have been criticised for building up an ‘aid dependency’ so that local people become permanently reliant on charity. But the process of coaching locals in finance skills does the very opposite: it allows them to solve their own problems in a sustainable way that is less dependent on international funding.

Advice

Finance professionals are also qualified to provide advice on income generation: increasingly, small organisations such as African schools are running micro-businesses to increase their income. Help with starting up these small businesses allows the schools to provide more education to more children, and secures the future of these schools against a drop in funding from international donors.

Microfinance

On the topic of sustainability and independence, microfinance institutions are increasingly operating in the developing world to empower locals to help themselves. Microfinance institutions provide small loans with very low interest rates to allow people in the developing world to start their own businesses. The loans are carefully managed and come with support and advice. Volunteer accountants are of huge help at these microfinance institutions, helping provide advice on the best use of the loans.

Donor Reporting

International donors want to know that their money is being spent well. They want clear records and transparent accounts. If a health clinic in the Ugandan countryside can’t provide financial reports that meet international standards, donors may withdraw their funding, as from their perspective they can’t be sure what the money is being spent on. Unlike the nurses running the clinic, a qualified accountant has training in such procedures, and can produce clear financial reports on their behalf, saving the clinic from funding cuts.

There is a huge variety of important help that volunteer accountants can provide, and organisations such as Accounting for International Development can help arrange tailored placements for finance professionals across the world.

By Tiffany Fourment
Director of Grassroots Outreach - Volunteer Forever

Last year at this time, while I was still pondering the ideas that would eventually lead me to partnering in the creation of Volunteer Forever, I was planning a trip to Cameroon, West Africa, to work as a volunteer on a conservation education project for teachers.  Without the ease and efficiency of a crowdfunding platform like the one on Volunteer Forever, I just sort of muddled my way through the fundraising process. It was an invaluable learning experience, and one that has informed my work in developing our website into such a great resource for international volunteers.

One of the most important lessons I learned about fundraising for volunteering abroad is to focus on the outcome – on the recipient/s of your time and work.  I started my campaign through email and various forms of social media, explaining to my friends and family how excited I was to have the opportunity to travel to Cameroon to help on a project, how I had always wanted to go to Africa, and asking for their support in my endeavor. The initial response was mixed, from “Great! What a cool plan! Here’s some money!” to the more cautious, skeptical (and absolutely valid) perspective of “Soooo… you basically want to take a trip, and you want all of us to help you pay for it?” That question, I realized, demonstrates one of the most important concerns to address with potential donors to your fundraising campaign. The fact is that you are not pleading for money because you want to take a trip and can’t afford it.  You are asking that donors contribute to real, on-the-ground work for a cause that you (and hopefully they) believe in.  While the money they give may go towards your plane ticket, immunizations, accommodations, or a variety of other expenses, the bigger outcome is that they are helping to donate YOU and your time to the organization and/or project on which you will be working. 

Tell them about that project – tell them about the organization, about the work involved in what you will be doing, and what that work will achieve for the organization and the community. Show them that they are not buying you a plane ticket to take a trip, they are making an important contribution to an organization that needs the help of people like you in order to achieve its goals.  Bring them into the struggle of communities and projects to fulfill their needs, and show how their donations will help in that struggle, by providing YOU and your passion, energy and skills to those communities and projects. 

The work that I did in Cameroon focused on creating educational materials and training for teachers on local environmental issues, (particularly hunting and poaching of wildlife such as critically endangered gorillas) so that they can effectively educate their students on those issues.  Once I started focusing my fundraising efforts on describing to potential donors those needs, those issues and the ways that I planned to help, even the skeptics were right there with me. They wanted to be part of that struggle, and part of the solution to those bigger issues.  I saw the shift in perspective happen most clearly when a friend who had asked earlier “So you want me to help pay for you to travel to Africa?” sent me a check, with a note included that read: “Because I want my son to have the opportunity to see those gorillas when he grows up.”

Volunteering abroad is growing in popularity. Ditching resort lounge chairs and tour buses, people from all walks of life are spending their vacations serving. Altruism is at the heart of peoples’ motivations, as are a range of personal reasons from building professional skills to growing emotionally and having fun. Volunteering overseas also offers a unique opportunity to experience local cultures on a deeper level. No theatre, just real life.

In recent years a cottage industry has popped up to fill the growing demand for people looking to serve abroad. An online search for international volunteering opportunities returns a seemingly overwhelming mountain of information. Where to begin?

Here are six tips on navigating your search and getting yourself to the field.

1. Beware of volunteering abroad “for free”

There are many excellent international volunteering opportunities that don’t require you to pay for the experience. On the flip side, there are also outfits touting “free” volunteering as a ploy to get you to pay for another of their high priced services. They may lure you with the volunteering and then rope you into paying for other things, for example language or salsa lessons, or a stay in their overpriced hostel.

Organizations like UBELONG offer excellent volunteering opportunities that are flexible, as well as affordable and supportive. They make volunteering abroad easy. You don’t have to worry about the logistics and credentials of your project. Housing and meals are taken care of, as well as tiny details you may not notice but that are still crucial—for example emergency plans and somebody to measure the impact of your project to make sure it is actually making a difference.

2. High price does not equal high quality

While you should beware of free international volunteering, you also do not need to pay a fortune. There are many “voluntourism” organizations that get away charging high prices. Some charge a lot because they’re offering volunteering opportunities alongside adventure activities, for example bike treks or surfing. While this may be what you’re looking for, understand these opportunities are sometimes more about tourism than volunteering—and you’ll pay more for it.

So, ask yourself what you’re looking to get out of your experience and match that with the opportunities out there. Then, do your research about each organization. What is the mission? Is it led by volunteers and development professionals? What are past volunteers saying? And, if it’s a nonprofit, check sites like Charity Navigator that rate nonprofits and show you how they allocate their money.

3. Plan the logistics ahead

Not surprisingly, most international volunteering opportunities are in “developing” countries like Cambodia, Morocco or Peru. Unless you have done your fair share of international travel, perhaps as a backpacker or Indiana Jones’ sidekick, you can’t just hop on a plane and show up.

So, do your homework. What kind of service opportunity are you joining? What about food and accommodation? Safety? Project supervision? Other things like pre-departure mentorship and airport pickup, while seemingly small, also become much more important when you land in a foreign country after a fifteen hour flight.

Another important aspect of planning ahead is creating a budget, and exploring ways to help finance the cost of your trip. Volunteer Forever offers a simple crowdfunding platform that allows volunteers to create a fundraising campaign, detail the project and organization that they’ll be working on, share the campaign with their networks, and collect online donations in support of their travel and work.

4. Volunteers vs. tourists

Volunteers and tourists have very different motivations. It’s important you approach your time in the field with the right attitude. Tourists expect to be served while volunteers expect to serve. Flexibility, openness and social skills are key. As an international volunteer you must take off your culture goggles and operate in conditions that are probably very different from your day-to-day life. Whether it’s the lack of resources in a clinic or school you’re volunteering in, or the much slower pace of life in general, as a volunteer you have to adapt to your host country.

Before setting out, ask yourself why you’re volunteering abroad. Do you have the volunteer mindset? Are you willing to adapt to a new culture? Are you flexible enough to work wherever you’re needed? Take advantage of today’s global communication network to learn from former international volunteers. For example, the Volunteer Forever website features a forum for posting questions and discussions with other volunteers, and a patent-pending review system that allows volunteers to write honest feedback and review their experience with a particular organization. UBELONG has a popular Facebook page where past, current and future volunteers connect.

5. If you can, go for a while

Generally the longer you are part of a project, the more impact you’ll make. If you’re working on a construction project this may not be the case, as you can start and finish a small project in very little time. However, if you’re working on a social project, for example teaching English, supporting an NGO or working in a hospital, you’ll become a more valuable volunteer with time. You’ll get further up the learning curve and progressively add more value to your project.

6. Let yourself grow

Volunteering internationally can be a life-changing experience. You’re stepping out of your comfort zone and into situations you’ve probably never been in before. You’re also looking beyond media headlines and facing realities you may never have known before— it can be invigorating to experience yourself making a difference, but also difficult to face some of the world’s sad realities.

1. Tell Your 'Story'. Your campaign page should be much more than the basic facts of where you’re going and how much money you need to raise. People respond to stories, so make sure your page explains yours. Why did you decide to travel across the world to give your time/effort to a community in need? What do you hope to achieve? How do you feel about the trip- excited, nervous, anxious, curious? What will their donations contribute towards? Don’t hold anything back- this is a life-changing experience, and the more enthusiastic you are about your trip the more likely it is they’ll get excited too. One of our favorite phrases is "Don't give TO me, give THROUGH me". It's a great way to remind people what their donation is really going towards.

 

2. Share Your Page. Spread the word among everyone you can! This may include family, friends, past teachers, co-workers, community members, or even just people that you know on a Christmas-card basis. A good first step is to use the “Share” widget on your campaign page to promote the page through email, Facebook and Twitter. But don’t stop there- use every other channel you have availabel to you, including social media platforms like Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn. Text messages are also a highly effective way to reach potential donors. Text messages have a 98% open rate, so your message has a high probability of being read by a potential donor. Simply text your Volunteer Forever profile web URL to your potential donors. And make sure to add your campaign to your email signature for an easy way to remind people of your fundraising campaign.

3. Ask Your Contacts to Share Your Page. Don’t limit your outreach to just people you think have the money to donate. One of the most powerful benefits of our crowdfunding platform is that it makes it easy for others to share your page and reach an exponentially larger network. So when you share your page, ask people to share it with their contacts as well! If you don’t ask they may not even realize how they can help. The more specific your request is and the easier you make it for someone to share, the more successful you'll be. Here's a great example: "Mom, would you mind sharing my campaign with your coworkers at the office tomorrow? If so I'll send you a sample email that includes a desription of my project and the link to my campaign, and all you'd need to do is forward it to everyone. Thanks!" (and make sure to thank everyone that shares your campaign just as much as if they donated).

4. Create Blog Posts. Use your blog section to tell the full story of your volunteer abroad trip and keep everyone updated of your progress. Are you doing anything to prepare for your adventure? Write a post about your training regimen or research work. This is also a great tool to educate your audience as to why your help is needed. Many potential donors may not be aware of the reality of the country you are traveling to or why volunteer help is so important to that particular community. The more real and vivid you can make it for them, the more they can connect with your goals and the more they’ll want to support your cause.

5. Share Your Campaign with Volunteer Forever. Let us know about your campaign and we’ll promote it as well! Post it on our Facebook page or include us in your Tweets and we’ll make sure to repost. Are there other ways we can help? Contact us at info@volunteerforever.com.
   

6. Share Your Campaign with Your Org. Inform the organization you’re volunteering with about your campaign as well! There’s a good chance they’ll help you promote it and help you reach another audience that you might not otherwise have access to.

7. Reach Out to Local Media. Send a short press release to your local media about the campaign. Make sure to include your campaign page link in the press release so people know where to go to donate. If you’re not comfortable writing a press release you can contact your local media and tell them about your volunteer abroad story, and they’ll let you know what they need from you. They may want to do a short Q&A or simply have you write up a short description of the campaign.

8. Take Advantage of Holidays & Special Events. No matter what time of the year you’re running your campaign, there’s usually some kind of holiday or special event you can integrate into your campaign. Make donations to your campaign the first thing you ask for as a Christmas or Birthday gift. You can do the same thing for a graduation or a wedding/engagement party. And use holidays or other family get-togethers as an opportunity to show everyone your campaign page in person all at once. If you live in the US, Thanksgiving would be a great example of a holiday you could do this for.
   

9. Thank Donors Publicly. People love recognition and this is your chance to give them well-deserved praise! Make it public so that everyone can see that someone has contributed to your campaign- this will help get additional donations from others. Also, when you thank your donors make sure to ask them to help you spread the word among their contacts as well. Always remember- you can't thank your donors too much!

10. Share Your Page Again. And Again. This may be the most important tip of all! You will be much more successful in raising funds if you continue to share your campaign multiple times, especially if you're using social media to get the word out. People may need several reminders before they take action. And use your campaign timeline to create a sense of urgency, especially towards the end. TIP: Are you not getting the responses you’d hoped? It can help to change up your messaging. If you’ve been asking people to donate in general terms, you may want to try asking people to donate specific amounts and remind what that money will be going towards. For example: “Please consider donating just $20 to my ‘Build a school in Ghana’ project, every $20 donation will go towards helping them build a much-needed school for the youth in the community. Donate $20 and make an impact!”

Ready to get started or want more tips? Check out:  "Fundraising to Volunteer Abroad: A How-To Guide”

1. What is a typical day like for your volunteers?

2. Are there past or current volunteers that I can talk to about the project?

3. What are the biggest frustrations for volunteers on your project?

4. Will I work in a team or alone, and will I be supervised?

5. What does my placement/program fee go towards?

6. What aspects of my volunteer experience will I need to organize myself?

7. What language skills do I need to volunteer with the project?

8. What should I wear during work? During leisure hours?

9. What are the safety concerns of living and working in the area?

10. What do you, the organization, expect from a great volunteer?

By Brittany Edwardes 

       1.     Create a budget

Before you begin any actual fundraising, you need to have a firm, detailed budget for your entire trip abroad. If possible, it is helpful to ask advice from volunteers who have completed the same or a similar project in the same area as yours. Think about not only the cost of being there, but if you will have any expenses to cover back home while you are gone, such as credit card payments or rent. Make sure you budget conservatively– there will undoubtedly be unexpected costs as you begin your trip.

     2.  Search online for volunteer abroad grants and scholarships.

Volunteering abroad can be very expensive– especially if you're looking to go for a long-term project. It's a good idea to have as many sources of funding as possible. Some volunteer abroad organizations offer grants or scholarships, but even if yours doesn’t, they may be familiar with other possible grant resources. There are also plenty of international aid organizations that offer aid to volunteers for different kinds of projects. Taking the time to research these possibilities could end up saving you a lot of money.

3.     Connect with your natural market.

To borrow a term from the financial world, your “natural market” is the people in your life that would be willing to support your volunteer abroad project. This may include your family, friends, past teachers, co-workers, or even just people that you know on a Christmas-card basis. Spend some time connecting with them, and tell them of your plans. Get them excited about your idea and the volunteer work you’ll be doing! It's best if your crowdfunding efforts don't take them by surprise, but rather are part of a larger, orchestrated effort to bring your family and friends together for a good cause.

4.     Create your crowdfunding campaign.  

Here's where Volunteer Forever can help! Once you've figured out how much money you’ll need and the network of people who will support you, create a crowdfunding campaign on the Volunteer Forever website. Give your potential donors as much information as possible (organization and project information, budget, itinerary, etc.) and make yourself available for any questions they may have about your plans. The more enthusiastic you are about your volunteer abroad trip, the more likely they will want to contribute. Create a blog, and utilize social media to really get your campaign out there. Anyone can donate through Volunteer Forever, so why not market it as much as possible?

5.     Keep everyone updated, and thank them for their contributions!

If all goes according to plan, you should be financially prepared for volunteering abroad within a few months. Although the fundraising aspect of your journey is over, be sure to send updates and news from your trip to those who donated. Upon your return, follow up and send thank-you cards to all of your great fans that helped make your trip possible. After all, crowdfunding isn't just about raising the money, but rather turning one volunteer's dream into a community's effort!   

Ready to get started or want more tips? Check out: "Fundraising to Volunteer Abroad: A How-To Guide”     

So You Want to Volunteer Abroad?

Volunteering abroad has become a popular way for people and organizations to take a direct role in finding solutions for the problems that they are passionate about, while making real connections around the globe and gaining new skill sets. For almost any cause, there are great opportunities to volunteer abroad. You can work in education, HIV/AIDS and health care, environmental conservation, community development, and many other fields. Although people of all ages volunteer abroad, it is becoming a rite of passage for many young people, as they seek to find ways to use their own talents and skills to create positive change in the world.

Volunteering abroad can be an amazing and eye-opening experience, and is a significant and effective way for people to tackle their social concerns through direct action. However, many people find themselves unable to volunteer abroad for one reason– the price tag.

Volunteering abroad...isn't free?

While it seems natural that volunteer work would be free, organizations and volunteer abroad projects often fund themselves to an extent through the fees that they charge volunteers and the work that the volunteers do. Because of a lack of funding and resources to address the many needs in a community, organizations often have to charge for the coordination of the volunteers that come to help them. So, when you pay to volunteer abroad, it helps to think of it as a further donation you're making to the cause that you are passionate about; by paying to volunteer you are supporting the cause with both your money and your time.  

Aside from program and placement fees, there are many other costs associated with international volunteer work, such as plane tickets, accommodations, food, and vaccinations.  Despite their desire to travel and to work in a meaningful way, many people find that they simply can't afford the expense, and find it difficult to raise the support needed from friends and family to help out. That's where Volunteer Forever comes in!  

And the Solution is...Crowdfunding!    

You have probably heard of crowdfunding, as it has become a popular way to help fund endeavors like small businesses or artistic projects. The concept is that someone with a specific project, like a documentary film or an innovative new mobile app, creates a campaign on a crowdfunding website, describing the details of the project and the amount of money they need to raise to complete it. They then share it with their friends, family, and other networks to gather support and donations. People who want to support the project donate to the campaign through the website. Crowdfunding has been highly effective in campaigns like nonprofit businesses and product development, and Volunteer Forever is excited to bring the concept to the world of volunteering abroad. The crowdfunding site works as an axis that connects, in our case, the volunteer in need of financial support with those who have the resources available to fund them.

Our goal at Volunteer Forever is to help you raise the funds for your volunteer trip while also creating a way for people to support passionate volunteers in effective projects. In donating to a specific volunteer's experience, donors are able to directly assist a project by supporting the on-the-ground work that they want to see done.

Crowdfunding for volunteering abroad has the potential to change the industry of international volunteering. Through Volunteer Forever, we help volunteers leverage the support of their communities and networks in a way that engages everyone for a good cause. Rather than just bringing a volunteer to a community that needs them, we are changing the system in a way that unites everyone– communities, social networks, volunteers, and those in need– to make the world just a little bit better.

Ready to get started or want more tips? Check out: "Fundraising to Volunteer Abroad: A How-To Guide"

By Jessica Barnfield

What comes first: the chicken or the egg? An age-old question which has puzzled some of the greatest philosophical thinkers throughout time. Perhaps the next great question to plague our minds will become: what comes first: the volunteering, or the tourism?  

With voluntourism becoming one of the most rapidly expanding travel markets in the world, it’s worth asking ourselves what our real motivations are when we set off to volunteer abroad. Doubtless we all want to help - to make a difference, however big or small, to a local community project.  But don’t we also want to have a bit of a holiday, and return full of stories about the amazing places we visited?  

Volunteering abroad isn’t as easy as packing up your bags and going on holiday for a few weeks. The motivations for a holiday are simple: you’re going to sight see, to experience a different culture and cuisine, or just to kick your shoes off and feel some sand between your toes. The question is how to combine these desires with the good intentions (and often hard work) of volunteering, and which is your real motivation for being there?

It’s certainly true that volunteering abroad shouldn’t be taken lightly, or purely out of a desire to travel, but in reality the two can be very compatible goals.

Volunteer work can be very taxing – physically and often emotionally as well. If you’re working in an afterschool program, a play center for disabled children, or a hospital, for example, you could probably well use (and deserve!) a break every now and then for the sake of your mental health.  Taking some time out to relax and explore the place in which you’ve chosen to volunteer is far from selfish, or a waste of time, and can actually be hugely beneficial to your volunteer work as a whole.

It’s also important to understand the culture of the place in which you’re volunteering. You will be better prepared to work with the people you’re helping if you have taken some time to travel and understand their country and heritage. And don’t underestimate the value of the tourist dollar. Tourism is an important source of revenue for many countries, so travelling around a little whilst you’re there will help to further spread the good work you’re doing by injecting some much-needed tourist money into the local economy.

While there’s no doubt volunteering should be put first, there’s no reason tourism can’t come in a close second. After all, if wanting to do volunteer work was the your only motivation, there are probably plenty of worthwhile projects much closer to home. Volontourism appeals to our desire to help others, to see the world and to embrace new experiences in equal measure. The important thing is to make sure the children you’re supposed to be teaching English to every day don’t miss out because you just had to see the seventh wonder of the world at 10am on a Tuesday.

Now, back to that chicken and egg dilemma…

_{When we think of volunteering abroad, we often think of the Peace Corps, an American government institution started by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. One of JFK’s most famous quotes “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you- ask what you can do for your country” was a call for Americans to serve. While the idea of serving abroad with the Peace Corps may be appealing to some, the three months of training and two year commitment to serve abroad just isn’t possible for most us. For most of us, shorter volunteer experiences are more appropriate and, luckily, we have four great options of choose from: missions, volunteering through a university, volunteering directly with an NGO, and volunteering through an international placement agency.}

_Missions

_{Churches and other religious organizations often sponsor mission trips abroad to help local populations who are in need. My friend Richard just recently returned from a mission trip to Honduras where he supported a team of doctors and dentists to provide health services. He also had the opportunity to share his faith with the local population. Going as part of a mission often means you travel with a group of people from your religious organization. It can be a great bonding experience especially as you band together to fundraise through car washes, bake sales, and other efforts. You may also be able to rely on your organization’s member base for moral and financial support. However, for prospective volunteers who are not religious or desire more secular placements, participating in a mission may not be a viable option.  Furthermore, your religious institution may not frequently sponsor missions and if they do, they may not align with your desired timeline, destination, or volunteer work.}

_University

_{Another option to volunteer abroad is through a university-led initiative. For example, my alma mater, Duke University, is organizing a relief trip to Haiti for its alumni. I found out about the program through the periodic alumni magazines I get through the university. Although you may not necessarily know anyone else going on the trip, you may be comforted by the fact that the other members of your team are part of the same educational institution and share a similar academic experience. Furthermore, the career center at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) offers resources for volunteering abroad, including hosting workshops. Check out your university’s career center or international studies department to learn about sponsored international volunteering trips.}

_NGOs

_{A third option to volunteer abroad is to work directly with a non-governmental organization (NGO).  Doctors Without Borders and Habitat for Humanity both organize international relief missions that the general public can apply for. Furthermore, you may know of a worthwhile NGO in a foreign country that is open to hosting international volunteers. The benefits are you are directly working with an NGO and are not required to work through a placement agency. The drawbacks are a lack of choices in placements/place you can volunteer abroad/and when you can volunteer abroad. Furthermore, it may be risky to volunteer directly with an NGO you are not familiar with.}

_{Placement Agencies}

_{The fourth option is to work with a volunteer abroad placement agency. According to the 2009 GeckoGo Volunteer Travel Insights Report, 48% of people who volunteer abroad do so through a placement agency. For many of us, this is the easiest, most convenient way to volunteer abroad. Volunteer abroad placement agencies range from relatively less expensive agencies such as International Volunteer Headquarters to higher end options such as Cross Cultural Solutions and Global Vision International. The benefits of using a placement agency are that they often support placements in many different countries and they support a variety of placements such as childcare, teaching, health, and community development. Furthermore, these agencies offer placements all year round and can support many volunteers at once, which means you are likely to meet lots of volunteers on your trip. For example, if you want to volunteer with an HIV/AIDS organization in Tanzania next June, volunteering through a placement agency may be the best option to meet all of your constraints.  Furthermore, you will often be supported by an in-country support network and may be entitled to a refund if the trip does not meet your expectations. The downside with volunteering through a placement agency is the additional cost, not knowing the full details of your placement abroad, and not knowing anyone beforehand if you are volunteering alone.}

_{Whatever method of volunteering you choose, Volunteer Forever is here to support your trip abroad. We enable the following services to help you prepare for your trip abroad:}

_{·                 Fundraising for placement fees, airfare, visa costs, travel insurance, support those in need}

_{·                 Connecting prospective volunteers with one another}

_{·                 Forum to ask specific questions about volunteering abroad}

_{·                 Volunteer abroad reviews to help you make informed choices}

_{·                 Articles to learn more about volunteering abroad}

_{Which option are you pursuing to volunteer abroad? Leave your comment below!}

_{I remember how nervous I was prior to getting on the flight to New Delhi for my volunteer abroad trip to India. Questions such as “did I pick the right international volunteer organization?”, “am I going to be safe?”, “will I meet other volunteers?”, and “is this going to be a worthwhile experience” were on my mind. But the most immediate question I had was “will someone be there at the airport to pick me up?”}

_{Let’s face it. Volunteering abroad can be a scary process. I volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan with the United States Air Force a few years back, so I’m sure you’re surprised to hear that even I found the process to be a little nerve-wracking. The truth is there aren’t a lot of resources on the web to give you the full confidence to go abroad.}

_{That’s where this site comes in. We want to empower you, the volunteer, with the information to go abroad with confidence. We believe other volunteers are the best sources of information for which placement companies are worthwhile and which are not. We also want to give you the opportunity to ask questions, to connect with volunteers, and to fundraise. Volunteer Forever is the only resource on the web that enables all of these functions in one convenient location. And by doing so, we’re going to build the most comprehensive community and collection of resources for you, the international volunteer.}

_{Reviews of International Placement Companies}

_{I’m a big of Yelp. I think hearing directly from customers on their experiences is the best way to evaluate a service. That’s why we’re applying a similar model on Volunteer Forever. We want you to hear directly from other volunteers who have already gone abroad. With these reviews, you’ll be able to judge whether a particular placement overseas is for you and if the services offered by an international placement company are worth your money. You’ll also hear firsthand how the all the various aspects of the volunteer experience was from the accommodations to the food to the in-country support. We believe knowledge is power and we want to empower you.}

_{Furthermore, you can count on the integrity of this site. Long before we created this site, I posted an honest, but fair review on another Volunteer Abroad review site only to have it deleted the next day. I should not have been surprised- the company I reviewed was the site’s major advertiser. At Volunteer Forever, we will never delete anyone’s review, because it is in our best interest to promote an atmosphere of trust and integrity for our members.}

_Forums

_{We believe in promoting the free exchange of information among our members, which is why the forum is a central part of our site. You can use the forums to get advice about going abroad, get specific questions answered about your placement, get best practices for making a difference overseas, and get useful advice on fundraising for your trip. The forums are also a great way to meet other volunteers who may be volunteering at your placement at the same time as you. Furthermore, the Volunteer Forever team will be following the forums closely to answer any questions about the volunteer abroad process.}

_{Although many volunteer abroad companies have their own facebook pages and groups for volunteers to connect with one another, our forum allows volunteers working with any placement agency to connect with each other. What I found volunteering abroad is that multiple volunteer abroad companies can have volunteers at a single placement site (i.e. orphanage, school, clinic, etc). Our forum removes those stovepipes so that you have a better chance of connecting with other volunteers.}

_{Connect with Other Volunteers}

_{We believe volunteering abroad can be a less scary experience if you can connect with other volunteers who are going to be at the same placement as you before you go overseas. That’s why we ask that each volunteer who creates a profile page fill out where they are going and when. Doing so enables you to instantly search for volunteers who are going to be abroad with you. For example, you can use the connect feature to search for other volunteer who are going to be in Nairobi with you this summer.}

_Fundraise

 _{Volunteering abroad can be expensive. From program fees that cover your room & abroad and in-country support to airline tickets and spending money, you can easily spend $3000 for a volunteer abroad trip. However, we believe by being proactive and engaging in fundraising efforts early, you can minimize the amount of money that you have to come out of pocket. Your family and friends will be proud of your decision to do good for the world and will likely be your most ardent supporters. Unlike other sites that charge outrageous fees or keep any money you raise above a certain amount, Volunteer Forever charges a low 7% fee to enable you to raise money effortlessly and we never place any fundraising caps.}

_{Raising money online is much more efficient than going door to door for donations.  Also, it’s a method of raising funds in addition to other great fundraising ideas such as car washes, hosting a paid BBQ, babysitting, etc. Furthermore, donors will be more apt to give money when they see you’re fundraising from a trusted volunteering site like Volunteer Forever.} 

_{Go Abroad with Confidence!}

_{Armed with the great resources provided by Voluntee rForever and the amazing connections you’ll make with our site, you can go abroad knowing you’ve made informed decisions about the process. And you can be confident that your in-country staff will be there at the airport to pick you up- if not, write about it in your review!} 

_{International volunteers have a variety of reasons for going abroad. Whether your aim is to help some of the most impoverished people in the world, experience a culture to its fullest, improve your admissions chances to a highly-selective school, or improve your job skills, volunteering abroad can offer many benefits to those who seek to do good in another country. More often, the desire to volunteer abroad can encompass many motivations such as giving back while seeing a part of the world you’ve always been interested in visiting.} 

_{Desire to help those in need}

_{Even in the most developed countries in the world, nearly every community has people who are underprivileged or who need help. However, I’m most often taken aback by the level of poverty in the developing world. Since the need for help is greater in the world’s poorest countries and resources more lacking, I believe I can have greater impact and a greater sense of accomplishment by volunteering where those two conditions exist.}   

_{As a prospective volunteer, you may be wondering “what help can I provide when I go abroad”. The answer is you have the potential to do a lot of good! You may have computer, business, leadership, or organizational skills that are vitally needed by organizations overseas. Furthermore, coming in with a culturally different perspective can help your overseas placement think more creatively in solving problems. In my article next week, I’ll talk specifically about the ways I helped the orphanage I volunteered at in India to get you brainstorming on ways you can add value when you go abroad.} 

_{Desire to see the world}

_{Volunteering abroad is a great way to travel the world and truly experience another culture. I believe your experience abroad is so much richer and more fulfilling when you’re giving back to those who are less fortunate. Many volunteer abroad programs enable you to live with a host family or with your overseas placements, which offer the ability to immerse yourself in a new culture and form life-long bonds with those you are supporting overseas.} 

_{I’ve been on many vacations in my life: sight-seeing tours in Europe and Asia, cruises to Mexico, and spring break trips in the Caribbean. But, my volunteer abroad trip to India stands out the most because of the lifelong connections I made with other international volunteers and the children and staff of orphanage I volunteered at.}

_{Desire to improve candidacy for selective colleges and graduate schools}

_{It’s no secret anymore- we live in a society that values volunteering and doing good for those who are less fortunate. And given that we are living in an increasingly globalized and connected world, international experience is something that is valued as well. This premium on volunteering and international exposure is nowhere more evident than admissions to the most competitive colleges and universities. Whether you’re applying to college as an undergraduate or applying to graduate programs such as medical school, dental school, or business school, volunteering and international experience are two traits that are common for applicants to the most selective programs.}

_{Many candidates recognize that volunteering abroad is a great way to give back to those in need and also gain international exposure. There are international volunteering programs for high school students, gap year programs for medical school applicants, and short-term volunteer opportunities for those interested in other graduate schools.}

_{This excerpt from PoetsAndQuants.com, a leading source for business school applicants, highlights how candidates can utilize volunteer abroad opportunities to position themselves for business school:}

_{“Given the rapid globalization of business, HBS (Harvard Business School) is placing an even greater emphasis on admitting students with diverse and international perspectives. Over a third of the HBS class continues to hail from outside of the United States, and American applicants must also strive to demonstrate significant international exposure. Applicants with lengthy and robust work/volunteer experiences abroad have a tangible advantage in the application process (sorry, study abroad programs and frequent international vacations will not cut it).”}

_{Desire to improve resume or job skills}

_{In today’s increasingly competitive job market, you may be having difficulty getting into the industry of your choice (or getting a job period!). Or you may be interested in changing functions or industries, but want to test out the waters first. If so, volunteering abroad is a great option for experiencing an industry first hand and seeing if it’s for you. There are volunteer abroad placements for teaching, healthcare, sports, community development, conservation, childcare, animal care and many other areas. Volunteering in an area of interest can give you the experience you need to see if the field is right for you and to signal your interest in the area to employers. Furthermore, companies will value your worldliness, maturity, and compassion for others.}

_{What are your motivations for volunteering abroad? Please share your comments with us!}