Fundraising & budgeting

 

How to budget and raise funds for your trip are two of the main things that our customers ask us for advice on. Check out below our fundraising advice or click here for budgeting advice.

 

Fundraising:

 

Fundraising for your gap year

 

So you’ve decided to take a gap year, now it’s time to think about getting the cash you need to make your experience happen. Whatever you plan on doing you’ll still need to save enough to fund flights, visas, travel insurance and equipment, plus some extra cash for spending money!

 

For school and high school leavers, students and recent graduates, fundraising can seem a little daunting but with some persistence, enthusiasm, organisation and imagination it will be easy! Check out our handy tips to help you fill up your piggy bank...

 

Planning - The amount of money you need will depend on where you’re going and how long for. Research the cost of living in your chosen destination but remember that whilst on a Real Gap trip costs such as internal travel, accommodation, food and drink are often included. Ask our expert staff or make a start on your own here www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/

 

Set yourself a target – Once you’ve done your research and number crunching it’s time to set yourself a target. Plenty of time to plan as well as a clear idea of what you’re working towards will help make your goal achievable and keep you motivated.

 

Ideas: Now you’ve got the figure you need to reach its time to think of fun ways to raise the money and get people engaged. Remember that family and friends are a great starting point when fundraising for both contributions and help with ideas, planning and organisation.

 

Check out below out top tips and money spinning ideas:

 

• Start your own enterprise and make some cash from your chores – babysitting, dog walking, window washing, ironing etc
• Hold auctions and raffles
• Get cooking with a few bake sales
• Try out your polishing skills with a car wash
• Invite your friends round for a sit-down dinner, which they donate to attend or organise an evening a local restaurant with a cover charge that goes towards food and your funds!
• Organise a concert with very reasonably priced tickets
• Get a local bar to ‘donate’ their venue for the night and host a themed party
• Get your craziest outfit on for a fancy dress bar crawl, check with the landlord first though!
• Take your inspiration from celebrities and set up a talent show style evening where the dancers/singers pay an entry fee and spectators pay to attend.
• Set up a football or hockey tournament with your friends or at your school
• Try a quiz night at work, school, home or at the local bar, charge entry and run a raffle at the end of the night
• Clear out your stuff and hold a sale or sell it on eBay
• Wash cars on your lunch break
• Organise a race night where people pay an entry fee and can place bets for a small amount each each on racing films
• Get people betting on your fundraising event e.g. If you’re doing a sponsored run, ask people to guess what your finishing time will be for a prize of £100/$100/AUD$100
 

‘tis the season...ideas for special times of the year!

• Make and sell your own Christmas/Easter/Valentine’s cards
• Show off your voice singing carols
• Offer your own special gift wrapping service
• Put together a Christmas/Easter recipe book and sell special edition copies
• Plan a festive evening with mince pie and wine tasting or an evening of Easter egg indulgence
• Arrange an Easter egg hunt where hunters pay to attend
• Plan a good old fashioned egg and spoon race!
• Hold a Christmas/Easter/Valentine’s disco
• Set up a Christmas card/present delivery service

 

Sponsorship – Getting sponsored to do something adventurous is a great way to combine fun with raising money! Take your pick from a whole host of adrenalin-fuelled activities such as bungee jumps, walks, marathons, sky dives, bike rides, parachute jumps or even swimming the Channel! Don’t forget to drop a line to large businesses and the local newspapers to raise some extra money and awareness!

 

You may also want to consider giving a talk or presentation at an educational institute that may offer sponsorship in return for updates and representation. You could contact your old school/university/college as a start.

 

Factor in some work abroad – Spending some time working overseas will help to keep your travel budget afloat and may even allow you to do more with your adventures! Real Gap offer a range of paid work experiences throughout the USA, Asia and Australasia, from teaching in China to working on an outback ranch, all of which are great for travelling on a small budget.

 

 Real Gap Support – Regardless of the amount you’re looking to fundraise or the way in which you plan on doing it, Real Gap will support you every bit of the way. We can provide company headed letters as proof of your plans, brochures or flyers.

 

Useful resources:

 

Books: (your local library should have copies of all of these)

 

• Fundraising for Dummies by John Mutz and Katherine Murray
• The Complete Fundraising Handbook by Nina Botting
• The Complete Guide to Fundraising by P&P Sterett
• Directory of Grant Making Trusts. Eds: Anne Villmur & Elinor Denman
• The Directory of Voluntary Organisations

 

Websites:

 

• www.gapyear.com/fundraising/a_z_of_fundraising_ideas.html
• www.fundraising.co.uk
• www.fundraising.com
• www.rgs.org/eac
• www.lionsclubs.org
• www.ribi.org/

 

Don’t hesitate to call us about your trip budget or fundraising and speak to one of our team.

 

 Your gap year budget

 

 After you’ve sifted through a world of choices and picked where you want to go on your gap break, it’s time for something very important ... budgeting! It may not be the most exciting part of travel preparation but you won’t go far without enough cash to get you off the ground.

 

 What to plan for

 

To make sure your adventure runs smoothly you’ll need to work out a realistic plan of how much you need and how much you can save in the time you have left. There are a whole host of things to factor in, so plan for everything and you won’t get caught out! Here the main things you’ll need to budget for:

 

 •Your placement fee
• Flights
• Any vaccinations you may need - consult your doctor
• Travel Insurance
• Travel gear and resources; backpack, sun cream, mosquito repellent etc
• Visa costs
• Accommodation (if not included in your placement fee)
• Food (if not included in your placement fee)
• Spending money
• Check if your bank will charge for overseas withdrawals
• A mini budget for any extra activities you want to do

• Secure place to keep information – a myTsafe account – visit the myTsafe page to find out more

 

How to plan

 

 This handy budgeting tool will help you work out the cost of life in-country. Then it’s time for a bit of maths; you’ll need to multiply your daily budget for food, activities and accommodation if needed, by the number of days you will be away. Plus it doesn’t hurt to add on a bit of extra ‘emergency’ cash for any unexpected expenses or fun optional extras you don’t want to miss out on!

 

Now that you know how much you’ll need, the next step is working out how to get it! If you won’t be able to raise all of the money on your own, never fear, the above fundraising guide should help!

Click here for fundraising advice