Funding Your Trip

Service trips are more affordable than you may think. You are there to help the community and as part of their enthusiastic welcome and appreciation of our volunteer guests, these communities provide accommodations, food, and activities at very reasonable rates. However, travel is always a big investment and we recognize that you may need to be creative about funding your trip. Here are some ideas you may want to consider.

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BIRTHDAY & HOLIDAY GIFTS

If you have a birthday coming up or a big holiday is right around the corner, tell your family and friends that rather than a present, you would like them to contribute to your trip fund. This kind of funding is a very popular thing for young people to do, and family members love to support your cause because then they don’t have to try to figure out what to get for you!

SERVICE TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIPS

Your school may offer financial assistance or scholarships and there are also independent national and regional organizations that will provide funding for students participating in service endeavors such as Go Overseas (all ages), the President’s Volunteer Service Award (ages 5+), and the Youth Service America Grants (ages 5-25). A bit of creative research can help you turn up other leads. Talk with your local school administrators or contact our program staff here at Dream Volunteers for more ideas.

FUNDRAISING & CHARITABLE DONATIONS

Friends, colleagues, family, and community members are often very supportive of charitable and service-oriented projects and happy to help support you. Our alumni have also shown remarkable ingenuity with different types of fundraisers including bake sales, lemonade stands, car washes, raffle tickets, performances, talent shows, craft sales, blog and media campaigns, and much, much more. When you tell them what you are up to, you may be surprised — customers will often contribute much more than the price you’ve set to support the cause.

CROWDFUNDING & SOCIAL MEDIA

Crowdfunding leverages the power of social media and the internet to allow people the means to raise funds. With crowdfunding, you can ask for help raising money to support a specific goal, a cause, or a financial need. We’ve seen many students fund their entire trip or to raise additional charitable support this way. Using a site like GoFundMe or our proprietary platform My Dream Fund, you can reach out to everyone you know (and everyone they know) to gather support for your trip.

REWARD TRAVEL & POINTS PROGRAMS

Frequent flyer airline miles are the most common form of reward travel but many other credit card programs offer incentives that can be converted to travel credits, points/miles, or cash that can be used toward your trip.

Typically, DreamVolunteers will arrange flights for the group trip participants so that the group can travel together and these are often on chartered flights to ensure the most competitive pricing, however, alternate arrangements can always be made. Contact us to discuss if you are hoping to use reward travel or points to offset your trip fees.

TRAVEL TOGETHER FOR GROUP DISCOUNTS

Create memories together. Bring a friend or family member to join your Dream Volunteers service adventure and we will discount your fees. Bring two friends and receive an additional discount! If you recruit 10 or more friends/school mates, then your trip fee is waived completely.

Teachers and school group leaders travel free when chaperoning a group. Contact us using the form below to learn more.

SET UP A PAYMENT PLAN

One of the most common ways to finance your trip is to spread out the investment into manageable payments throughout the months leading up to the trip, allowing for you to save and pay for your trip.

We can set up automated online payments for you at the frequency you determine. Let us know what would work best for you by emailing us at [email protected]

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