Fundraising is an excellent way to help you go abroad to volunteer. As a charity, Concordia keeps our costs to a minimum so more people have the opportunity to volunteer abroad. That’s not to say that fundraising is an easy option – it’s hard work. You need to be organised, hard working and motivated but it will be worth it to achieve your goal to volunteer on a community project you have always wanted to do.

Here's our top 10 tips for fundraising

1. Get help from the people you know. Ask your friends, family and work colleagues to support you in your fundraising efforts. You will need their help either in their participation or help organising.

2. Share your enthusiasm. Make sure people know about the project that you are fundraising for. Make sure that they understand that Concordia is a charity as well and we only work with non profit partners across the world to deliver genuine community volunteering projects. Raise awareness for the project you will be working on and the issues it raises.

3. Give something back. Don’t just ask for money – give something back. Fundraising can be a great way to get a group of people
together. Organise social or sponsored events so friends, family and work colleagues get a bit of a feel good factor out of your efforts. Remember the more effort you put in, the more money you will raise.

4. Plan ahead with realistic budgets. Make sure you have plenty of time to fundraise – you will need at least 6 months to plan and organise some events. Get a realistic budget of how much the event will cost to run and how much you can expect to raise. You
may need to do more than one fundraising exercise to achieve your fundraising goal.

5. Keep it simple. Often small but frequent events will give you a steady income for your fundraising pot. More complex events take
time and there is a higher risk that you won’t cover your costs. Start simple and organise more complex events when you have a bit more experience and the knowledge that you have the support of your friends and family.

6. What are you good at? If you’re sporty – do something active that will challenge you. If you’re a social butterfly, organise lots of social events. If you’re crafty, make things to sell. If there’s something you love – maybe it’s chocolate, you can raise money by giving it up. 

7. Get permission. If you’re fund raising anywhere other than in your home, you need to get permission. Whether it’s from your
employer, University campus or even the local council make sure you have the right permission otherwise your plans may back fire on you. If you plan an event in a public place such as a supermarket or pub, make sure the manager knows exactly what you’re doing well before the event.

8. Keep everyone updated. Use all your social media sites to keep everyone you know informed about all your fundraising events and plans to volunteer abroad. Use events on Facebook to invite all your friends who live near and get in contact from those old friends you only ever see once in a while.

9. Always, always appreciate the people who support you. ‘Thank you’ goes a long way. Keep in the spirit of volunteering and appreciate what people do for you. Otherwise they are unlikely to help you again.

10. Have fun. Keep your eye on your goal to keep you motivated. And have lots of fun fundraising to ensure everyone around you does too.

Download our Guide to Fundraising for more ideas and inspiration.