Unfortunately, international travel and study is not inexpensive, but it does not
need to be out of reach. Magellan does everything possible to keep expenses low while providing exciting, safe and valuable learning experiences. We want all teens to be able to have a Magellan experience and offer these tips as incentives. Some students are able to raise the full price of a Magellan trip using these tried and tested methods below. They really can work for you!

Important: commit to a plan to raise the funds and then actively follow your plan to completion. Students motivated and organized to raise funds have the best results.

This is a great way to seek donations for international trips! Go online and look for the foreign language clubs that fit your trip. For example, if your trip is to Spain, look for the Spanish clubs or Spain Travel clubs. Often you can find several local groups online. Contact these groups and let them know what you are doing. Offer to come twice to the group: once before the trip to be advised on what you should know about Spain; and once after the trip to tell them about your experiences. Groups love to support these trips but it really helps to personalize it for the best result. Let them get to know you and through you participate in your experience.

One of the best ways to earn the funds needed for the trip is through part time employment. Fast food restaurants and pizza parlors are good places to start. Consider posting flyers or going door to door in your neighborhood requesting odd jobs: lawn mowing, watering plants and taking care of pets to name a few. Be creative! We suggest that you put in that flyer why you are trying to raise funds.

For example, you can put in your flyer: “RAISING FUNDS FOR A STUDY TRIP TO FRANCE” – you might be surprised how many people respond to your flyer because they went on a similar trip as a young adult. Some might even give you a contribution in addition to a job.

Active Letter Writing Seeking Donations

Write letters requesting donations. Start with family and friends. Those closest to you are likely to send you a donation. They may not be very large, but they add up! Send the letter to everyone you know.

Write an article for the local newspaper

Small, local newspapers (in big cities, they are often neighborhood papers) love stories about local youth
doing interesting activities. Go to the newspaper office and ask to speak to a reporter. You can do this by phone, but we suggest that you go in person for the best result. Tell the reporter what you are doing – how important this study program is for your growth and development. Be quite honest with the reporter and say that you were hoping that your goal in wanting to broaden your education through an international experience would be interesting to local readers; and you were hoping for a line at the end of the article telling readers how they can make a donation for the trip.

NOTE ON FRAUD:
It is sad but there are some people who use fundraising to raise money for their personal use rather than for the use advertised. Here is how you can avoid this. Go to your local bank and tell a banker that you are raising funds for an exciting Magellan Study Abroad program – banks often love to help young adults with these sorts of projects.

Tell the banker you are raising funds publicly for the trip and seeking donations. You want to make sure that the funds are accounted for properly and used for the right reason. Ask if you can set up an account at the bank for this purpose: receiving donations for Magellan Study Abroad summer program. They will help you with the procedures. Then, you can put in your letters, newspaper article, and other requests the line: “you can send your donations to Mary Smith’s Spain Trip, Local Bank, My Town, USA.”

Your foreign language teacher will likely be quite familiar with clubs and groups you can approach for donations.

He or she will have other suggestions for you. Again, whenever possible, communicate with people in person, especially people you don’t know. Go and speak with your teacher, the newspaper reporter, the banker and so forth. People like to put a face with the person they are helping. And you will find people will want to help you when they learn about what you are doing, especially when they see you in person. Try to be outgoing and not too shy.

In your community are civic organizations that go by different names: Rotary Club, Kiwanas, and Lions Club are examples of common civic organizations. These groups often love to participate in some way with a young adult who wants to go on a learning adventure. You can usually find phone numbers for them in local phone books and online. Contact the leader; ask to speak to him or her directly. Go and make your presentation to the leader. There is a good chance you will be invited to speak to the club both before and after your trip. Don’t be bashful about asking for donations. Be honest: the trip is expensive and you are in need of all the help you can get!

1) There are a lot of people who will give you a donation if they know what you are doing: get the word out!
2) The people most likely to help you are friends and family, foreign language clubs, civic clubs and international organizations.
3) Don’t be bashful. Appear in person whenever possible! It is easy to ignore an email; it is hard to ignore a person sitting in front of you. People respond to a young adult who has an educational goal and is asserting himself or herself to make it happen.
4) Offer to make appearances to groups both before and after the trip. When you appear before the trip, make a presentation on what you hope to learn and suggest input from your listeners. When you make the presentation afterward, emphasize what you learned and how you will be a better person because of the experience.

Good luck! And please write us about your fundraising experience.
We want to know how well you did and how you did it.