Many of us, regardless of age at some point in our lives aspire to travel to far off places and experience new things. While this is a very common dream, it is not commonly realised as many lack the financial resources to make it a reality. Indeed travelling, whether for leisure, studies, humanitarian projects or volunteer work, usually comes with a substantial price tag. There is however, growing popularity among aspiring travelers to use online platforms to launch their travel fundraising projects and help them pay for their trips and the many associated costs.

travel fundraising, trip fundraising website

Travel Fundraising, but how exactly does it work?

Well, it’s something that has certainly been around for some time and just involves various ways to raise money for a trip, such as donations from friends and family, various sales, events and all other conceivable ideas for trip fundraising. This has however been taken a step further with modern fundraising websites, such as Leetchi.com, which enable people to maximise their efforts and reach broader audiences. These not only provide you with a platform to tell your stories and market your ideas, but they allow you the opportunity to genuinely connect with various audiences who have an interest in your journey.

What makes this a truly great tool, and one of the best ways to raise money for a trip, for the would-be traveler is that each journey has unique goals, desires, ambitions, and importantly needs.

travel fundraising, trip fundraising

Study abroad travel

Studying abroad is a costly business and it can be intimidating when you calculate the costs versus any loans and grants you might get, and encounter a massive void in funding. Perhaps you just want an extended stay in a country to authentically assist you in learning a foreign language. In these circumstances, crowdfunding on sites like Leetchi.com is a great idea to help bolster your cash and spur you on. We all need help with getting onto the next thing – stepping through that open door, but sometimes we just need a little push. Crowdfunding allows us to discuss our ambitions and where we hope they’ll take us and you’ll be pleasantly surprised about how many chords you strike with others.

study abroad, trip fundraising

Humanitarian travel

Perhaps one of the most striking benefits of fundraising is its ability to help raise funds for humanitarian efforts or relief. In the event of humanitarian crisis, like tornadoes, droughts or flooding; fundraising provides a quick and efficient way to raise money for individuals to travel to the affected places and help locals get back on their feet. It’s a form of direct and personal support – always focussing on the problem at hand and circumvents the need to go through charity systems. Many people are choosing to run personal fundraising and crowdfunding campaigns for transparency reasons.  You can easily provide updates on exactly what the money is going towards as well as help an individual in need or a specific cause directly.

humanitarian crisis fundraising, travel fundraising

Volunteer travel

If you find that your goal is to volunteer for a humanitarian cause, you may be in need of funding for various project ideas you would like to implement. There are usually more opportunities for younger people such as college graduates to connect with donor agencies, but middle aged professionals may find it more challenging. Your ideas of helping people in need or protecting the environment are no doubt shared by many out there, and a travel fundraising platform could just help you advertise these causes and make connections with like-minded individuals who may be in a position to fund you.

Your fundraising goals may include raising sufficient funds to improve the infrastructure in another country, for example, pay for building materials, education resources like books or for food. Fundraising is a great way to cover travel and accommodation costs as it can be costly to support yourself while volunteering.

travel fundraising, volunteering,

Ways to raise money for a trip – Leetchi.com

Whichever type of travel fundraising you go for, with Leetchi.com online money pots you can invite family and friends to help you finance your project.  Perhaps the best thing about trip fundraising is that you get to share your travel experiences with those who supported you, so that they also become part of the journey and part of your story.

Start off your trip fundraising money pot with donations from friends and families and then see who else can be hooked on your project and then want to assist your finances.

Need help creating an attractive and impactful travel fundraising page? Read our “5 Tips For A Successful Fundraising Campaign Page” blog post.