Personal Fundraising

Do you need to raise money for a trip, college event or challenge event ?

Many people who are raising funds for themselves think to approach Trusts , Foundations , local companies or spend hours applying for government grants.

In fact, one of the best ways to raise funds - whatever your financial needs - is to involve friends and family members .

GAP Year Travel

The lure of excitement calls to many students as they prepare for college or university - or whilst they are there and feel that they want to have fun and enjoy travel before settling down to the routine of a job and "normal life".

Whilst the round the world trip or visits to other continents is popular, the reality is that the place to go is wherever you feel the wanderlust drawing you to!

The key is to save up enough money - many people opt for working for nine months to fund three months of travel - thus making up the proverbial "gap year", and enabling them to take up their college or university place  or simply continue with their second or third years .

Although you may not be used to it, it's essential to prepare a budget - both for the period of saving (so as not to spend all that hard-earned cash) and also for your time of travelling.

It's surprising how flights , travel insurance , accommodation , transport, food and general living costs can mount up - just a simple calculation can help you to create a realistic budget - add in a 10% safety margin for "unexpected" costs to give you a financial cushion for comfort.

Few students save or budget sufficient money for their gap year, resulting in having to be bailed out by their parents, or having to stay in very low budget accommodation or use less safe modes of transport . 

The worst case scenario is that you might end up returning early - all because of insufficient planning - so take time out, buy or borrow the guides to the area to get an idea of food and hotel or hostel costs - and prepare to enjoy the trip of a lifetime !

Recommended Resources

Challenge Events - from the extremes of mountain climbing, skydiving to running, swimming and trekking - taking on lifetime challenges to raise money for good causes

Plan Your Trip - where to travel and how to find the deals for your Gap year

Real Fundraising Stories - genuine tales of how they did it, by the fundraisers themselves

Volunteering & Career Breaks - info for gappers, the Gap Year guidebook contains tips on everything you need to know to plan a successful year out