Career Break Advice

Fundraising

You’ve decided on your career break, got a project in mind and know where you’re jetting off to… but you’ve now got to pay for it! Here’s how to get the cash you’ll need for the trip of a lifetime...

Planning

Before anything else, you need to plan. How much time have you got before you go? Are there things you’ll have to pay for in the interim? Just how much cash will you need? Make yourself a spreadsheet or table like this:

Total: £2700
Departure: August

Month	OCT	NOV	DEC	JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN
Money	300	300	300	300	300	300	300	300	300
Expense			Buy cheap flight	Jabs		Final pay-ment		Mum’s B’day

Time before you go

By the time you get to your leaving date, you’ll have spent almost all the money you’ve saved – bear that in mind. Flights must be booked in advance, and can be cheaper that way (speak to a tour operator to find out when is the best time to buy), vaccinations will certainly have to be started months before you leave, and your gap company will require full payment of all their fees before you head out. All you should have left when you get on the plane is spending money, and money for travelling, if you’re going to do some after the main project. With that in mind, timetable the dates you’ll need to make the biggest expenditure, such as your final instalment to your gap company.

How much will you need?

Brainstorm everything you might require – read equipment lists, safety advice, travel websites, etc. Here’s a basic list to get you started:
Placement costs (what you owe your gap company)
Flights (any you plan to take after the placement but before coming home too)
Spending money (speak to your gap company as this varies for different projects, destinations and people, and remember to add after project travelling money too)
New equipment (rucksack, clothes, first aid kit, gadgets? again, this depends on where you’re going)
Passport and visa (is your passport valid and do you need a visa?)
Vaccinations
Extra (try and make more than you need, to act as an emergency buffer)

How will you raise the money?

This might seem like a daunting task, but try to stay positive – thousands of people have done this before, and you can do it too!

Cutting down on costs

Before you do anything, look at how much you’re spending and where you can cut back, both in your career break plan and in your general life. An old mobile phone, for example, removes the need for expensive travel calculators and alarm clocks and acts as an emergency contact method, plus it looks less impressive as a new model so is less likely to be stolen. Think about how much you’re spending – do you really need to that new top from Zara, or a fifteenth pair of football boots? Work out how much you’re spending at the moment, and what you could cut down on.

Make an information pack

Next, make a leaflet of information on your career break, including sections on who you are, what you’re going to be doing and where, and why it’s worthwhile. Try and make it as personal as possible, explaining briefly why you are so interested in what you’re going to be doing. Make it colourful and bright, including photographs, and possibly even get some professionally printed at your local print shop. If you haven’t got access to a shop, photocopy them and colour them in! These information packs are your fundraising tool – they should be very cheap to produce, but will catch the eye of potential donators large and small!

Baked bean baths

The classic image of the charity fundraiser is the bather, reclining in a tub of baked beans. You most definitely do not have to do this, unless you really want to! There’s lots of great ways to make money in a similar fashion, however. Sponsored swims, runs and walks are all great – even better if you dress up! Think about your skills – if you’re a musician, busk, if you’re a great cook, hold a bake sale, if you’re in an amateur dramatics troupe, put on a show – use your talents!

Corporate and other sponsorship

Are there any local organisations that can spare some money? These can be church groups, or your local Lions club or County Council? Your school, college or university might have grants they can give you, too, even though you’ve left, so check with them.

What about corporate sponsorship? Think about what you’re doing and where you’re going – are there any companies in your area who have links to any part of your plans, or can you get your company to part or fully fund your trip? If so, contact them and make sure you mention the connection. Suggest ways you can ‘earn’ your sponsorship money, for example by wearing a logo t-shirt while fundraising, by mentioning their name in a newspaper article about you, or in your information pack leaflets (make sure you put in a ‘thank you’ list, and reprint leaflets (or stick stickers on) if you get a big sponsor.

Charities and grant making trusts also often fund people, but they are not allowed to advertise. Head to your local library and check out the ‘Directory of Grant Making Trusts’ – a huge tome full of trusts you can apply to. The web is invaluable here, too – log on to the Association of Charitable Foundations website for more funding ideas. Finally, is there a charity you’ve been involved with or donated to before? Why not ask for their help in return, even if it’s just for fundraising ideas.

Publicity, family and friends

Make sure everyone knows about your fundraising – try and get into your local paper or on your local radio station to talk about your sabbatical. Set up a website with your details on it, and how to donate to you. Tell your family and friends and ask them to pass it on. Team up with a friend who’s also taking a career break (or persuade one to do it!) and work on a fundraising idea together, then split the money – it’ll make everything twice as much fun and half as much work!

Try and think up novel ways for people, trusts, charities, organisations or businesses to fund you – perhaps you could ask for the money you’ll need for one week of your trip away – get 12 people to do that and you’ll have three months’ worth! If you’re going to teach, ask a company to sponsor the teaching hours you’ll spend with the kids, and email them regular updates on your progress – almost every corporation now has a ‘social responsibility’ section of their website – tell them you can improve theirs!

Part time work

Depending on your current commitments, some people can take on part time work to help fund their break. Be smart with this, and you can save money as well as earn it – can you get a job in a camping or outdoors shop, for example? The staff discounts might well pay for your kit!

Progress

Keep worksheets of your progress – maybe make yourself a big thermometer poster and colour it in the closer you get to your target? Make yourself a little library of books, films, articles and TV shows about your destination to keep you inspired, and spread out buying your kit list over the months leading up to your departure – not only will it seems a lot less expensive, but it’ll make buying each new thing, from rucksack to universal sink plug, a special occasion! Keep in touch with your gap company, and talk to them about deadlines – if you think you need more time to raise the money required, explain what’s happened. Keep positive and stay focussed – your targets might seem a long way away, but the trip of your lifetime will come a lot sooner than you think! Good luck!