Article of the Week  8/23/08 – 8/30/08 Written by Preethi Burkholder 5 ways to raise money at home for your cause abroad

1. Apply for financial aid

Financial aid is any scholarship, loan, or work study program offered to help a student meet his or her educational, travel, and career needs. Financial aid encompasses a variety of programs funded by colleges, private organizations, individuals, and state and federal governments. Approximately two-thirds of all student financial aid comes from federal programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education.

Many people shrug the idea of financial aid because they don't think they will qualify. If the idea of financial aid has crossed your mind you probably qualify. The worst that can happen is you apply and get turned down. It's free to apply; so why not?         

Perhaps the most common myth is that a family must be financially very poor in order to receive federal aid. This simply is not true. Student financial assistance programs in general are designed to help as many people as possible.

Any person, regardless of age, sex, academic background, and economic criteria qualifies for financial aid in the United States. There are restrictions and stipulations on most aid programs. Some places may award financial aid to five year old infants, while others may award financial aid to 90 year old senior citizens. Typically, however, applicants in the 15-45 age range have a higher probability of receiving aid as there are more options available to them. Determining which places give aid to address a specific need is half the battle.

Here are some financial aid websites:

Ed Gov www.ed.gov

Students Gov www.students.gov

Actuarial Scholarships for Minority Students
http://www.beanactuary.org/minority/scholarship.cfm

AFCEA Educational Foundation
http://afcea.org/education/scholarships.htm

American Colleges and Universities
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/CLAS/american-universities.html

American Foreign Service Association High School Essay Contest
http://www.afsa.org/student.cfm

American Psychological Association (APA) Scholarships and Fellowships
http://www.apa.org/students/funding.html

Arts Recognition & Talent Search Award Scholarships
http://www.artsawards.org

Citibank Student Loans & Financial Aid Information
http://studentloan.citibank.com

Citizens’ Scholarship Foundation of America
http://www.csfa.org

Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation Scholarships
https://www.coca-colascholars.org/cokeWeb/jsp/scholars/Index.jsp

International Students Scholarships & Aid Help
http://www.iefa.org

2. Apply for grants

The grant proposal is the basic document that enables applicants to get money. There are three types of grant proposals:

§                     A Letter of Inquiry (LOI) - A letter of inquiry is a one to two page summary that outlines the project. Funders request a brief description of the project before making a decision on whether to ask for a longer and more comprehensive proposal.

§                     Letter Proposal - A letter proposal is a three to five page description of the project plan, the purpose for which funds are being sought, and background information on the applicant requesting funds.

§                     Long Proposal - The most common document that funders seek is the long proposal. The long proposal is three to ten pages long. It contains the cover letter and the proposal summary accompanying it. The common format includes a need statement, goals and objectives, methods, budget, and evaluation.

Online grants websites

§         The 990-PF Reports www.form990.org

§         Fundsnet services www.fundsnetservices.com

§         Mickeys-place-in-the-sun www.mickeys-place-in-the-sun.com

§         Council of Foundations www.cof.org

§    The Fellowship and Assistantship Division’s Foundation Hotlist http://www.grad.washington.edu/fellow/hotlist.htm

§         Grantsnet http://www.grantsnet.org

§         Studyabroad.com http://www.studyabroad.com/

3. Have a fundraiser

Get together with your friends and organize a fundraiser for a specific cause. For example you can affiliate with a nonprofit to travel to Ghana and help children dying of malnutrition. In order to raise adequate funds you can organize a gala dinner, a musical event, or a fashion show. Give as much publicity as you can for your cause.

4. Slow but steady wins the race

Talk to a financial advisor about long term investments. Yes, this takes years to grow, and in some cases, it may not grow that quickly. However, if you already have some savings, then, rather than keeping it in the cupboard or spending it on partying or concert sales, invest it wisely. CDs, stocks, bonds, and treasury bills are a few examples. Clueless about long terms investments? That’s fine. The library has plenty of books on it, so does the Internet. Too lazy to read? Talk to a broker for one hour. They will tell you what you may not know about long term investments.

5. Think frugal

Frugal living must be integrated into you day to day lifestyle. Think frugally and let it be a running theme in your life. Pick up everything you don’t need or can do without,  and have a yard sale. It may not bring thousands of dollars, but it is a good way to pick up a few dollars to stash away towards your travel raising fund.

Cut coupons before you do grocery shopping. You can save more than you think, if you cut coupons and discipline yourself to buy according to the list every week.

Cook at home rather than eating out. Eating out can really eat into your resources. It’s fun cooking at home too.