How to pay for your Study Abroad Program: Fundraising

Studying abroad can be a life-changing experience. The most common reason students don’t study abroad is finances. Even though SBCC Study Abroad Programs can be more than 50% cheaper than programs offered at 4-year institutions, coming up with the money to pay for the program can still be challenging.

The good news is that students can use FAFSA, the CA or SBCC Promise and SBCC scholarships towards paying for the program. There are also many other scholarships available (visit our Financial Resources page for more information). But applying for scholarships is time consuming, being selected for a scholarship is not guaranteed and you still have to come up with the money to pay by the payment deadlines because disbursement of scholarship funds is often not happening until the semester or program starts.

Enter: Fundraising for your Study Abroad Program.

Continue reading about the ins and outs and many helpful tips for successful fundraising to make this dream a reality for you!

First, start by putting together a budget. How much money do you really need for this? List all expenses relating to the trip. This can include the program cost, tuition, insurance, flight tickets, passport or visa fees, if applicable, and the cost of food and spending money. Be sure you review the program details and check what exactly is included in your program cost and what is not. Each of our programs has its own program page with those details.

Now that you know how much money you need, figure out how much money you can save in your current situation. Do you live at home? Do you have a part time job? What can you cut out of your daily spending that you can instead put towards your travel funds?

SBCC does not hold fundraisers for individuals participating in the program. However, you can create your personal fundraising and ask the Study Abroad office to support your efforts.

Next, let’s dive into which type of fundraising you can do.

1.      Host an event

There are different events you can organize to raise funds. How about ‘Bad Movie Night’, a trivia night, a beach volleyball tournament or a raffle?

You can keep costs low by asking friends, local businesses or community members to donate prizes, or you can partner with any local space that’s willing to offer their venue for free. 

If you get a venue to partner with you, they usually keep the income generated from the food and drinks, but you can ask for entry fees or donations at the door to keep. There are many local venues you can investigate such as the Biergarten, Validation Annex, Draughtsman Ale in Goleta and other family friendly venues.

2.      Sell something

There are so many entrepreneurial students in this area. From students who started their own swimwear (like Rebecca Jamgochian’s Elua Swimwear), vintage clothing, original Peruvian baskets and more, you can tap into your own entrepreneurial spirit and sell something you make. Bake cookies, braid unique dog leashes, paint pet portraits, or sell other handmade crafts like pottery, your photography as postcards or screen-printed T-Shirts. Use your social media to promote your sales items and tag @studyabroadsbcc to put your post on blast!

3.      Provide a service

If you are not exactly crafty but you have a can-do attitude, offer a service. From grocery shopping for the elderly, dog-walking or baby-sitting to mowing lawns, pulling weeds, tutoring, or running errands. If you are really creative, come up with something unique like offering people to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ in a costume as surprise, delivering flowers reciting poetry, curate a picnic for two at a local park (Steven’s Park is a great location with shade, a restroom and an area for kids).

Organize everything by using your Google Calendar (you can create appointment slots) and accept payments via Paypal or Venmo.

4.      Online Fundraising

SBCC teamed up with FundMyTravel to make online fundraising easier.  The online platform is perfect to fundraise for your meaningful travel experience. You create a campaign page, complete a brief profile to build trust, add a video and tell your story!

FundMyTravel has a team of dedicated staff that will help you reach your fundraising goals. They provide tips and insights on the best ways to spread your word and offer sharing tools to get your campaign greater exposure through social media and email.

For a fee, there are also platforms such as Givebutter who will build your page, collect payments, and offer promotional tools all in one.

Fundraising Tips

Whichever way you plan to raiser funds, the greatest step to success is organization. Step one of organizing was creating your budget. Check! Once you set a clear goal on how much money you want to raise, figure out what your message is and how you will get the word out.

Here are some tips to stay organized: 

Tip 1: Budget

In order for anyone to give you money, they need to know how much money you need and what you plan on using it for! You want to be very specific about what you are using the money for. Will it cover your flight, tuition, food while abroad, additional travel expenses? Link to the specific program page from the general SBCC Study Abroad program page and highlight the ‘Cost’ section that lists what is covered in the program cost, and what you need to come up with to cover additional costs. 

Tip 2: Tell your story

If people understand why you are going abroad on this particular program, they are more likely to contribute financially. Are you a STEM major going to Germany? While the SBCC Study Abroad programs don’t have a major requirement, courses can fulfill your IGETC requirements for transfer. In general, any study abroad experience will help you grow personally and professionally.  Let donors know why you chose this program. What do you hope to learn on the program? How do you think this will change you? What difference do you think you can make going to that contribute to the foreign community? What do you think you’ll contribute back to your local community when you return? Write a personal statement that shows your motivation and your passion. 

Tip 3: Promote, promote, promote

Make flyers including QR codes to your fundraising page. Print copies and spread them on campus including the SBCC Study Abroad office, at your favorite coffee shop, gym, Yoga place, or at your work. Ask friends and family to share flyers at their work or favorite places. Create social media posts and remind people. You will need several posts over several weeks to make people aware of the fundraiser and give to your cause. Don’t think only one post will generate many donations. Update your followers on the progress of your fundraising campaign. Thank previous donors for their generosity, show your excitement about the donations and the trip! Continue to let your friends and family (on social media and IRL) , your teachers or employer know how important this trip is to you and why they should contribute. Post the info in your group chats. Mutual Aid is a thing, so utilize current efforts to support each other by asking others to help you spread the word. Your school buddy may not have money to give to your effort, but they can share your fundraising info!

Do you have a local radio station? Why not call and ask if they’d help spread the word? Or either tag your local reporter or sent them an IM message. Social media is enabling you to reach out to local personalities directly, use it!

Utilize SBCC and/or your current institution to spread the word

In addition to getting in touch with the SBCC Study Abroad office, you can talk to your faculty or staff, connect with any programs you are part of such as Umoja, EOPS, Raices, Transfer Center or your student club like the SBCC Ambassadors, the Biology Club, Asian Student Union.  (for a list of current clubs check HERE.) Reach out to your student newspaper such as SBCC’s The Channels to see if they might be interested in writing an article about your endeavor and including your fundraising link. 

Acknowledge those who helped you reach your goal

In addition to posting thank you messages on your social media platforms along the way (make them semi-personal by tagging them in the post), create a personal ‘Thank you’ message when the fundraiser has closed. Don’t forget those who helped spread the word. Handwrite personal notes to donors, especially if they were able to give you bigger amounts.

If you included an amount for gifts in your budget, let those donors know that you will bring them back a small souvenir from the places you’ll visit and most importantly, follow through on the promise!

Set your fundraising goal realistically and start fundraising as soon as you know how much money you need to raise. Get everyone excited and involved in your effort and who knows, in addition to getting help raising funds, you may just gain a whole community of supporters and friends that will be excited to hear about your trip when you return!

Meet with the Study Abroad program advisor before you start your fundraising efforts and don't forget to stop by to share your experience when you return!!