Crowdfunding is one of the best alternative ways to fund travel. But you may wonder: why would someone want to pay me go on vacation?
The answer: you promise to give something back. Not just in the form of perks via IndieGoGo (which are, of course, awesome as well), but by doing something even larger.
Some of our favorite current travel-oriented projects are doing just that. These people are reaching far-off destinations by asking others to help get them there. But they’re also offering something in return — either by helping others, or providing content so people can follow them and learn along the way.
(See above photo.) Cody Mafatu is trying to raise $20,000 to travel to Indonesia. And he’s going to report back about his experience the whole way via his mobile phone, creating an entire series that will give even couch potatoes a glimpse of this fascinating country. A $5 donation gets you a postcard from his travels, and everyone will get to watch his adventures online.
Six American teens will be traveling to Thailand for 10 days to live and volunteer at an elephant sanctuary, help repair a small town school house, and visit Buddhist temples. Each teen will pair with a teen from Thailand as an opportunity for cultural exchange — and they’ll be filming a documentary, too!
Video Eldorado – The Ultimate Humanitarian Road Trip
This group of 6 people from Quebec used funds from IndieGoGo to purchase an old school bus and travel across North America into Honduras “giving video, photo and art workshops to marginalized, minority or underprivelliged groups” at stops along the way.
Year of Meditation, Writing and Service
Dominic Gregorio is raising money to take a healing trip to the Philippines for a year of solitude and meditation in hopes of curing eczema. In living as a monk, Dominic says he’s setting his eyes “on the only thing that is really important: to heal myself, to heal my mind and body, and to deepen and heighten my level of consciousness so that I may in turn give it back to the world in my own unique way.” His perks include inclusion in his daily meditation and prayer, and distance Reiki healing.
Jacqueline Gunn- a Kiva Fellow
Jacqueline is taking an unpaid career break to volunteer overseas for Kiva, a micro-lending organization that helps support small businesses in the developing world. She’s asking for funds to help cover the cost of flights, training, even malaria vaccinations, so that she can work on a volunteer basis for 6 months.
Earlier this week we caught up with Jacqueline to ask her opinions and advice for financing travel on IndieGoGo:
What inspired you to use IndieGoGo to help fund your travel or, why not just do it on your own?
Overall, how was the experience raising money for your travels on IndieGoGo? What advice would you give to someone else who was looking to do the same thing?
Its everyone’s dream to get funded for their trip….Hope we build awesome products on this..