Finances

Program Directors (PDs) raise funds to cover their living expenses, travel insurance, professional development, operational costs, and personal living stipend. Since we are able to distribute certain costs over periods of time, monthly financial breakdown varies based on program commitment.

Monthly Expense Breakdown*	13-month	7-month	5-month
Living Expenses (room & board, transportation, visas)	$440	$485	$495
MEDEX International Travel Insurance	$45	$65	$65
Professional Development	$20	$80	$100
Operating Expenses (on-site & US)	$100	$145	$160
Personal Living Stipend	$80	$80	$80
Monthly Total Commitment Total	$685/month $8900	$855/month $6000	$900/month $4500

*This monthly expense breakdown is an average across all sites. Specific monthly breakdowns vary by international site and number of Program Directors on site.

Fundraising

To help you fundraise for your Program Director position, we offer resources and support to PDs as they seek donations. Once accepted, PDs receive a fundraising kit, which includes letter campaign templates, commitment cards, and other tools to help them achieve their fundraising goals. All deductions to MPI are tax-deductible, and strictly confidential between MPI’s administrators and the individual for whom donations are designated or who operates the designated program.

Scholarships

Below are several third-party sites that offer scholarships to volunteers. Each scholarship has different requirements that might fit a certain individual. Please note, MPI is not affiliated with any of these organizations, and applications must be completed independently.

All People Be Happy: The AllPeopleBeHappy Volunteer Service Award enables volunteers to do service projects in the developing world. These Volunteer Service Awards enable impassioned young people to give of their time and talents while expanding their understanding of people and communities living in poverty. Two MPI Program Directors were awarded scholarships for the 2013-2014 year!

LIVFund: Candidates coming to Latin America with an organized program, designing their own program or still waiting to be accepted to an abroad program are all eligible to apply. Students, interns and volunteers who are already abroad are also eligible to receive funding. Candidates may apply for the LIVFund Scholarship up to six [6] months in advance of their program start date.

Christianson Grant: The Christianson Grant is awarded to individuals who have arranged their own work abroad programs. Proposed programs must be at least six months in length and emphasize a work component. The grant program does not support independent research projects or academic study abroad programs.

DoSomething: The applicant must be 25 or under and a U.S. or Canadian citizen.

You can apply for as many grants as you'd like, but you can only win one grant from Do Something in a twelve month period. We are one of the only organizations that puts money directly into the hands of young people, our community action grants help turn dream projects into a reality and take existing projects to the next level.

Krista Foundation: Trista Colleagues joins our ecumenical Christian mentoring community and receives a $1000 Service and Leadership Development Grant. The Grant must be used to explore vocational interests and develop leadership and service skills while on assignment or shortly thereafter; these opportunities are usually not possible while living on subsistence wages.

Travel & Language School Account (optional): max of $3000

A separate account designated specifically for a program director’s travel and additional language school is available for each participant. Funds must be specifically donated towards this separate account or must be in excess to the required annual financial commitment, and may only be accessed by the participant on the basis of a reimbursement. To receive a reimbursement from this account receipts must be presented to the designated administrative figure with a description of the expense. Travel expenses will only be granted if the travel is MPI-related, with a maximum of two roundtrip flights not exceeding $2500 total. MPI-related travel includes traveling to and from your respective site at the beginning and end of the 13 months as well as one additional “wellness” trip during winter break or another approved vacation period. For all other travel, program directors need to plan ahead and set aside the necessary personal funds in order to buy airfare (i.e. job interviews, weddings, etc.). If a participant fails to raise enough money for their living expenses, money from this separate account will be automatically transferred to cover them. Unused money in this account will go toward the Manna General Fund unless specified by the participant.

Insurance

MPI's policy with MEDEX is an international travel insurance policy, and therefore designed to cover emergencies while our volunteers are living internationally. If you have preexisting health conditions, please review this policy and its coverage to determine if you should also keep your current personal insurance or if you need to purchase additional coverage for your time abroad. To receive a copy of MPI's insurance policy, or for more information, please contact Lori Scharffenberg at lori@mannaproject.org.