Scholarship Opportunities
All People Be Happy: The AllPeopleBeHappy Volunteer Service Award enables impassioned young people to give of their time and talents while expanding their understanding of people and communities living in poverty. Several MPI Program Directors have been awarded scholarships each year!
General and Diversity Scholarships: A number of different resources to financially support a semester abroad.
The Fund for Education Abroad (FEA): Provides scholarships and ongoing support for students who are traditionally underrepresented among the U.S. study abroad population, including students of color, first-generation students, and community college students.
Christianson Grant: The Christianson Grant is awarded to individuals who have arranged their own work abroad programs.
DoSomething: DoSomething puts money directly into the hands of young people through community action grants to help turn dream projects into a reality and take existing projects to the next level.
Go Overseas: Two scholarships available for volunteers to travel abroad in the spring and fall each year. The award is (most often) distributed directly to the volunteer organization itself, which ensures that the funds are used entirely for the project.
Krista Foundation: Recipients join an ecumenical Christian mentoring community and receive a $1000 Service and Leadership Development Grant. Funds must be used to explore vocational interests and develop leadership and service skills while on assignment or shortly thereafter.
The Samuel Huntington Public Service Award: Provides a stipend of $10,000 - $15,000 for a graduating college senior to volunteer for one year, either alone or with an established organization anywhere in the world.
Volunteer Forever: Participants in volunteer abroad, study abroad, intern abroad, teach abroad, and work abroad programs are invited to apply. Scholarship winners directly receive the proceeds and may use their scholarship for their program fee, airfare, travel insurance, or other trip expenses.
*ScholarTrips: ScholarTrips is a scholarship program that awards creativity and the desire to learn through travel. Since its beginning in 2004, it has awarded over $150,000 to students across the United States—and this year it could be you!
*This is an option for Program Directors and Summer Interns who apply early (the previous year) to Manna Project, because applications are due between Oct 5th-Nov 9th.
New Generations Service Exchange: Contact your local Rotary Club to see if you may be able to get funding. Eligibility requirements vary from club to club.
Honor Societies: If you are a member of any honor societies, be sure to check what scholarships they offer. (Some, like the Golden Key Honor Society offer grants for studying or volunteering abroad)
Your Alma Mater: Oftentimes, your university will offer grant and scholarship opportunities. Be sure to speak with your guidance counselor about these opportunities!
Abroad Public Scholarship Database: Dozens of scholarship opportunities for volunteering abroad
Fundraising Ideas
We are here to assist and support your fundraising efforts in any way we can. Below are a few ideas to get you started. Visit here for more detailed information and resources.
On-campus Event
Family and friends Event
hold an auction with prizes donated from local businesses
Host a dinner party and charge a small admission fee/set up a donations box
Friendsgiving Dinner
Do a 50/50 raffle (friends and family can purchase tickets and then half the money goes to the winner and half to you)
Do a reverse raffle (hold a dinner/event and have your family and friends buy raffle tickets and then throughout the night pull out tickets and the last one left in the bowl is the winner of a prize)
Hold a community car wash
Yard sale or Bake sale
Start a blog once on site or a monthly newsletter
Utilize your talents
If you’re creative you can create t-shirts, tote bags, paintings, jewelry, etc that you can sell to raise money
Ask for sponsorships from local businesses you’re connected to
your high school job, a family business, local church, local gym, etc.
Host a community event
Host a Parents Party: If your community has a lot of families, you can host a parents’ party while you watch the kids. It’s an excellent way to give mom and dad a night out with their friends while you raise money! All you’ll need to do is find a venue. Then you can charge a small amount and set up a fun night of food, drinks, and socializing for parents. You can also set up a donation box for other contributions.
Host a cook-off and charge a small admission fee for people to come judge the food
Hold a backyard BBQ and charge a small fee for people to eat
Start a gift-wrapping service around the holidays
Hold a “Give-it-Up” Fundraiser
A “Give-It-Up” fundraiser is a free fundraiser that can be between you and a close friend, or it can be expanded to include your family members and other acquaintances. Participants agree to give up an indulgence for a certain amount of time and put the money toward your cause or project. This indulgence can be something as simple as a daily latte, a weekly trip to the movies, or a fast food visit. Instead of spending money on these expenses, you put the funds in a jar or a savings account. Over the course of several months or a year, you can save a lot of money!