Fundraising
When it comes time to raise money, the best source is always grants. The federal government invested $90 million into Global Skills Opportunities over five years to increase access to study abroad, particularly to non-traditional destinations and for disadvantaged students. The Programme d’échanges et séjours linguistiques à l’extérieur du Québec (PESLEQ) is a great source of funding for college students in Quebec (see sample PESLEQ application [PDF, 1,3M]). If you’re applying for either Global Skills Opportunities or PESLEQ, be sure to do so early (months, if not years in advance) and to watch deadlines carefully.
After you’ve exhausted all grant opportunities, the next step is to ask for money from various organizations such as your school’s endowment fund. Businesses from the community may also offer to help, particularly if your trip includes a service learning component.
The most time-consuming way to raise money is through student fundraising initiatives. It will be up to you and your team to decide what’s best, but remember that many students prefer to work at a part-time job to pay for their trip rather than dedicate countless hours to selling chocolates for a tiny profit. However, you should include at least some fundraising, as it is an integral part of the team-building process. Lotteries and draws tend to work well, as do big events like parties, casino nights, and dinners. Selling small items such as chocolates or doughnuts tends to be labour-intensive and to produce small margins. Either way, any fundraising initiative will result in issues of equity, since some students, for whatever reason (related to family, sports, work, etc.), will put in less effort than others. This will be discussed further in the Building a community of inquiry section.