Key Questions

Consider the following when preparing your project description:

• What is the purpose of your project?
• How will you measure the success of your project?
• How will this experience personally transform you as a student, professional, and/or leader in your community?
• Why is this experience unique?
• Why won’t you be able to replicate this transformation on a local level?
• Why won’t you be able to achieve your desired result without this funding opportunity?

Example

Consider student John Smith who wants to travel to Peru to volunteer in the Amazon Rainforest. His field of study is biology, and he is passionate about environmental conservation.

A GOOD proposal would look something like this:

Funding Request: $2,500
Project Budget: $4,370

• Airfare: Ranging $750-$1,000 round trip NYC-Cusco
• Program Cost: $3,370 (all inclusive)
  • Accommodation
  • Three meals a day
  • Travel and medical insurance
  • Airport pick-up and drop-off
  • Full induction and orientation by an experienced staff member on arrival
  • Transport to and from work placement
  • In-country support and 24-hour back-up from full-time local staff
  • Emergency assistance from international emergency response team
  • Project equipment and materials, including access to database with thousands of resources
  • A supervisor/mentor at work placement
  • Training and workshops from experienced local staff
  • Regular social events and community activities with other volunteers
  • Access to local office with internet connection
  • Certification of project completion

Project Description:

Environmental conservation is a crucial issue facing our planet. On this trip, organized by “Projects Abroad,” I will be working as a Conservation Volunteer in Peru. The Taricaya Ecological Reserve provides volunteers with hands-on experience on a wide range of projects designed to research and conserve the wildlife in the Amazon Rainforest. Researchers and volunteers from past trips have found success through publications in scientific journals, presentations in international conferences, and the filming of many documentaries on the work done in Peru. At Taricaya we are actively studying the ecosystem so that the research and data allow us to design effective conservation strategies. I will be assisting with thorough bio-diversity research that encompasses birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, insects, and plants. In addition to learning about the ecosystem, I will be learning about the pressures it faces and how the people in the area depend on it to survive.

This trip will not only be beneficial to my education and future career, but will impact me personally. In the face of climate change, unregulated waste disposal, and the continued burning of fossil fuels, I want to make a difference. I make a difference daily by recycling, supporting local environmental organizations, and through my college studies, however, this project would allow me to impact the world on a scale larger than myself and allow me a deeper understanding of what my goals mean from the global perspective.

Funding part of this trip would allow me to save my personal funds for my textbooks, housing, and other costs of attending New York Tech. Not only that, but it would be a memorable and once in a lifetime opportunity that my college provided for me.

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A BAD proposal would look something like this:

Funding Request: $2,500
Project Budget: $4,370

• Airfare, housing, food, extra activities

Project Description:

I want to go on this trip to Peru because I am passionate about environmental conservation. I study Biology, and this is relevant to my course studies. We will study plants and animals, and I will learn about the Amazon Rainforest. One volunteer project I will participate in is camping out in the forest and tracking the released animals for several months after the release until we are confident that they have established a fixed territory and are healthy and well-nourished after the stressful release process. Please consider funding this opportunity.