How can Operation Groundswell claim to be accessible, when it's so expensive?
Posted by Kid Sidney 5 years 10 months ago
Answers
Thank you for your question! As a non-profit we keep our program fees as low as we possibly can in an effort to maintain accessibility, but we understand that international travel can be expensive, and that they may still be inaccessible to some.
These fees do cover quite a bit, including on-the-ground expenses like all meals, accommodations, transportation, excursions, entrances to historical/cultural sites, and two incredible program leaders who are there 24/7 to guide you through your experience. They also go toward our operational costs like the design, development, and support that goes into each program. Rather than just arranging individual volunteer positions, we carefully plan full group itineraries alongside our local partners that are designed to share a diverse array of stories and uncover intricacies in the regions we travel to.
You can find a full breakdown of our program fee here: http://operationgroundswell.com/programs/fee-contribution/ We try our best to be as transparent as possible as to where your money goes. You'll also find our financial reports on that page.
That being said, in an effort to make our programs more financially accessible we offer some financial support options, including a financial needs grant that can cover 15 to 25% of the program fee for any of our 35- and 40-day programs: https://operationgroundswell.com/programs/financial-support/ We also offer support in fundraising for some or all of your program fee, and are happy to work with you to provide any supporting documentation that might help you apply to external scholarships or bursaries.
We are working to have more options available in the near future, but unfortunately as a small organization our resources are limited! This is an important issue for us, and we are consistently trying to find the balance between the labour that goes into coordinating ethical travel and experiential education initiatives, and maintaining financial accessibility.
If you have any other questions or concerns please don't hesitate to reach out - you can also email us directly at mail@operationgroundswell.com!
Thank you for your question! As a non-profit we keep our program fees as low as we possibly can in an effort to maintain accessibility, but we understand that international travel can be expensive, and that they may still be inaccessible to some.
These fees do cover quite a bit, including on-the-ground expenses like all meals, accommodations, transportation, excursions, entrances to historical/cultural sites, and two incredible program leaders who are there 24/7 to guide you through your experience. They also go toward our operational costs like the design, development, and support that goes into each program. Rather than just arranging individual volunteer positions, we carefully plan full group itineraries alongside our local partners that are designed to share a diverse array of stories and uncover intricacies in the regions we travel to.
You can find a full breakdown of our program fee here: http://operationgroundswell.com/programs/fee-contribution/ We try our best to be as transparent as possible as to where your money goes. You'll also find our financial reports on that page.
That being said, in an effort to make our programs more financially accessible we offer some financial support options, including a financial needs grant that can cover 15 to 25% of the program fee for any of our 35- and 40-day programs: https://operationgroundswell.com/programs/financial-support/ We also offer support in fundraising for some or all of your program fee, and are happy to work with you to provide any supporting documentation that might help you apply to external scholarships or bursaries.
We are working to have more options available in the near future, but unfortunately as a small organization our resources are limited! This is an important issue for us, and we are consistently trying to find the balance between the labour that goes into coordinating ethical travel and experiential education initiatives, and maintaining financial accessibility.
If you have any other questions or concerns please don't hesitate to reach out - you can also email us directly at mail@operationgroundswell.com!
-Anna