One of the things I have struggled with as I prepare to leave for Tanzania is fundraising. On the one hand, I would love to raise money for this trip, but at the same time I feel extremely uncomfortable asking people for money, even though I believe that this is one of the more positive ways an individual could impact lives in Africa.
Why do I feel uncomfortable asking people for money? I feel uncomfortable because it makes me feel incredibly self interested, even though I will effectively spend 10 months in Africa as an unpaid volunteer. I feel self-interested because while I am motivated by a genuine desire to do good in the world – to work to make a difference in the world – I would not be doing this project if it didn’t align with my life goals. I feel self-interested because I would fund this commitment by myself if nobody wanted to donate to it. I feel self-interested because ultimately any money that I raise will go directly to funding the costs associated with me volunteering in Tanzania.
Despite having these feelings, I know intellectually that I am wrong. Every non-governmental organization (NGO) I am familiar with has a budget. They must fundraise, not only so that they are able to do good in the world, but also so that the people who work at NGOs can feed their families. And, without getting into too much of a discussion about the the many failures of NGOs around the world, WorldTeach‘s model for service is relatively sustainable, and is based on local needs. Unlike, to take an example from the recent press, Invisible Children, WorldTeach’s budget is largely devoted to program expenses, and it develops partnerships with governments and schools to assess need, allowing a degree of local ownership over the role teachers like myself play. By adopting a volunteer-based model, WorldTeach actually allows its volunteers to be active advocates for an important cause across the world – education. Some volunteers do this better than others (evidence: a fellow 2012-13 volunteer’s fundraising website).
I am not entirely (at all?) comfortable in this role, despite the fact that I do believe this a worthy cause to give to. While I believe that raising awareness is extremely important, I have doubts about how effectively and accurately fundraising drives can do this (see, again, Invisible Children – I will have to make a post about this later on or this will entirely derail this post). Beyond this, I simply have too many doubts about the role of NGOs in development.
To date, I have fundraised only $100 of my $5,990 commitment. The $4,290 I have already paid is the result of somewhere over 350 hours of working in a restaurant this past year. This leaves $1,600 more that I need to raise, or over three full paychecks. My boss has generously agreed to host a fundraiser for me at work next month, and I hope to raise some more money there, but to be honest I don’t want to put a ton of effort into raising money for a project that is mostly about me (though, obviously, the effects of a donation radiate far beyond me).
Still, if you decide that you’d like to forfeit your next coffee at Starbucks, or the new shoes you’ve been looking at, I would greatly appreciate your contribution. You can make a donation before May 31 by going to the WorldTeach website, and clicking the red
‘Donate/Pay’ button on the top right. Make sure you choose‘Contribution to Volunteer Fee’ and put my name (Alexander Rolnick) in the ‘WorldTeach Volunteer’ box. All donations are tax deductible, and WorldTeach will mail you a receipt.