Frequently asked questions

How will people be persuaded to support my son / daughter? Believe it or not, there is a great amount of general support to help young people taking a gap year. Educational trusts, grant giving bodies, and philanthropic individuals are willing to help with the costs. If there is one stage in your life when other people are ready to pay for you to spend a fantastic year out, it is when you leave school.
Most important is that they appreciate that the money is being spent constructively. A well-structured gap year with a reputable organisation should mean that young people will learn and gain a great deal from their year away. What's more, they do not fundraise for themselves as individuals, but rather for Project Trust as an educational charity.
We always encourage volunteers to keep in touch with their sponsors through regular newsletters and reports. Sponsors often tell us that it is this feedback, evidence of a great learning experience, which makes them willing to continue to support volunteers in the future.

What if my son or daughter doesn't reach their target? Project Trust is a nonprofit making organisation which has an obligation to cover its costs. Our aim, however, is to help as many people as possible go overseas. We will endeavour to help volunteers who struggle with their target, if they have kept us informed of their progress with fundraising and have made a genuine effort to raise funds. Sometimes this can be in the form of channelling some grants towards a particular volunteer and/or subsidising them from the surplus totals of other volunteers. However, we can only do this if funds are available.
When a volunteer has accepted a place to go overseas, their parents are asked to sign a parental guarantee committing them to underwrite the fundraising total should their son or daughter fall short. In the rare cases that we have to call upon this guarantee, we ask for the money to be paid before the son or daughter departs for overseas. If this is problematic, we can arrange for staggered payments over a period of months. While we ask all parents to sign this guarantee, they aren't obliged to if they are unable, and it has no bearing on the placement of their son or daughter. 

What are the hidden costs in fundraising? Fundraising should be about getting money in. However, there is always a certain financial output to organise a fundraising event or even write letters. These, of course, can all be recouped by the incoming money, but it is fair to say at the beginning of fundraising when volunteers are writing to a hundred plus charities, or booking a venue or a band for an event, that there are costs to be incurred, which may involve you as parents.

Are there additional costs involved in the whole year out with Project? Overall, there are very few additional costs for a Project Trust volunteer. The fundraising total is the same for every volunteer no matter where they are going overseas and it covers all their costs of selection, training and debriefing, insurance and airfares as well as ensuring that all their accommodation and basic living expenses are covered whilst they are at their project overseas.

There are, however, some extras costs for all volunteers. There is the return transport to Oban for selection and training. Any inoculations that are required before heading away. The cost of the correct visa for the country. A medical report from a doctor. And also the money needed for travelling around during the vacations periods at the project. While none of these may be huge on their own, we acknowledge they can add up.

For these items, we recommend that volunteers fundraise separately. Maybe your GP can be persuaded to give you a medical report free of charge? Maybe a relative can be persuaded to pay for the visa as a birthday present? And maybe volunteers can save money they earn through a job to fund their holiday travelling. 

What will be the impact of fundraising on my son/ daughter's school work? There is no doubt that reaching the fundraising total is a challenge which volunteers have to take seriously. The closer it gets to final exams, the more difficult it is to concentrate on fundraising. For this reason we urge anyone who is interested in applying to Project to do so as soon as they can. Volunteers selected before Christmas in their final year at school find it markedly easier to fundraise than those selected afterwards. It is possible to be selected as a volunteer in August - a whole year before heading overseas. And in addition, with exams finishing around the end of June, it leaves at worst another month and a half and at best another two and a half months free of exam pressure to finish fundraising.

Fundraising is a challenge, and volunteers have to look on it as another extra-curricular commitment which may have to push other ones down the priority list, at least for a while. It is, however, also a hugely rewarding thing to do. To have been able to raise to finance your own gap year is no mean achievement, and will be considered so by potential future employers and universities. 

Where does all the money go? All the money raised by volunteers is spent on the operations and support costs of Project Trust. As a charity, we have no shareholders to whom we must pay dividends. Furthermore, as an established organisation on the Isle of Coll all our material costs are covered. Project Trust is paying no interest payments on any debts, nor rent for property.

The vast majority of the fundraising money goes straight into maintaining the systems of support for our volunteers. We have a full-time staff who select, train and maintain contact with the volunteers, including an annual visit to the project. We have a network of representatives, one in each country, who are there to provide help and emergency assistance. We provide the medical insurance and airfares for the volunteers. (See Finance Section also).

What happens if my son or daughter withdraws before going overseas?   Approximately 44% of our costs are incurred before a volunteer attends a training course. If your son or daughter withdraws before 30^th June and more than 44% of the target has been raised Project Trust may refund the difference so long as the paragraphs below are taken into consideration. If this sum has not been reached, Project Trust may bill parents for the shortfall. Requests for refunds must be put in writing and addressed to the Director.