Nicaragua Program Donations/Scholarships
We are both a volunteer and fundraising organization; our volunteers commit to help raise funds for the programs we sponsor. We encourage volunteers not pay any of their program donations, but instead raise funds through the sponsorship of family and friends. When you sign up, you will receive an on-line fundraising page that will allow you to easily send out informative emails to family and friends, inviting them to sponsor you through donations on-line, or checks sent through the mail. Volunteers are invited to join us any week of the year, for any number of weeks, starting on a Saturday and ending on a Saturday. We do not have any closed periods. Please note that your registration, minimum program donation, and flight ticketing must be completed at least 30 days prior to the start of your trip.
Program Donation - Fundraising Goal
The minimum program donation is dependent on the length of your stay. Most volunteers are able to raise 100% of their program donation by using our online fundraising system! This table shows the minimum program donation per person:
*An additional $125/week ($500/month) for longer than 8 weeks. | |||
Donations to Outreach360 are non-refundable. If a volunteer is not able to participate on the trip for any reasons, funds credited to the trip may be used by that volunteer for a future trip taken within 12 months. If a future trip is not taken, the funds will be used to operate our learning centers.
The program donation covers your housing, all meals, ground transportation, and traveler's medical insurance while you are with us in-country. Airfare is additional. Your program donation also helps support the costs of our community initiatives. Your $100/person deposit is part of your program donation. Your deposit and total program donation are tax deductible donations for U.S. tax payers.
A $100/person deposit is due when registering. This deposit is credited toward your program donation.
Program Start and End Dates
Outreach360 programs run Saturday to Saturday for our Nicaragua program. We request that you arrive and depart on the Saturdays of your trip, with your flight scheduled to arrive and depart the Managua (MGA) airport between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. This schedule provides our volunteers the best possible volunteer experience, and is optimum for the transportation and other logistical efficiencies of Outreach360 which helps us keep the program donation low. Ground transportation from the Managua airport to the volunteer location and back is included in the minimum program donation for those volunteers able to meet this schedule.
However, we also know that this schedule is not always possible for our individual volunteers and volunteer teams. If you need to arrive on Friday or earlier, or depart Sunday or later, you should plan on the following impact to your program donation and transportation costs:
Arriving a day or more early (Friday or earlier)The minimum program donation will be increased by $50/person/day, up to three additional days. For more than 3 additional days, the program donation for an additional week applies. There will be added ground transportation costs (see below). This additional cost is applied even if the total stay is the normal 7 nights. Please contact us if you have a unique situation.Departing a day or more late (Sunday or later)The minimum program donation will be increased by $50/person/day, up to three additional days. For more than 3 additional days, the program donation for an additional week applies. There will be added ground transportation costs (see below). This additional cost is applied even if the total stay is the normal 7 nights. Please contact us if you have a unique situation.Transportation FeesGround transportation is included in the program donation for those volunteers arriving and departing Nicaragua on the Saturdays of their trip between the hours of 8am and 10pm to the Managua (MGA) airport. For those who are unable to meet those requirements, we will still arrange reliable transportation for you, but there may be additional transportation fees. A taxi will be between $100-$150; and for teams, a bus that holds 15-20 volunteers will be $300/bus (one way).
Scholarships/Credits
Outreach360 offers several scholarships or program donation credits for those who meet the following criteria.
Early Sign-up Scholarships
We encourage you to sign up for the trip as soon as you can. It enables us to do better plan for your experience, helps to ensure you are well prepared for the trip, and improves your fund-raising effectiveness. If you sign-up and have your $100 deposit donation into our office by the early sign-up deadline, you will be credited an additional $100 toward your program donation. A condition of the early sign-up scholarship is that your remaining program donation is received in our office at least 30 days prior to your trip. The following is a chart of the early sign-up deadlines:
| Program | Program Dates | Sign-Up/Deposit Deadline for Groups |
| Summer 2012 | May 26 - Aug 31 | April 1, 2012 |
| Fall 2012 | Sept 1 - Nov 30 | July 1, 2012 |
| Winter 2012-13 Spring 2013 Summer 2013 Fall 2013 | Dec 1 - Feb 1 Feb 2 - May 31 Jun 1 - Aug 30 Sep 1 - Nov 29 | October 1, 2012 December 1, 2012 April 1, 2013 July 1, 2013 |
Group ScholarshipsWe encourage groups to join us as the more volunteers we have, the more children we can work with. There are also economies of scale in serving a group, and we pass those savings on. A group of 10 or more will be credited $100/person. For example, a one week program donation for a group of 10 or more who sign up by the early sign-up deadline is $600/person ($800 Program Fee - $100 Group Scholarship - $100 Early Sign-up Scholarship = $600). Children receiving a child scholarship do not count toward the minimum group size of 10.
Ground transportation between the Managua airport and our volunteer site in Jinotega is included when the team arrives and departs on the same Saturday flights, between 8:00 A.M. and 10:00 P.M. If an individual or individuals on your team travels at a different time than the group, he/she may be responsible for the taxi to and/or from our volunteer site in Jinotega - up to $150 each way.
Team Leader ScholarshipFor every 10 non-child program donations paid, the 11th program donation is waived as a team leader scholarship. In return, the team leader is expected to manage his/her team's finances, input the team's flight information into O360 Connect, and keep the team roster up to date.
Child ScholarshipsOutreach360 is a great experience to share as a family. This scholarship is meant to reduce the fundraising requirements for any individual family. Each child under the age of 18 traveling with his or her parent will be responsible for a minimum program donation of $300/week. Note: this scholarship cannot be combined with other scholarships.
Fundraising
The goal of Outreach360 is to involve people to provide educational opportunities to disadvantaged children. You are already volunteering your time, we encourage you to allow other people to make a difference through you by becoming a financial sponsor of your trip.
We encourage you to raise funds using your personal fund-raising page. Using O360 Connect, you can edit a pre-created e-mail template, and send it to your family and friends. They are then able to make a difference by making an on-line donation toward your trip. You can easily check the funds raised versus your goal on a personalized "thermometer chart" on your web page.
Airfare is the responsibility of each volunteer, and although it is usually tax deductible it will not be reimbursed by Outreach360 from funds raised.