Would You Crowdsource Your Holiday?
Want to see the world but lack the dollar bills to do so? This new crowdfunding platform wants to help you out with that.
FundMyTravel is a site that lets users crowdsource their next big adventure by creating a campaign and asking their friends/family to donate money. People then use that money to support their dream trip. The idea is that users will be able to explain the meaning behind their travel plans, and as a result, gain monetary support from friends, family and kind strangers. There is a catch however: FundMyTravel take 5 percent of all the money raised as a “finders fee”.
Most of the well-funded trips seem to have some sort of meaning behind them or offer a compelling reason to donate. For example, there are some trips we’d understand supporting: family emergencies, community projects, meaningful work abroad, or using FundMyTravel to pool money for a gift. Then there’s trips we’d think say ‘probs not’ to – say, your annual month-long European summer vacay or your chopper ride to the Hamptons. It obviously it all comes down to the person donating, though.
The site has already funded numerous campaigns, each as wide-ranging as the next. One page is set up to help two US students fund their volunteer trip to an orphanage in Cambodia. Another is a surprise trip to the Bahamas for “Kelly”, who hasn’t been outside of the US before, set up by her friends to celebrate her 50th birthday.
That said, there are other ways to fund that dream trip across the world that don’t involve asking your friends or family to contribute their hard-earned dollars. If you need a little extra help, here’s 9 pretty easy tips to save for your next holiday to kick your butt into gear.
