Financial Update

Here's an update about finances, since we have new contribution information!
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Original Budget:

Flight $1800

Baggage Fee $150

Visa $25

Ground transportation $50

School Supplies $250

Living Expenses $900

Total: $3175

Funds:

Indiegogo $1723.36

Donations: $100

Total: $1823.36

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Deficit: $1351.64

My Contribution: $1250

So I'm still a bit in the red. However, I plan to see how much I can raise on my own! Here are some of the ways I plan to put money aside:

• Selling assets
• Grants and funding
• Odd jobs
• Saving each month (which I have already started)
• Birthday contributions
• Garage sale!

I'm hopeful that I'll be able to make up the difference, and I'll have more information soon about how to get a souvenir, how to contribute now that the campaign is over, and what my plans are! This is the beginning of an exciting time.

Again, thanks to everyone who helped out!

Donor Acknowledgements!

Hello everyone!

Here's the blog shout-out that I promised you. For those of you who chose to remain anonymous (even though I know who you are), if you want an acknowledgement just send me a message and let me know!

First, a fuzzy shout-out to my anonymous funders:

Family and friends, thank you all! I couldn't have done this without you. I'll be keeping in touch when it comes time to leave, and I appreciate what you've done, even if it's behind the scenes. People in <Aisthesis>, sorry about losing your GM for a couple of weeks and putting up with our officer corps running things, but let it be known that your suffering will be for a good cause!

Thanks to:
RBR
Grace
Harmony
Aunt Tess
Super-nova
Darren
My wonderful godparents
Uncle Rudy
Uncle Steve and Aunt Debbie, who chose to send checks rather than contribute on Indiegogo, adding to my campaign total after the fact!

And of course my parents and boyfriend, who have pledged their support to me and contributed in ways that go beyond donations.

Thanks to everyone who shared my link and put up with my social media spamming (sorry!).

*A special thanks to Daharel, who pestered the people around him tirelessly in support of my cause.*

For those of you who want a Cambodian souvenir, I'll be working out details in the upcoming months. Please follow my blog for details about trip planning, syllabus planning, and goodies!

And, we're done!

It's late, so this will be brief--but a huge thank you post is coming later, plus the blog acknowledgements for anyone who donated who chose to put their name on their donation.

After fees, my campaign raised $1784.51. (Edit: I forgot about Paypal fees on top of regular fees. The actual amount is $1723.86). I'm thrilled that we made it as far as we did. That puts the sum total of positive projected money at $3035 (Edit: $2974), if I throw in a contribution of $1250.49 (Edit: $2973.36) (I have some spare change somewhere, I'm sure).

Money: $2974
Estimated Cost: $3175

Total: -$201

As I said this weekend, a deficit is somewhat of a big deal, because making my portion of the bargain isn't a number I came up with spontaneously, but a monthly target. I plan to sell some assets and to work as much as I can given my schedule. However, I think everything will work out in the end. Either I will not end up bringing donations with me (I was planning on bringing a beat-up suitcase and leaving it there) or I'll bring a small bag's worth. It really depends on the cost of the lesson plan materials on my syllabus. But anyway, here's what having the money allows me to do:

1) Talk to the school and commit to dates. I'm so, so, so happy about this.
2) Start planning lessons based on what they expect me to do.
3) Figure out my end of the finances.

To everyone who wished me well, even if you didn't donate, you're the best. Thank you all so much. I'll be rolling out the red carpet for my donors in the coming days.

My Indiegogo Campaign Closes on 5/19/14

Hello everyone!

I'm so excited about the campaign contributions I've received so far, but my campaign is about to come to an end, and I need your help! Please like, share, and donate if you can. I've thought about my budget and put the conclusions below. If you don't want to read about the itemization and rationales, just skip to the summary section. Thanks for reading!

Current Budget
+
Indiegogo $1826-FEES=$1661
Expected Contribution $1250
Total +: $2911

-
Flight $1800
Baggage Fee $150
Visa $25
Ground transportation $50
School Supplies $250
Living Expenses $900
Total -: $3175

Total Difference:
-$264

So, I'm in the red. If I don't make my campaign goal, I get to keep the funds, but Indiegogo keeps 9% of the contributions instead of 4%. I knew that going in, but I decided to reach for the stars anyway.

Now, I know that some people may contribute to my campaign at a later date in a manner that doesn't involve fees. I would be very appreciative of that. $1250 is a stretch goal for me in terms of money to save up over the next few months, and I may have to push my travel time back a bit to help save over a longer period. When I outlined the budget on Indiegogo, I reached for the stars in terms of classroom materials and expected donations, whereas I went for almost the bare minimum when it comes to living expenses (I did opt for a place with hot water to live in, though). So the question would be, where to cut?

Sample Revised Budget
Flight $1800
Visa $25
Ground transportation $50

These three categories are set in stone, since I still need to get over there in order to teach.

Required Total: $1875

Baggage Fee $150
School Supplies $250
Living Expenses $900

Here's where things get tricky. I calculated living expenses for one month's worth of travel. Let's assume we're trying to keep that as long as we can, since length of stay > donations to school in this case.

I can pack the bare minimum, which means I won't be able to donate books and laptops to the school, but completely removes the baggage fee. I can also cut out the school donation, but I still need teaching supplies. Let's assume I can halve the supplies budget.

That leaves me at $1025, giving an overall expense of $2900 and making the campaign affordable.

If we go the other way and assume that I want to keep the donations, gifts, and VIP supplies, on the assumption that objects linger longer than presence, then I would have a starting cost of $400 plus living expenses. My total target is $1025, so I would have $625 to live on. When I calculated living expenses, I estimated $15/night for lodgings, and $15/day for food and transportation to and from the school, which is doable. How many days, then, could I afford to stay?

The answer is 20 days, so, with weekends, I would be able to teach for about two and a half weeks, but I would have to leave in the middle of a week.

Summary
What does that mean for you? It means that a donation of $30 adds an extra day to my trip, a donation of $150 guarantees I'll be able to collect items to donate and bring them safely with me to Cambodia, and a donation of $250 guarantees school supplies and a small donation to the school. Please do what you can. I appreciate it.