How Josh fundraised for his Outward Bound Course - Outward Bound

How Josh fundraised for his Outward Bound Course

Fundraising

24-year-old Josh chose to fundraise to cover his $4,000 Classic course fees. Find out what he did to come up with the cash and why it made his Outward Bound experience even more worthwhile.

Josh Mcgee fundraised to reach Outward Bound

How did you fundraise for your course?
To begin with, I was lucky enough to be sponsored $1,000 by my employers. I also took up extra shifts and put the cash aside come pay day. This gave  me a great headstart.

I also had the idea of setting up a raffle basket, selling around 120 tickets for $2.00 each to both customers at work and family members.

One of my most successful activities was picking up work as an odd job man and gardener. I created a flyer advertising what I was up to and why, handing them out to houses in my neighbourhood. Before I knew it I was swamped with jobs and requests for mowing lawns, pruning trees, washing windows and weeding gardens. I managed to raise around $1,000 with these jobs alone.

My next plan was to reach out to my local Lions Club and Rotary Club. Having sent a few letters explaining my goal, I was stoked to receive a $300.00 grant from Lions Club Kapiti to boost my total.

After a lot of creative thinking and effort,  I fell just $480.00 short of my target. Thankfully, Outward Bound stepped in and covered my shortfall after recognising the amount of effort I had put in.

 

Josh Mcgee

Josh's Cobham watch stepping out of their comfort zones on a tramping day

What was your first step?

I researched the OB website for fundraising ideas, which was a good place to start. It sparked up the idea of the raffle and to write letters to charitable organisations who may be able to help.

From there I wrote down some other ideas that I had on my mind, discussing them with friends, family and my bosses to get some feedback. I also asked them for any bright ideas of their own, which I hadn't yet considered.

 

What was the biggest challenge when fundraising and how did you overcome it?

A major challenge was working around my full-time job. It was often exhausting working 7 day weeks, at times doing very physical jobs. I tried to enjoy the jobs instead of looking at them as actual work, and this really helped me feel good at the end of the day.  It all feels worth it in the end - money slowly builds up and before you know it you've reached your goal.

What advice can you give for people fundraising for their Outward Bound course?

Think outside the box to come up with something you're capable of doing and could enjoy.  Whether that's washing cars, mowing lawns, baking cakes. Just be willing to put yourself out there and get your hands dirty. Fundraising is a very satisfying way to get down to Outward Bound and it really is worth it in the end, for me it was an amazing once in a lifetime experience.

 

Find out more about how to fundraise for your Outward Bound Course.