I posted last week about wanting to raise $10,000 for a good cause and was bombarded with lots of encouraging comments with idea for the type of ebook I could offer. I’ve decided to follow the advice of several people and write an ebook on international volunteering. It makes sense since all of the revenues from the book will be donated to Hands On, an organisation that does disaster relief work all over the world with the help of volunteers. Plus it’s an area I have some experience in, am passionate about and the idea that I could help motivate people to volunteer is a pretty exciting one.
I’ve spent the past couple of days writing ideas down and I think I have a pretty good base for the book and I’m kind of excited at how well it’s going so far. Here are a few of the points I’m planning on including:
- Finding volunteering opportunities
- Finding an organisation that is right for you
- What to look for in a volunteering organisation
- Vacation volunteering/voluntourism
- Should you pay to volunteer?
- Living conditions and what to expect
- Paperwork and visas for volunteering
- Benefits of volunteering
- List of trustworthy free and cheap volunteering organisations
- Outline of the types of volunteering (disaster, construction, social, children, teaching, professional, farming etc.)
- Volunteering membership websites
- Volunteering scams to look out for
- List of resources on volunteering
- Interviews about people’s volunteering experiences
As I flesh out these ideas, I was wondering if any of you have anything else you would hope to read about. I’m completely open to ideas! I would also love to hear suggestions for trustworthy organisations… these sorts of things are best found by word of mouth and, while I have a good start to a list, I would like to come up with at least 50 suggestions. Plus I would love to chat with people about positive or even not so positive volunteering experiences as well as any initial fears about volunteering and what the reality was once you got there. If you’re willing to let me pepper you with a few questions, leave a comment or drop me an email.
I’ve spoken to the people at HODR, the organisation I will be donating the money to, and they’re on board and have committed to taking charge of the book’s distribution since I will be stranded in middle of nowhere in Sumatra for the next two months. Google donate some money each month to them to use in an Adwords campaign and they suggested setting one up aimed at creating interest in the ebook which would be great. I’m not sure how that would work but it would be interesting to try it out. Either way, having the use of their resources is a big bonus and if they are willing to send a plug out on their giant mailing list, that would be huge.
I guess the last thing for now is to ask about pricing. Do you think asking people to donate what they feel its worth is the way to go? Or should I set a $5, $10, or more minimum donation? I like the idea of asking people to donate a bit, and send the message on but I think that’s something I would aim more at friends and family. I think getting some bloggers on board and asking for a mention on their blogs will be key so if anyone is willing to allow me to do a guest post or even just give the book a mention, I would love to hear from you. Or maybe I will just start spamming you all once the book is out!
Thanks again for the support I’ve gotten so far on this! I’m pretty pumped now about the idea and I’m having fun writing it and looking forward to hearing some more of your suggestions.
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