4. Changes to the program.
From January 1, 2011 Dramatic Need has asked volunteers to contribute to their personal expenses, including in-country transport, food and accommodation.
WHY DO WE ASK VOLUNTEERS TO COVER THEIR COSTS?
Growth
Dramatic Need seeks to support and encourage our volunteers as much as possible. Up until December 31, 2010, the charity covered the costs of a volunteer’s accommodation, care hire and in some cases, meals.
However, in the last two years Dramatic Need has received more volunteer applications than it could sustainably fund, and rather than turn highly qualified volunteers away by setting a cap on the programme, we are keen to continue doing what we do best, helping those in need. With the building of a community arts centre in late 2010 and 2011 and the unprecedented growth in the number of volunteer applications, the board of trustees has decided at the start of 2011, that volunteers should be asked to contribute to their basic costs.
The deadlines for the scholarships will be the same as the ordinary applications. You will need to tick the ‘scholarship application*’ box on the application form and explain why you are uniquely qualified in the ‘relevant experience’ section.
Helping those who need it most
Although we aim to support volunteers as much as possible and understand that the donation of time and skills is already an enormous commitment on behalf of our volunteers, ultimately it is the people in the communities of Rwanda and South Africa that we are there to help. With volunteers fundraising for their own costs, this frees up resources to be used to establish permanent infrastructure in the regions in which we work, including community arts centres, teacher training programmes, local staffing and a significant supply of equipment to local schools.
Commitment
It has unfortunately been a common experience for the Dramatic Need team, that volunteers, without having to contribute to costs other than an air-ticket, or in the case of local volunteers, no costs at all, would sign up to the Dramatic Need programme, be matched with a host family, assigned a time table at schools and have a hire care booked, only to drop out at the last moment. This is disruptive to school timetables, host-families and costs the charity in cancellation fees. Volunteers who have fund-raised for their programme tend to be more committed and have the added benefit of having a wide circle of family and friends aware of the great work they are doing.
Not-for-profit and scholarships
Dramatic Need will not be making a profit what we charge volunteers. Every penny goes towards the volunteer’s actual costs for accommodation, food, administration and transport. To find out how much it is to volunteer with us, please see our Fundraising and Costs page.
From January 1st, 2011, to ensure that highly qualified volunteers who are genuinely unable to raise the necessary funds, are not excluded from the Dramatic Need programme, we will be offering 4 yearly scholarships for exceptionally qualified volunteers. This means that although volunteers will still pay for their flights, Dramatic Need will cover all the volunteers in country costs relating to the volunteer programme for one month. This includes food, accommodation, car hire and petrol.
The deadlines for the scholarships will be the same as the ordinary applications. You will need to tick the ‘scholarship application*’ box on the application form and explain why you are uniquely qualified in the ‘relevant experience’ section.
* Please note; if you apply for a scholarship and are unsuccessful, you will not be able to re-apply to the programme, either under a scholarship or normal application for a further twelve months.
