Are there grants available to volunteer overseas?

I want to volunteer overseas and need money. Are there any Australian grants available? and if so, what are they?

Public Comments

1. There are many programs that involve voluntary work overseas, but usually it will invovle you spending some of your own money in terms of airfares, visas or accommodation. It also all depends on exactly what kind of volunteer work you wish to do. Usually the only people who would be subsideised in full are those with professional qualifications like doctors, nurses, teachers or logisticians. A good place for you to start looking would be the AusAID website: www.ausaid.gov.au
2. No - government grants are not given to volunteer overseas. Check with organizations such as Peace Corps or UN Volunteers as they provide funds for their volunteers You can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov - these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support your purposes. Even if you buy books on "how to get grants" or list that supposedly has information on grants -- all of them are mere rehash of what CFDA has, albeit packaged differently. Note though that these grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments. Most of the federal grants are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. minority business owners involved in transportation related contracts emanating from DOT - Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program. Individuals especially for personal purposes are not eligible for federal grants. Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women's Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women's business center that will train women entrepreneurs
3. Try going to Australian Volunteers International. They will assist you with an overseas placement, although they won't give you direct grants.