Five ways to fund your gap year
For many young people, taking a gap year is a right of passage into adulthood – usually before embarking on a university career. A gap year can mean many different things, from travelling the world to gaining valuable skills and experience in the field you may want to go into, for example. Often, gap years require funding – and here’s how you can do it.
What can you do on a gap year?
A gap year can mean many different things to different people – but it’s not usually just a year off. It might be to gain valuable life skills and experiences through travelling, volunteering or trying to gain experiences in the sector or industry you want to go into. A typical ‘gap year’ does refer to travelling, but there are many different ways it can look.
Volunteer
A popular option amongst gap-yearers is to spend it volunteering – either at home or spreading your wings abroad. Many people choose to travel around, volunteering at multiple different places throughout the year. As well as meeting people and hopefully having fun, volunteering looks great on your CV. There are costs associated though; if you’re volunteering abroad you’ll need to pay for travel, accommodation and sometimes project costs. Even if you’re choosing to stay at home, if the volunteering is full time you’ll still need a way to fund yourself.
Get work experience
A gap year before university can also be a great opportunity to get in some substantial work experience. It’s a brilliant time to explore things you think you may want to do as a career and see how the world works outside of education. Again, this might look different for different people. It might be work experience in several different places, longer internships or even placements that last months at a time. The costs involved in this might be things like work clothes or travel to and from where you need to be. You can have a look at the Government website which also speaks of the benefits of work experience.
Travel
Now, this is the option most associated with a gap year. Many people choose to take a gap year to see a bit of the world and gain life experiences – but international travel does come at a cost. Traditionally, travel on gap years is seen as being done on a budget, staying in hostels and counting the pennies. Some people may have to work whilst they are travelling to help cash flow too. You can take a look at our travel fundraiser section to see how people are crowdfunding their travel, too.
Develop skills
Another option people choose to do on a gap year is use some or all of the time to take courses to develop skills which might be useful to the next stage of their career or education. You can take a look at the National Careers Service website for more inspiration on how to do this.
Tips for planning your gap year
Now onto the fun part – actually planning your gap year and getting excited about what lies ahead. There are points to take into consideration when thinking about what you want to do and where you want to go:
- Plan your year well in advance: Planning is key to a gap year, especially if you’re going abroad or to several places. Try and do research on how to get the most value out of things like transport; are there train passes you can buy? Think about what you want out of your travelling experience too.
- Budget carefully: There are many costs involved with a gap year so have a sit down and think about realistically what you can afford, how much you’ll need to save beforehand and when you’ll need to work when you’re out there.
- Consider all costs: There are sometimes hidden costs when it comes to travelling. Make sure you’ve accounted for all things such as visas, any vaccinations you need etc.
- Take out travel insurance: Always take out travel insurance and make sure you’ve researched which kind will provide the right kind of coverage for your adventure.
- Have a backup plan: When travelling, things are often unpredictable and changeable. Make sure you’ve got a back up plan and some spare funds if you need to change at the last minute.
How much does a gap year cost?
The concept of a gap year varies wildly – from staying at home and volunteering, to relocating around the UK to flying to far flung corners of the world. So it’s hard to estimate how much a typical gap year can cost, but it’s important to:
- Make enquiries: Contact relevant organisations as part of your planning. See how much transport, accommodation and general living costs are in the area you’re going to.
- Budget: Draw up a budget of how much money you can realistically spend whilst you’re on your gap year.
Plan as much as possible: Travelling can be unpredictable and that’s part of the fun! But plan the parts you can realistically.
How to fund a gap year
Regardless of the gap year journey you choose, there will be costs to cover and the sooner you get started on planning how to fund it, the less frantic it will be.
1. Apply for grants and bursaries
One option when funding your gap year is to apply for grants and bursaries to help fund things like volunteering. If you contact colleges and universities, they may have their own funding for the sort of projects you want to do – along with charitable organisations like the Jack Petchey Foundation.
2. Find a part-time job
Another solution to funding gap year adventures is to have a part time job whilst you’re doing it. This option works for people doing gap years abroad or closer to home, and often having a part time job can help you experience more and also strengthen your CV whilst you’re at it.
3. Get help from family and friends
You can approach friends and family to ask for help towards your gap year too, if it feels appropriate. This might take the form of asking them to contribute instead of physical birthday and Christmas gifts, for example. We’ve got a guide here on how to ask for help with money.
4. Sell unused or unwanted items
Funding a gap year is a perfect excuse to declutter and sell some of your unwanted treasures – and in turn, this will help if you’re heading out to move to university. Have a think about clothes, accessories, books and get them on second hand sites to make a little bit more money.
5. Start a fundraiser
You can also start a crowdfunder on GoFundMe to help cover the costs of your gap year. This means friends, family, loved ones can contribute as and when they can. It’s free to start a fundraiser and easy to circulate the link on your social media, WhatsApp or email contacts too. You can start a GoFundMe here.
Gap year fundraising examples
And if you’re looking for a little bit more inspiration on crowdfunding for your gap year, look no further than these examples.
Gap year volunteer work – teaching overseas
Ava has a passion for teaching and a love for maths – something which she wanted to take on her travels to Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania and Thailand. She started this GoFundMe to help her get closer to her goal – and asked for donations for her 18th birthday.
YWAM Medical Mission Trip 2025
Anna’s dream is to take a gap year in New Zealand on a medical mission trip in 2025. She’s also committed to cycling 60km in September to help her raise money, plus other fundraising activities throughout the year to help move the total forward.
Donate to help me volunteer in Cambodia
Sidnie wants to be a secondary school teacher – so volunteering to teach in Cambodia would give her vital experience needed to really nail that role. She wants to do it through a company called Plan My Gap Year which helps to connect people like herself to opportunities in the country.
Start fundraising for your gap year
If you’ve been inspired to get planning your adventure after all this gap year talk, it couldn’t be easier to start a GoFundMe today and see donations towards your dream roll in. It’s free to start a GoFundMe – and it’s easy to use, fast and safe. Take a look below to get started or if you want to check out more on how GoFundMe works. Good luck!