Donating to the GLA International Foundation

GLA participants give their time, energy, and brainpower to help out in communities in need around the world. However, for many of these communities, the need doesn’t stop when summer ends.

For GLA alumni, the logistics of providing continued to support the organization with whom they worked on their program can often be trying: more often than not, sending physical good or even monetary donations abroad comes with a host of problems including unreliable mail, expensive and lengthy customs processes, taxes, fees, and restrictions.  

Charlotte Howard, founder of the Charlotte Cares fundraiser and two-time GLA alumna, was faced with just this dilemma upon her return from her Ghana: Building Healthy Villages program last summer. She wanted to continue to help even though her time in Ghana had come to an end, and initially entertained the idea of donating directly, going as far as creating Charlotte Cares as a way to spread awareness of her cause. However, through her research she quickly discovered that the logistics involved were pretty intense. (You can read more about her experience and process here!)

Enter the Global Leadership Adventures International Foundation! GLAIF is a non-profit organization built to supplement the volunteer work that GLA students do in the spring and summer months via monetary donations. The Foundation works with our trusted local partner organizations who are action-oriented, are part of a community-led initiative, and focus on root causes. As a non-profit 501c3 organization, GLAIF is a platform which allows these young leaders the opportunity to stay actively involved in the causes they became so passionate about during their GLA experience, aiming to build a network of globally minded alumni, staff, partners, friends and family who are looking for a way to transform their passion into action.

Charlotte reached out to GLA, who was able to add our local partner Dream Big Ghana to its list of verified grantees...AND build in a feature to help our alumni students and other organizations to track donations. So far, Charlotte Cares has contributed over $1,000, with donation amounts ranging from $5 to $500.

Currently, GLAIF has fifteen projects to choose from, ranging from supporting sea turtle conservation in Costa Rica to providing education in Brazilian favelas to supporting sanitation and community in Ghana. Don’t see the project or region that you’re passionate about on our site? We’re adding more grantees all the time, so please check back!

Want to help but not sure which oranization to support? We’ve got you covered! Donors can also give to the General Fund, which will allocate donations to the organization that is most in need at that time.

To donate to the Global Leadership Adventures International Foundation, simply click here, select the donor or cause you are most passionate about, and enter your payment information. (Tip: Our site works best in Google Chrome or Firefox!) Donating in the name of an Alum or with another organization? Just enter their name when prompted under “Donation affiliation” and we will let them know about your generous contribution!