You will need to establish a budget before you begin your fund-raising. Each short-term mission is different and the expenses will vary according to the activities of the team. For example, the cost of team t-shirts may need to be added to the budget. All short-term missions need financial covering in the following basic areas.

Travel: Contact a travel agency for rates. This will be the biggest expense of your mission. Start early and get several quotes before you make your decision. A list of travel agencies is included in this section. Check with your own travel agent! You might be surprised.

Taxes: Most countries require an exit tax before departure. Your travel agent can advise you on these taxes. You should have some American currency available for use at the airport to pay these taxes.

Insurance: There are several insurance agencies that can help you with insurance for your short-term mission. Check with your church about their insurance policy or someone in your congregation who sells insurance. SAMS does not carry an umbrella policy for short-term mission trips. You will find a list of insurance agencies in this section.

*Passport: Passport information is in this section. Passport expenses are one-time expenses.

*Immunizations: Check a CDC report (information listed in the medical information section) to determine which, if any, immunizations you will need. Check with your local health department for the costs of these immunizations.

Lodging and Meals: Your site-coordinator will provide information regarding the cost of housing and food for each day of your mission.

Transportation: Your site-coordinator will arrange the cost of in-country transportation. Those costs may include the rental of a vehicle and the fee for hiring a driver plus fuel expenses.

Project supplies: Short-term missions teams assume all costs related to the missions project. These costs will be given to you by the site coordinator.

Contingency: Undoubtedly you will incur extra expenses. Photo expenses, mailing expenses, even bottled water add up. Be prepared with an extra 5% of your budget for these expenses.

*Side Trips: A side trip that further exposes your team to the national, cultural, or historic aspects of your host country may build interest in the mission experience and is often a good debriefing transition between your mission site and your return home.

*Personal: Personal spending money will vary.

*These expenses should be covered by the individual team members.

Assess your mission opportunity and add together any expenses that you think you will have. Divide that amount by the number of team members to make up your individual budgets. It is better to be over-funded than under-funded. Excess money can be returned to your church or reserved for your next missions trip

Sample Short-Term Mission Budget

A rough budget for six days for each individual team member might look like this:

Travel	$ 700.00
Taxes	$ 25.00
Lodging/meals	$ 150.00
Individual insurance	$ 50.00
Project supplies	$ 200.00
Transportation	$ 50.00
Subtotal	$ 1275.00
Contingency	$ 62.00
Total	$ 1337.00

Additional expenses to be covered by individual team members:

*Passport	$ 85.00 + photo expenses
*Immunizations	$ 100.00
*Personal money	$ 100.00
*Side trip expenses	$ 150.00

That is quite a sum of money to raise for each individual, but it can be done! It will take prayer, planning and commitment to the mission. You will find that the investment will be returned many times over.

*Some sites require an administrative fee. For example, Honduras requires a $30.00 fee per team member. That money is used to support the staff whowill take care of the in-country logistics for your team and remain with your team while you are in their country.