How to ask for sponsorship from local businesses for my student exchange? -

I am going on a student exchange after year 12 to learn a new language and widen my career opportunities. Trouble is it is going to cost about $20,000 dollars (AUD) and it is going to be hard to save that money on my own.So a family member suggested that i approach local businesses asking for sponsorship for my tripif i ask for 40 businesses for $500, ill have that 20,000.How do you ask them? do i write a letter or ask in person?how do i write it ? what do i say?but if i get it, what can i do for them to make it fair?please help + thanks in advance.

i dont mean to upset you but, in all honesty, they wont sponsor you. companies generally only sponsor people who are doing something worth while and can make them a profit. people do exchanges all the time and it s not something that the company can benifit from. if you were doing something in the public s eye, motorbike racing for example, you would ask tyre companies and bike shops to sponsor you because you would promote their business, they would be entitled to part of your earnings, and they are companies that are in the same field as what you are doing.but on an overseas exchange, your not earning anything over there, not promoting a business, there are no companies that you can really associate your trip with, AND your not really doing something new and exciting. others have done it before, but unlike you they planned this years in advance and worked their butts off and pay for it themselves.you would be better off looking for study abroad loans or scholarships. you could even try looking for a scholarship at the school that you plan to study. i know some places over here have scholarships especially for those who are studying in australia who are not citizens. scholarships are hard to find. you will have to enroll in your exchange through certain programs / companies and only go to the schools that they allow the scholarship for. the aus government has a study abroad loan (like hex for people going to university) called os-help, but it only offers $5000 per semester ($10,000 per year), and you will have to pay it back with 20% interest. http://www.canberra.edu.au/study-abroad/�� http://studyinaustralia.gov.au/Sia/en/He��these sites have some info on loans and scholarships. if you are going to ask for sponsorship then you will be VERY lucky to have more than one or two companies sponsor you and they probabily wont give you much. try small businesses. large businesses / corporations wont be interested. make a few booklets stating what you will be doing over there and how it can benifit their business and the community. make sure you ask in person. dont hide behind a letter or phone call and be prepared for rejection. be polite and as i said, you need to make them see that this will benifit either their company personally (maybe by committing yourself to employment there once you are back) or the community. whatever you do DO NOT tell them that you are seeking a certain amount of money from them (e.g. tell them that you want them to sponsor you for $500). accept whatever they give you no matter how big or small that amount is.you will have to find a way to prove that you are genuine. people look for sponsors all the time and when the money isn t going to a well known cause (like being sponsored for the ms read a thon or the 40 hour famine) then people and companies will be very weary and sceptical.good luck. you will need it.