Global Builders - Virtual Trips

Virtual trips are a way to build homes, develop community, and make a difference without physically traveling. Each team works together to fund the construction of one or more homes through a locally-led Fuller Center Covenant Partner. As you raise the money, you’ll receive updates about your international partner family and the home you’re helping to build.

Join a team that is entirely virtual, or tag-along virtually with a physical trip.

Levels of Participation

House Sponsor

Build an Entire Home!
$ 6,000 (Average Cost)
  • When you give or raise the full cost of a home, you'll receive all the perks of the other three levels.

Trip Supporter

Show Your Support
ANY Sized Gift
  • Help Change Lives
  • Family Profile
  • Updates from Team Leader

Team Member

Half-Level of In-Person Trips
$ 250 Given or Raised
  • Help Change Lives
  • Family Profile
  • Updates from Team Leader
  • Invited to Team Calls
  • Global Builders T-shirt*
  • Greater Impact

Impact Member

As If You Were Going
$ 500 Given or Raised
  • Help Change Lives
  • Family Profile
  • Updates from Team Leader
  • Invited to Team Calls
  • Global Builders T-shirt*
  • FCH Hat, Nail Apron & More*
  • Final Thank You Surprise*
  • GREATEST Impact
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*T-shirts, hats, and other GB materials can only be shipped to participants in the USA

Virtual Trips

Virtual Tag-Along Opportunities

Country Trip # Team leaders (click for more info) Trip dates Cost Status
Armenia10117 Birgit TuermerSeptember 16 - 27, 2023 Closed
Nepal46031 Lou Cappiello September 23 - October 1, 2023 Closed
Peru50135 Brandon Priest-Jones October 7 -14, 2023 Closed
Romania12009 Leah and Rich ThompsonOctober 7 - 14, 2023 Closed
Opelika, AL USA* Millard Fuller Legacy Build*October 8 - 13, 2023 $200 Join
El Salvador20081 Tiffany EllisNovember 4 - 11, 2023 $1570 Join
Portugal11041 Boots Shaffer November 26 - December 3, 2023 $1600 Join
Thailand47036 Bill Burnett January 27 - February 4, 2024 $1430 Join
Thailand47039 Stirling DavidsonFebruary 10 - 18, 2024 $1330 Join
El Salvador20089 Thomas Monnier March 9 - 16, 2024 $1460 Join
Nepal46032 Mary Beth YantzMarch 17 - 24, 2024 $1300 Join
Nepal46036 Russ Krochock April 12 - 21, 2024 $1620 Join
Peru50141 Duane Hershberger April 20 - 28, 2024 $1520 Join
Portugal11036 Bill Burnett May 5 - 12, 2024 $1500 Join
Romania12010 Tammy Carter May 11 - 18, 2024 $1640 Join
Armenia10123 Michelle Pavliv May 18 - 28, 2024 $1690 Join
Armenia10120 Chris Goodrich June 1 - 11, 2024 $1700 Join
Portugal11040 Lynn TwitchellJune 2 - 9, 2024 $1500 Join
El Salvador20090 Cole Chatterton & Lesylee Hodge June 16 - 23, 2024 $1530 Join
Portugal11038 Perry Shull June 16 - 23, 2024 $1470 Join
Portugal11039 Annette Holdman June 30 - July 7, 2024 $1460 Join
Madagascar36018 Sanjay RodrigoJuly 19 - 28, 2024 $1850 Join
Peru50140 Chris Roose August 3 - 10, 2024 $1200 Join
Romania12008 Duane & Ruth Hershberger August 31 - September 8, 2024 $1920 Join
Thailand47037 Lou Cappiello November 3 - 13, 2024 $1620 Join
Nepal46035 Kevin Liddle November 17 - 26, 2024 $1700 Join

What Happens After I Join?

1. Meet the Family
Your team receives a family profile early on, so you know exactly who you're partnering with.
2. Fundraising!
Give a gift, invite your friends, reach your goal!
3. Connect with Your Team
Meet virtually with your team to share stories, tips, and encouragement.
4. Construction Begins
The funds you raise buy local materials and pay local workers, stimulating their economy and creating jobs along the way.

In-progress photos will be shared as available.
5. Family Participation
The family helps in the construction of the house and commits to pay it forward on a no-profit, no-interest basis.
6. Celebrate!
When the home is finished you'll receive a picture to see what you've made possible!
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  1. Find your team. Check out our Upcoming Virtual Trips list and select the team you’d like to join. Then contribute the amounts listed above (anything, $250, $500) to join at that level. You can also create your own fundraising page from the team’s page if you wish to fundraise.
  2. Give or Fundraise. The goal is to bring in enough money to fund the construction of a family’s new home, so get creative! Share your fundraising page on social media, plan a bake sale, host an online competition, etc.
  3. Connect. Be in touch with your team leader to get the latest news on construction updates, family stories, and team meetings.

A standard fundraising goal will be the base cost of one home plus $500 to cover all related expenses, like hats, shirts, postage, and financial transaction fees. Your team can choose to sponsor more than one home if you’re feeling up to it. Visit our list of locations and find your chosen country’s webpage to learn more about that location, including house costs.

Ex: The cost of a new house in Haiti is $6000, so if your team plans to sponsor two homes there the fundraising goal is $12,500. ($6000 + $6000 + $500)

Raising enough funds to pay for the construction of homes is always crucial, but typically our international volunteer teams provide much of that funding and the pandemic has severely cut back travel. Raising money with a virtual team ensures we can still build homes with families even though volunteers can’t physically go there themselves.

Importantly, just like when we go, building homes in this way helps to create local jobs through the materials we purchase nearby and the construction work. Especially during the time of the pandemic, these essential construction jobs allow families a way to earn income even when much of the economy has been shuttered.

Your effort also helps spread the word and get more people involved, multiplying your impact over time!

Connection.

Donating as part of a Global Builders virtual team builds a connection between yourself, your team, and the international family you’re partnering with. Giving a one-off donation does make a difference, but most of the time you have no idea what the true impact is. Working with a virtual team, you’ll see the progress made in real time and get to know the family who will be the owners of this home. These aren’t faceless “others,” but real people with personalities, dreams, and stories.


Only on a virtual team can you make a difference and a connection like this without actually traveling abroad.

You can do that too!
You’ll contribute the virtual trip fee of at least $500 through payments and/or fundraising, receive the FCH hats and t-shirts like everyone else, and then get regular updates on the team’s progress during the build. Click the link at the top of the page to sign up as a virtual participant.

Here are the basic steps you’ll follow:

1. Propose your virtual trip.
2. Receive the link to your team’s fundraising page and start raising money.
3. Recruit people to join your team. You’ll be the primary point of contact between FCH and your participants.
4. Receive updates on the build progress and family story. Share these with your team and donors.

Fuller Center families often go from living in houses like this...
and this...
...to a house like this!
...and this!
Sturdy walls, concrete floors, and real windows and doors make a life-changing difference.
Joining a virtual team helps families like these have their own safe, decent homes.
Nepal
India
Armenia
Peru
Papua New Guinea
Bolivia
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Here is the story of one church that decided to take their entire youth group to Nepal — virtually.

There are no restrictions on age, language ability, construction skills, or citizenship. Everyone qualifies! All contributions are tax-deductible in the United States.

For questions, email us at globalbuilders@fullercenter.org.

Lead a Virtual Trip

As the team leader you will be responsible for:

1. Submitting the trip proposal
   •Choose your Covenant Partner country (see list of options)
   •Set your fundraising goal at 1 or more house sponsorships. This will be the cost of the home(s) plus $500 to cover indirect costs.
   •Determine your fundraiser length and deadline. We recommend no shorter than 1 month and no longer than 6.
2. Connecting with your team and donors
   •Recruit people to join you
   •Distribute the provided family profile to your participants and donors
   •Serve as the point of contact between FCH and your team, including sharing construction updates
3. Fundraising towards your goal
   •We will create your team fundraising page and send you the link
   •Lead by example! Make a gift or start raising funds.
   •Encourage your participants in their own fundraising efforts

You also have the option of hosting group connection events to build team unity. This can be done through Zoom calls, Facebook groups, GroupMe chats, etc. A sample call agenda is available here, or email globalbuilders@fullercenter.org to ask for more ideas or materials.

Join a Virtual Trip

Joining a virtual trip as a participant is a great way to make a difference and connect with families in need around the world. Here’s what you can expect:

  • It all starts when you choose your trip. Follow the link above to see the list of virtual trips and learn more about the trip leaders and partner families.
  • Join the team by contributing through the team’s fundraising page at the levels indicated below (anything, $250, $500, or more). Make the entire donation yourself, or create a fundraising page and invite others to contribute as well.
  • Utilize your team’s family profile, which describes the family whose house you’ll be fundraising to help build. Motivate yourself and your donors by remembering this is a real family!
  • Some teams will offer community connection opportunities to get to know your fellow teammates. These could include anything from Zoom calls, to Facebook groups. The goal will be to share tips, encouragement, and stories, fostering a sense of team camaraderie.
  • As progress is made on the home, your team will receive photo updates on the construction, culminating in a final profile with words from the family and a picture of them in front of their new home.

Have more questions? Email globalbuilders@fullercenter.org and we’ll be more than happy to help!

Virtually Tag-Along

If there’s a physical trip you really want to be a part of, but just can’t make it, this is a great alternative!

As a virtual tag-along, you’ll go through the same process as everyone else in preparing for a physical trip, right up until the trip dates. Here’s what you can expect:

  • Register for the team as a virtual participant using the link above. You’ll hear from your trip leader within a few days and can talk with them about what to expect.
  • You’ll receive all the standard pre-trip communications, including the Fuller Center hat, t-shirt, and patch.
  • Rather than paying the full trip fee, you’ll pay or raise a minimum of $500 to cover the project donation. We encourage you to raise or give more than this though, as it’s what funds the projects!
  • During the trip dates, the team leader will share regular updates and pictures on how things are going including pictures of the team, worksite, family, build progress, etc.
  • After the trip, you and your team leader can connect to talk all about it, and you can know you’ve helped a family have their own safe, decent home.

House Costs by Country

 Armenia  |  $10,500 Nepal  |  $5,050
Bolivia  |  $15,000 Nicaragua  |  $7,000
El Salvador  |  $5,400 Papua New Guinea  |  $6,900 / $4,500
Ghana  |  $6,100 Peru  |  $6,500
Haiti  |  $6,000 Puerto Rico  |  $5,000 (repair)
India  |  $5,500 Sri Lanka  |  $1,500 (repair)
Madagascar  |  $3,300 Thailand  |  $7,000

These figures don’t include the $500 of indirect costs necessary to complete a home through the virtual trips program. Please add $500 per trip to account for these expenses. (Example: 2 Haiti homes @$6,000 each + $500 indirect costs = $12,500 total needed.)