Ask HN: How can I find funding for a summer math program I've been invited to?

Previous post: [0]

I've been invited to HCSSiM, a math summer program at Hampshire College. When I made my previous post, my parents were worrying about me travelling alone and staying in the US for such a long time. It appears they've found a friend-of-a-friend who lives nearby, and we've also found a direct flight to Boston with no stopovers, so I've gotten them to relent and everything seems okay now.

It's the financial aid that's the problem. I was expecting that I would only have to pay the airfare, but the program didn't have sufficient funds to waive the entire program fee this year. So I'm stuck having to pay quite a lot of money, in addition to the airfare. Needless to say, that makes it impossible for me to attend the program.

Does anyone have any ideas for what I could do?

I've been thinking about Indiegogo or something similar, but I'm not sure why anyone I don't know would bother to contribute anything. Information about organisations that provide funding in such circumstances would be great too.

I can't possibly miss this. I won't be allowed to go next year, because there are strict rules about not missing more than 15 days of school in 12th grade, so this is the only chance I have.

Please, HN, help me figure something out.

[0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9575222