Travelers' Philanthropy Handbook - Center for Responsible Travel

• Step 1: Evaluating Strengths and DeficienciesAs the owner or manager of a travel business, you have many strengths and skills. You knowthe market, you know your customers, and you know the destinations or your location. And ifyou are successful in business, (which we will assume you are), you are probably good atkeeping your finger on the pulse of a market and adapting to frequent change.But what do you know about managing philanthropy, about effective aid or development? Andhow well do you really know the communities that you want to support? Do you speak theirlanguage well? Do you know their history? Do you have a deep understanding of their culture,their religion, their decision-making processes, their hierarchies, their interpersonalrelationships, and their relationship with the land? Do you know who all the key stakeholdersare and the extent to which they are likely to accept the intervention that you may propose? Doyou know the level of the government’s work on the particular need you wish to target and howvarious agencies might support or oppose your possible initiative?Most people who are contemplating starting a philanthropy program find they have goodanswers to some of these questions, but not all. Evaluate your company’s collective strengthsand deficiencies with candor and care, looking at yourself and your employees to identify whatresources and knowledge you already have to support your initiative. Then determine what typeof additional expertise or support will be needed to ensure you have solid answers to all of theabove questions.• Step 2: Identify the Geographic Areas and Issues You Would Like to Address withYour Travelers’ Philanthropy ProjectOnce you have decided that you wish to embark on a travelers’ philanthropy project, and youhave assessed your company’s capabilities, the next step is to choose the issues you wish toaddress. The following broad categories may help you:Poverty alleviationEducationHealth, social welfare, and disabilityChild welfareAgriculture, food, and nutritionEmpowerment of womenHuman rightsDisadvantaged groups such as refugees or ethnic minoritiesVocational empowerment through, for example, training or microfinance loansAnimal welfareWildlife conservationEnvironmental or heritage protectionClimate changeDisaster responses - i.e. floods, earthquakes, famineMillennium Development Goals (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ )116