Travelers' Philanthropy Handbook - Center for Responsible Travel

Working with Donors in Travel-based Philanthropy:Lessons from BasecampBy Lars Lindkvist, Ph.D.Executive Chairman, Basecamp Foundation Kenya andDirector, Basecamp Explorer Kenya Ltd.Basecamp is a global ecotourism organization operating in Africa, India, Europe and the highArctic. It is organized in two principal entities - Basecamp Explorer (BCE), a for-profit tourismoperator focusing on destination development and management, and its not-for-profitcounterpart Basecamp Foundation (BCF). The Foundation is a major shareholder in theExplorer business and responsible for developing tourism related community and conservationprojects.Basecamp’s two entities are closely intertwinedat the destination level and we normally chose torefer to the Explorer and the Foundation as justBasecamp. However, as we describe in thispaper our approach to philanthropy in generaland travelers’ philanthropy in particular, we needto keep them apart in order to make clear theirdifferent roles and responsibilities. BasecampFoundation (BCF) is the developer and driver ofBasecamp’s community and conservationprojects and is responsible for long-termfinancing of the project portfolio.Basecamp Masai Mara, Kenya.Credit: Basecamp FoundationOver its 13-year existence BCF has developed,financed, and managed over 35 different socially and environmentally oriented projects inpartnership with many different types of organizations, and always in partnership withBasecamp Explorer. Sustainable tourism, or ecotourism, is the vehicle Basecamp Foundationhas chosen for financing the projects. Consequently, we also have had to manage a largenumber of travelers who have become donors and social and environmental investors within oursystem. Besides engaging with the travelers and guests at Basecamp Explorer destinations, wealso approach many other forms of partnerships in a conscientious way. Presently, we haveabout a dozen signed partnership agreements spreading from governments to conservationorganizations, family foundations and social investors, most in the form of either a Memorandumof Understanding (MoU) or a Term of Reference (ToR).To manage a large number of partnerships and donors at the same time is not always easy andhopefully the mistakes made over the years have some relevance to others dealing with tourismand philanthropy. There are as many ways to work with donors as there are worthwhile projectsto support, but we hope that our particular experience can be useful to those of you who arelooking at engaging in travelers’ philanthropy to fund projects that make the world a better place.123