Travelers' Philanthropy Handbook - Center for Responsible Travel

Chapter 2:Approaches to Travelers’ PhilanthropyOverview of Various ModelsBy Martha Honey, Ph.D.Co-Director, CRESTThis chapter features fifteen case studies by leading companies and organizations involved intravelers’ philanthropy. Their stories illustrate the wide range of ways in which tourism andtourists are contributing to the communities they visit – beyond the revenues generated by thetourism business. These examples can provide inspiration to readers who are interested ininitiating a travelers’ philanthropy program and insights on how to avoid common pitfalls. Thanksto the advice given by the voices of experience in these case studies, new programs can launchwith more confidence and existing programs can compare their policies and practices with thoseof others.Our focus in this chapter is mainly on donations of “treasure” – financial and materialcontributions provided by tourism companies and travelers to local projects. Some of thecompanies profiled are also involved in voluntourism, a rapidly growing component of travelers’philanthropy, through which travelers donate “time” and “talent”, i.e., either unskilled labor orprofessional expertise to assist local projects. (Voluntourism is addressed in detail in“Voluntourism: An Overview”).• The PioneersThe four oldest travelers’ philanthropy programs covered in these case studies date from thelate 1980s to the mid-1990s. They are:1. Intrepid Travel began its travelers’ philanthropy programs when the company wasfounded in 1989 with a commitment to donate 10% of corporate earnings to projects inthe visited communities. In 2002, Intrepid formalized its dedication to philanthropy bysetting up the Intrepid Foundation to facilitate visitor donations, provide betteraccountability and transparency, separate the tourism business from its philanthropicactivities, and establish an application process for beneficiary organizations. Intrepid iscurrently raising over $400,000 per year for some 50 different projects.2. Myths and Mountains, a tour operator specializing in cultural and natural history tours,started the READ (Rural Education and Development) Global program in Nepal in 1991.READ Global has built more than 50 library/community centers in Nepal and has raisedabout $10 million over the last twenty years. Now a separate but closely linked25