Travelers' Philanthropy Handbook - Center for Responsible Travel

program channels funds to the National Forest Foundation (http://www.nationalforests.org), thenon-profit partner of the U.S. Forest Service, which distributes monies to local conservationorganizations. These same local conservation organizations are also our partners in our Give &Getaway volunteer vacation program.• How are Your Employees and Your Company Involved in Travelers’ Philanthropy?Our employees are actively involved in both theNational Forest Foundation (NFF) voluntary guestdonation program as well as the Give & Getawayvolunteer vacation program. For the Give &Getaway volunteer vacation program, manyemployees from our resort locations work side-bysidewith our guests on trail, stream and sand dunerestoration, tree planting, and other conservationprojects.• What Have Been Staff Reactions?Hayman restoration project, Colorado.Credit: Vail ResortsAll our employees live in the communities where they work and they are often outdoorrecreational enthusiasts with a passion for protecting the iconic natural settingssurrounding our resorts. They are proud to promote and participate in programs wehave created that help to protect the natural environment.• Have You Provided Staff Training to Support the Philanthropic Work?In keeping with all programs we launch throughout our company, our travelers’philanthropy programs also include training procedures to ensure employees understandand can clearly communicate our guest engagement programs. Within our lodgingdivision, employees are trained to explain the program during guest check-in and canprovide guests with information about where funds from the donation program aredirected.• How are Funds Actually Raised from Travelers?We offer guests at our mountain resorts the opportunity to participate in this special fundraisingeffort through the National Forest Foundation (NFF) by contributing $1 on season passes, $1 ononline lift ticket transactions and $1 per room night at our Colorado-based lodging properties.The NFF matches each dollar donated with $.50, and the total $1.50 is directed to on-thegroundconservation efforts. To date, more than $1.6 million has been directed to more than 50projects within the National Forests surrounding our Colorado resorts and in the vicinity ofHeavenly in South Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada. A similar voluntary donation program isin place at all of our RockResorts with funds directed to organizations such as Grand Teton56