“Shopping with a conscience” is not a new idea. From bottled water to pizzas, broadband suppliers to credit cards, there are many commercial enterprises who support the work of partner charities by offering a percentage of the money received when a consumer chooses their product over their competitors.
More recently, online shopping sites have turned this idea on its head, by offering charitable “portals” where shoppers can buy goods from a range of different suppliers and choose the charity that receives their donation.
Scottish travel company “Travel2Give” are one of the first companies in the UK to combine both of these ideas and apply them to the travel sector. One of only a handful of British “not-for-profit community interest travel providers”, Travel2give’s message “You Travel, We Give” is one that it envisages could net its partner charities somewhere in the region of £1million in its first five years.
When booking a holiday through Travel2Give, customers can select from a list of charities that they would like to support and the company automatically makes a payment on their behalf, calculated as a percentage of the total travel cost. If the booking is made with one of Travel2Give’s supporting tour operators, they will also match the donation.
It’s an award winning idea – Travel2Give founders Janette and Ken Robb were recently presented with the UK Travel Industry’s 'Innovation of the Year 2009' award - and one that’s being supported by some leading names in the travel industry like P&O, Cunard and US Airtours.
'Two years ago, we started to work with a local charity who send sick children on respite holidays with their families,' says chief executive Ken Robb.
'It was rewarding work and we came to realise just how powerful affiliate travel and holiday spend could be as a fundraising tool. When someone comes to book a holiday with us, they can typically create a donation of over £50 towards their favourite charity. Over time, the focus of the business transformed from how much can we make - to how much can we raise?'
A list of Travel2Give's charity partners and a form for charities who would like to find out more are also available online.
To find out more, visit Travel2Give online, or call 01563 528300.
For more information on online shopping, take a look at our how2guide.
