AltruVistas Foundation promotes transformation philanthropy in the sustainable travel industry through two program areas: Altruvista Funds- Our Meso-financing program’s mission is to provide communities the financial tools they need to improve their lives and benefit from the tourism sector; and Altruvista Connects- Our professional fellowship program matches community grantees with emerging or service seeking tourism professionals to implement community development programs, support the capacity building of the community and bridge cultural norms. The Connects program will also support grants for research for investigation of endangered cultural forms of expression from oral traditions, dance, arts and crafts. Our mission is to enhance the ability of local communities to take advantage of the vibrant and growing tourism industry and support the UN Millennium Development Goals.
Our goal is to build a dynamic foundation that concretely addresses the global problem in the travel industry of capital flight and the globalized reality of socioeconomic stratification and absolute poverty. Altruvistas will offer grants and loans for $5-25,000 to veted local communities, organizations and cooperatives so they can come together and create their own travel related service or product (from vocational training centers, restaurants, ecotourism services to agro-tourism hostels and eco-lodges). The objective is to enhance local ownership and capacity building of diverse global and domestic communities to benefit from growing tourism receipts. Awardees will also be buddied with a fellow to live and work with the community for 8-12 months and co-create the accounting, marketing, IT and basic property management infrastructure necessary to a local and small business to thrive in the cybernetic world of tourism booking agencies and web based review sites.