Last updated on November 29th, 2022
(Lead Image Photo Credit: Shutterstock)
Through your generosity, we can make a difference
by Carolyn Ray, JourneyWoman CEO and Editor
As women, we have the power to make the world better through travel. Nowhere is this more evident than in the generosity of our readers to support non-profit organization, as volunteers and through their own donations. Since the beginning. of the pandemic, we’ve donated thousands of dollars from our events to non-profits chosen by our speakers and panelists on your behalf – thank you!
Giving Tuesday is a global movement that takes place on Tuesday, November 29, 2022. It was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past nine years, this idea has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.
15 Organizations You Can Support on Giving Tuesday 2022
In recognition of Giving Tuesday 2022, we’ve expanded our list of organizations recommended by our readers, speakers and Women’s Advisory Council to include 15 (up from 10 last year). These are all organizations that we have interacted with over the past two years.
An estimated 35 million U.S. adults participated in Giving Tuesday in 2021, donating total gifts of $2.7 billion, a 9% increase from 2020, according to CNBC. In the US, if you’re age 70½ or older, you can make a direct transfer from a traditional individual retirement account to a charity to reduce adjusted gross income.
Thank you all for your generosity and kindness. If you have others to recommend, please don’t hesitate. to reach out to me at editor@journeywoman.com or add them in the comment section below.
1. Ukrainian Relief Effort
How you can help: Donate to UN Women or a registered non-profit
Since the war began between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on February 24, 2022, according to a report released in June by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over 7 million people have been displaced – almost 5 million of which have been recorded across Europe.
What has been reported as the largest refugee crisis since World War II has become a far-reaching humanitarian disaster threatening economies across Europe. This crisis includes rising inflation and shortages of food and other goods. Donor support is still needed for relief and recovery efforts, but that need will eventually shift to the long-term rebuilding of Ukraine’s economy and infrastructure.
According to UN Women, an estimated 54% of people in need of assistance from the ongoing crisis are women, and women and girls are consistently disproportionately affected by conflict. More than 1.5 million people – two thirds women and children – have been internally displaced since the start of the conflict in 2014 and now suffer from a lack of access to healthcare, housing and employment. These numbers will increase rapidly. Read more here.
Earlier this year, we supported Sunflower of Peace, which provides life-saving medical and humanitarian aid to Ukrainians affected by the Russian military invasion. For this year’s Giving Tuesday, the non-profit is running a special campaign to raise funds for medical first aid and humanitarian supplies and distribute them to doctors and paramedics in Ukraine on Facebook which you can donate to here.
2. NO MORE Foundation
How you can help: Make a donation here.
The NO MORE Foundation is dedicated to ending domestic violence and sexual assault by increasing awareness, inspiring action, and fueling culture change. In our article on women’s safety, Women’s safety expert Tracey Breeden recommended that solo travellers consult NO MORE, a non-profit organization that provides a global directory of resources to report harassment in every country around the world when. wetravel. You can find it here.
The Foundation creates and provides public awareness campaigns, educational resources and community organizing tools free-of-charge for anyone wanting to stop and prevent violence. First launched in 2013, NO MORE has brought together the largest coalition of advocacy groups, service providers, governmental agencies, major corporations, universities, communities and individuals, all under a common brand and a unifying symbol in support of a world free of violence.
Learn more about NO MORE here.
3. The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund
How you can help: Donate here.
For her birthday this and last year, JourneyWoman editor Carolyn Ray raised funds for this non-profit which aims to build cultural understanding and create a path toward reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. Gord Downie was the lead singer of the Tragically Hip, and dedicated his films and songwriting to reconciliation and awareness. Gord passed away in 2017. Born in Ogoki Post on the Marten Falls Reserve in 1954, Chanie Wenjack fell victim to Canada’s colonization of Indigenous Peoples.
Learn more about Chanie’s story and this non-profit organization here.
Learn more on our Indigenous Tourism Resource page here. Find an Indigenous Tourism experience in our Women’s Travel Directory here.
4. Human Trafficking
How you can help: Donate to a non-profit working to prevent human trafficking.
Human trafficking is a topic we often overlook in travel, but it deserves much more attention. Recently, I interviewed representatives from Polaris, which runs the National Human Trafficking Hotline in the US, and the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline to learn more about what we can do as travellers to help prevent human trafficking. Look for that editorial in early 2023.
These organizations advocate for stronger anti-trafficking laws, provide services and support for victims of trafficking crimes, and develop long-term strategies to end human trafficking.
Named after the North Star that guided slaves to freedom in the U.S., the goal of Polaris Project is to systemically disrupt the human trafficking networks that rob human beings of their lives and their freedom. Their comprehensive model puts victims at the center of their work — helping survivors restore their freedom, preventing more victims, and leveraging data and technology to pursue traffickers wherever they operate. Learn more and donate here.
The Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline is a confidential, multilingual service, operating 24/7 to connect victims and survivors with social services, law enforcement, and emergency services, as well as receive tips from the public. Learn more and donate here.
5. Cameras for Girls
How you can help: Make a donation here.
JourneyWoman Women’s Advisory Council member Anima Mohamed started her non-profit Cameras For Girls in 2018 and teaches photography and business skills to marginalized females in Africa who want to become journalists. Her charity gives them a camera to keep and a year-long training that empowers them to find full-time paid work.
Amina says: “To date, we have trained 47 girls in Uganda (4-day in-person workshops), and 10 girls in South Africa (3-day online workshop) and now 65% of our students have full-time paid work. Many of these girls work in the journalism/photojournalism sectors, while others have taken the photography training and started their own businesses. The result is that it gets them out of poverty and allows them to be independent decision-makers in their own lives.”
Amina has a special offer for this year’s #GivingTuesday” campaign. For every $25 you donate, your name will be entered into a draw to win over 20 amazing prizes ranging from $25 to $500. (all prizes will be mailed to donors in Canada and the continental US). Cameras for Girls is a registered Canadian charity, which means you will get a tax receipt.
Learn more about Cameras for Girls here.
6. Food Banks
Food banks across North America will enter this holiday season with their resources strained as a result of rising inflation, soaring food prices and a drop in donations. According to USA Today, some food banks report they are busier than they were during the worst of the economic shutdown during the pandemic in 2020, reporting increased demand for services as food prices increase.
Feeding America
How you can help: Volunteer or donate here.
Food Banks of Canada
How you can help: Volunteer or donate here
At our December 2020 Holiday Social, we supported Feeding America (US) and Food Banks Canada to help put food on the table over the holidays and will be doing so again this year.
7. Adventure Travel Conservation Fund
How you can help: Make a donation to fund local projects engaged in the conservation of unique natural and cultural resources of adventure travel destinations here.
For this year’s Sustainable Travel webinar with Anna Pollock, Norie Quintos and Shannon Guihan, we donated proceeds to the Adventure Travel Conservation Fund (ACTF), which we are also members of. The ACTF is dedicated to protecting threatened communities, cultures, and wild places to preserve their cultural and recreational integrity. Members include adventure travel and outdoor industry leaders who have come together and step forward to advocate and support projects that allow sustainable adventure tourism to grow into the future.
Learn more about this non-profit organization here.
8. Leslie Ehm’s “Portraits for Good”
How you can help: Donate here
For those who may not know JourneyWoman founder Evelyn Hannon’s daughter, Leslie, you’re in for a treat. Over the pandemic, Leslie developed a new talent for painting and shared her creative journey on social media. Now, she’s started a new project to raise money for non-profits from her art.
She says: “I started this in the hopes that it might inspire others to discover new ways to express themselves without fear of judgment (internal or external). I began to receive offers to buy my paintings and decided that it was an opportunity to do some good with my work. So, I agreed to sell them – but only in exchange for a minimum $250 donation to an inclusive charity. Thus ‘Portrait for Good’ was born.”
So far, Leslie has raised thousands for charities supporting cancer research, the Black community and justice issues, Indigenous Canadians, LGBTQ+, and more.
Learn more about Leslie’s work and the non-profit organizations you can support here.
9. Blue Sky Society Trust
How you can help: Donate here
We first heard of the Blue Sky Society Trust from Carla Geyser, who started this South African non-profit as a way to impact the poaching crisis ravaging Africa. The Blue Sky Society Trust focuses on raising funds and awareness for conservation, humanitarian and environmental projects, with activities like elephant collaring.
Carla says: “The Blue Sky Society is more than a non-profit organisation dedicated to helping people and animals in need; it’s a way of living. Just by thinking positively and being proactive, you are contributing to change for the better. Although we have big ideas and huge fundraising prospects, the ripple of change begins with YOU and me getting involved. The sky’s the limit for what we can achieve and our vision is to identify and manage various projects where people can give of their time, expertise, ideas and funds to recognized charities and support the valuable work they do.”
Carla also arranges ‘Journeys with Purpose’ expeditions with a strong conservation focus. You can learn more about those here.
Read more about the Blue Sky Society Trust and Carla’s vision for wildlife conservation here.
10. The Period Purse: Raising Awareness of Period Poverty
How you can help: Donate here or bring menstrual products with you when you travel
In October 2021, I walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain in support of The Period Purse, a non-profit registered charity that strives to achieve menstrual equity and reduce the stigma surrounding periods.
“As I go through menopause, I’ve become more connected to my period and to my body than ever before. I can’t imagine not having access to menstrual products or being limited in my career options – can you? But this is the case in many countries, where period stigma limits women and girls from education and career opportunities.” – Carolyn Ray, CEO, JourneyWoman
Read more about Period Poverty here and watch our video featuring Danielle Kaftarian from The Period Purse.
11. Gems for Gems: Support Women Leaving Abusive Relationships
How you can help: Donate here.
For our April 7 and 15 sessions on Solo Travel Safety: Tips from a Self-Defense Expert, our keynote speaker Lorna Selig asked that we donate proceeds to Gems for Gems. She says: “I would love to support Gems for Gems. This is an organization that offers support and scholarships to women leaving abusive relationships. This is a group that has been near and dear to my heart since it first began.”
12. Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter: Standing Up For Women, Toronto
How you can help: Donate items or funds here
iErnestine’s has been our choice for several events, including our February 4 session on Downsizing for Travel and our March 11 Downsizing #2: Travel LIfestyles Events, and our Solo Travel Wisdom Packing webinars. Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter is an organization Carolyn has supported in the past that supports women and children leaving abusive relationships.
Learn more about this organization here.
From Angela at Ernestine’s:
“Dear Carolyn,
We at Ernestine’s are always grateful to hear that a new donor joined our family of community supporters, but your decision to join us and support us during this challenging period makes it all the more special and means so much more! Thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement and we’re so grateful that we are able to provide a safe space for women and children, thanks to donors like you who support our mission.
I was just on your website and learned about the wonderful work that you do helping women travel safely and well. Helping empower women to seek new adventures and build confidence is also part of what we do at Ernestine’s, so I admire the work that you do at JourneyWoman. Warmest wishes to everyone at JourneyWoman and thank you so much for supporting the women and children at Ernestine’s.”
13. Education for All: Education for Girls in Morocco
How you can help: Donate here
For our May 2021 book club on “Morocco to Timbuktu: An Arabian Adventure”, author Alice Morrison asked us to donate proceeds to Education for All, which provides boarding houses for girls so they can continue secondary school in Morocco.
Alice told us that very few girls from the rural communities of the High Atlas Mountains get the opportunity of continuing their education beyond primary school. Secondary schools, mostly several kilometres away in larger towns, are not accessible to them because:
1. Their parents cannot afford to pay for lodgings or transport near secondary schools
2. Their parents do not have the confidence in existing facilities to entrust their daughters to be away from home.
14. Tree Sisters: Women Seeding Change
How you can help: Invite a friend to Subscribe to our newsletter or make a donation to the JourneyWoman Tree Sisters Fund here. (You will receive a tax receipt).
We announced our partnership with Tree Sisters on Earth Day in April 2020. Trees are the lungs of our planet and every effort to improve our environment serves all humankind. Our goal to plant 100,000 trees by Earth Day 2025. This will contribute to growing initiatives in the rain forests of Brazil, the upland forests of Mount Kenya, Mount Bamboutos in Cameroon, Khasi Hills in North East India and mangroves in Madagascar and Mozambique.
Learn more here.
15. Last but not least – JourneyWoman!
Help us inspire more women to travel solo
JourneyWoman is not a non-profit but we do appreciate your voluntary support. As the past two years have been difficult for the travel, industry, they have also been difficult for the writers who have continued to publish editorial with minimal advertising from our traditional sources. Unlike other publications, we’ve decided to keep all of our editorial free for women. We believe in our mission as the most trusted resource in the world for women’s travel and are grateful and inspired by the passion and outpouring of support from our readers and community. And we have faith that travel will come back in better ways than before!
Should you want to show your appreciation of our editorial, events, book club or other activities, you can make a donation of your choice here and I promise you it will be put to good use. Our team of women thanks you!
A note on cybercrime and fundraising scams
Cybercrime is on the rise and can take the form of seemingly legitimate phone calls, emails, banner ads and text messages that ask for donations. Before you donate to any organization, look up the relief effort through a site such as BBB Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator or CharityWatch and read online reviews. Then, enter the URL of the charity yourself to independently confirm you are coordinating with the right organization.
Always pay by credit card, which offers additional layers of protection, rather than a debit card, which taps money straight from your checking account, and never donate in the form of gift cards or wire transfers. Check your accounts regularly for any suspicious activity or unauthorized charges and set up notifications, through your bank or a banking app, that will track your credit card transactions and alert you to account activity. (To read more, visit CNBC).
Carolyn Ray
A passionate traveller, Carolyn believes anything is possible when we follow our heart and trust our intuition. Raised in Florida, Carolyn loves all things Latin, margaritas, the ocean and music. She's a board member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), a member of the Travel Media Association of Canada (TMAC) and the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA).
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