Press

2012 Fundraiser Press Releases:

December 18, 2012: Passports with Purpose 2012 Surpasses Fundraising Goal – Raises $110,00 for Water.org

November 28, 2012: Passports with Purpose Transforms Lives by Raising Funds to Help Haitians Builds Wells Through Partnership with Water.org. Travel blogging community comes together to raise $100,000 for fifth annual online fundraiser.

June 21, 2012: Passports with Purpose Announces Water.org as 2012 Beneficiary. A Network of Travel Bloggers and Donors Raise Funds to Build Five Wells in Haiti

June 16, 2012: Get to Know Passports with Purpose: Find Your Purpose with Passports with Purpose and Expedia (video)

June 13, 2012: Passports with Purpose Partners with Expedia.com for Annual Travel Bloggers Fundraiser. Expedia.com kicks off the fifth online fundraiser as the platinum sponsor and joins Passports with Purpose in announcing 2012 beneficiary on June 16

Press:

December 20, 2012: MSN.com - ‘Tis the season – for passports with purpose

December 9, 2012: GeekWire.com - Passports with Purpose: Travel bloggers unite to help the places they write about

December 8, 2012: GeekWire.com - GeekWire Podcast: Tablets, travel, kids, and a ukulele rock band, live in studio

December 7, 2012: 200rooms.com - 15 Boutique Hotels Support 2012 Passports w/ Purpose Campaign

December 4, 2012: WGN-TV (Chicago) – Focus on family, thoughtful giving

December 1, 2012: Seattle Times – Gifts for travelers that give back

“Make a donation in a traveler’s name. Passports with a Purpose, a fundraiser started in 2008 by four Seattle-based travel bloggers, aims to raise $100,000 this year to build wells in rural Haiti. Those who donate are eligible for prizes, from travel gear to vacation packages, supplied by the bloggers and sponsoring travel companies. passportswithpurpose.org”

December 1, 2012: Travel Culture Magazine- Help Build 5 Wells in Haiti with Water.org and Win Great Prizes Too!

November 30, 2012: TBEX – Passports with Purpose 2012: Jaw-droppingly amazing prizes (& clean water to boot)

“Of course, Passports with Purpose isn’t just about the great causes – it’s also about the exceptionally cool prizes that travel bloggers manage to procure every year so PwP can raise money for those causes. As the fundraising goals get bigger every year, so does the list of awesome prizes – and this year is no different. It’s truly a testament to the strong connections travel bloggers can establish with the travel industry that such great travel prize packages are donated to PwP each year.”

November 29, 2012: Frommer’s- Passports with Purpose: Send Your Money on a Trip to Help Those in Need

“There are so many worthy causes and beautiful places and people in the world who could use the boost — where would you even start? These women do their homework, seeking projects with good community engagement and charitable organizations with successful track records.”

November 29, 2012: LonelyPlanet.com – Passports with Purpose

“… what’s amazing is that every year the wonderful folks who organize this fundraiser seem to come up with even more vital causes and raise significantly more money. This year to me is the best yet: clean water. There’s not a more basic need than that. And the location, Haiti, is where this should happen. With donations towards the unusually special array of blogger prizes (tours, gift vouchers for flights and hotels and even a ukulele) PWP hopes to raise $100,000 this year and proceeds will go to Water.org to dig wells for clean water in Haiti.”

November 28, 2012: USAToday.com – A globetrotter’s guide to giving back

“Founded in 2008 as a way for travel bloggers to build community and give back to the places they visit, Passports with Purpose is dedicating this year’s fundraiser (which runs through Dec. 11) to building five wells in rural Haiti through Water.org. Each $10 donation gives you a chance to win prizes that include vacation packages, electronics and travel gear.”

November 28, 2012: 200Rooms.com- Travel Bloggers & Passports With Purpose Raise Funds for Matt Damon’s Water.org in Haiti

November 27, 2012: Wired.com – Giving Tuesday: Who will you support?

“The brainchild of four Seattle-based travel bloggers, in just a few short years the project has grown largely through social media channels. Last year the group raised $90,000 and built two libraries in Zambia. This year, their goal is to donate $100,000 to water.org to fund fresh water wells in two communities in Haiti. Every $10 donation to Passports with Purpose nets donors an entry to win a variety of prizes such as hotel stays, travel gear, or one that’s close to my heart, a chance to spend a week the Kahumoku ‘Ohana Music and Lifestyle Workshop on the Big Island of Hawaii with some of Hawaii’s premier ‘ukulele performers.”

November 27, 2012: Skift.com - Passports with Purpose turns travel bloggers into fundraisers

“This is a win-win for the travel blogging world that gives brands a boost, bloggers an altruistic image, and helps build up communities that may not be tied to a Twitter feed.”

April 18, 2012: West Seattle Blog – Local travel writers’ global charity gets boost from Expedia

December 15, 2011: Ecosalon.com – Passports with Purpose: Fundraising Gets Inspiring

December 8, 2011: Tnooz.com – Footprints and Passports with Purpose: two ways to give back

“In December, Passports with Purpose is raising money for libraries in Zambia in partnership with Room to Read, a US-registered non-profit organization. We like the idea of travel writers helping children read.”

December 2, 2011: Ethical Traveler – Travel Bloggers and Readers Making a Difference

November 30, 2011: Seattle Met – Passports with Purpose Offers Prizes and Good Karma

November 23, 2011: KOAN-AM - A moment with Passports with Purpose and Pam Mandel (audio link)

“This annual holiday-season project is a great way for us [travel bloggers] to evangelize a little about where we go and why … at the same time funding a great project.”

November 17, 2011: Travellll.com – Travel Talk from BlogWorld and New Media Expo West, Los Angeles (Part 2)

“As travel blogging fundraiser Passports with Purpose (PwP) gears up for 2011, co-founder Beth Whitman (@Wanderluster) explained that “We wanted some way, as travelers, to give back and help out when we travel … getting a group together to do something like this can provide exponential help for a cause, rather than trying to do it alone.” Whitman sketched PwP’s trajectory from raising US$7500 for Heifer International in 2008, to the 2011 goal: US$80,000 to build two libraries in Zambia.”

November 5, 2011 – The Gathering Road – Beth Whitman on Passports with Purpose (audio)

November 4, 2011: Blog World Expo, Los Angeles – Beth Whitman spoke on collaborating to build a better business, community and world, highlighting Passports with Purpose

November 2, 2011: Matador Network – 50 nonprofits making a world of difference

“While Orgs have traditionnally been large groups with vast networks and resources, technology has empowered everyday people to form not-for-profits with little more than a laptop and an idea. Pam Mandel, co-founder of Passports with Purpose — a community of travelers who raise funds for various causes around the globe — describes how necessary current technology is to their organization: Blogging is the primary medium for getting our message out — what we’re supporting and why we care. But we back that with lots of social media interaction, primarily Twitter and Facebook. Without social media, who can say how long it would have taken to build the kind of reach PwP has.”

November 2011: TravelBlogs.com – Cover to Cover: A Passports with Purpose Interview

“People like being able to make a meaningful contribution, and this gives them a way to do it using the skills and resources they have. Sometimes blogging is like talking into an echo chamber. Is anyone reading? Are you making a difference to anyone? It’s hard to know. Participating in Passports with purpose lets you point to something – a school, or a house, or a library and say “I helped build that. My blog helped build that.’”

October 28, 2011: Gadling – Travelbloggers Fundraiser Passports with Purpose Enters Year Four

“Passports with Purpose uses social media, blogging, and the generosity of sponsors to achieve success. But it’s individual bloggers that are the key to PwP’s continued success.”

October 26, 2011: Travelllll.com – Passports with Purpose Travel Blogging Fundraiser Aims for $80,000 – Can you help?

A charity collects well over their yearly target figure of $13,000, thinks to itself “well, that went well, let’s aim a bit higher next year…” Cut to the end of the fundraiser. They don’t have $50,000 – they have $64,128, over 25% higher than expected and a whopping 490% up on 2009′s takings. How did they do it? Hard work, a worthy cause…and community.

October 20, 2011: BootsnAll – Passports with Purpose 2011: How You Can Help

October 19 2011: Huffington Post – Passports with Purpose 2011: It’s About Reading

November 15, 2010: World Hum — Passports with Purpose Turns Three

November 10, 2010: Passports with Purpose on KUDO Alaska Radio (Starts at about 28:00)

September 29, 2010: KBCS (NPR Affiliate) – On the Blogs (audio)

September 29, 2010: TNOOZ: Travel Bloggers with Purpose Building a Village in India

Aug 10, 2010: TourismKeys: Passports With Purpose: Travel Bloggers and Tourism Industry Making a Difference

Aug 9, 2010: MatadorChange: 19 Reasons to Feel Hopeful about the World

July 22, 2010: FoxBusiness.com: Finalists for First Annual Bloganthropy Awards Announced.

Dec 20, 2009: NY Times: Frugal Traveler; Frugal But With Plenty to Give

Dec 8, 2009: Gadling: Passports With Purpose Raises $13,000 to Build School in Cambodia

Dec 2, 2009: WorldHum: Passports With Purpose is Back