TripAdvisor, online travel community and well known for their user generated guest reviews, is currently running a campaign in which they are giving users the opportunity to decide on how the company should spend 1 million dollar on good causes.

For this ‘take only pictures leave only footprints’ initiative, Tripadvisor selected five travel related nonprofits organizations, from which users can now select an organization they wish to support. The total amount of 1 million dollar will be shared among the different organizations, where the height of the donation is determined by the number of votes.

The five nonprofits participating in this initiative are;
Conservation International - Saving the places people love to visit
Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) - Emergency relief
National Geographic Society - Exploring and sustaining authentic places
The Nature Conservancy - Environmental protection
Save the Children - Aiding children around the world

Website and Youtube to support campaign

In support of the campaign More Then Footprints, Tripadvisor launched a dedicated website where users can vote for their preferred cause. Also, Tripadvisor is publishing video’s on their youtube account to support the campaign.

Where a video from CEO Steve Kaufer, where he talks about TripAdvisor’s $1 million donation and how your vote can make a difference, only managed to get a couple hundred of viewers, they also published a video featuring Hollywood star Rosario Dawson, challenging people to make their voices heard. This video stresses why people should take part in voting on the TripAdvisor site, by sarcastically telling people not to vote, and is already viewed by close to 200.000 people.

Share your vote
If you want to vote, you will need to register yourself for free as a tripadvisor member. Voting on the charitable causes ends November, after which the results will be announced on November 12. Our vote went to the National Geographic Society, where did you vote for? Feel free to share your vote in the comments.

related items

• Tripadvisor displaying rapid growth over 2008
• Eyefortravel Podcast; Managing Director of Tripadvisor on future of online travel

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