We help nonprofits raise money and improve donor engagement. Since 2011, we’ve developed many creative and fun ways to generate donations converting fun experiences into donations. Thanks to our platform, more than 12,000 nonprofits are now connected to nearly $100M in fun experiences posted by generous businesses. We pride ourselves on providing this direct connection.

HOW IT ALL STARTED

While attending a fundraising gala in 2010, TravelPledge founder Mike Last bid on a "priceless" vacation and found himself headed for Ireland. After the event, Mike asked the event organizer for more financial details on some of the trips they sold at the gala, and he learned that the nonprofit had struggled to get trips on their own before the event, so they resorted to adding "consignment" vacations. Mike was surprised to learn that nearly his entire "donation" was not going to the cause he was trying to help, but rather it was going to the consignment company.

Mike thought, "There must be a way to connect nonprofits directly with generous business owners to ensure bigger donations and happier winning bidders". And with that, TravelPledge was born.

TRAVELPLEDGE OVER THE YEARS

Since 2011, TravelPledge has focused on flipping the old school consignment model upside down and matching nonprofits with generous business owners. Over the next 10 years, TravelPledge built relationships with more than 12,000 nonprofits. The platform evolved based primarily on feedback from these nonprofit organizations, and we keep helping them raise more money each year.

Locating generous business owners to participate was no easy task, but we built free platforms for them that guarantee them valuable promotion to your audience. We put them in full control of their donation settings. They decide on the quantity to make available, and they post experience details and their best promotional materials. This ensures high winning bids, bid donations, and happy winning bidders.

TRAVELPLEDGE TODAY

LOCAL LOCAL LOCAL Countless nonprofit auction organizers have told us that the most desirable experiences for their auctions do not require the winning bidder to take a long flight. We’ve added $Millions in local bed and breakfasts, golf courses, resorts, wine tastings, dance instructors, and much more- all within a short drive of the auction event. What’s more, nonprofits are now automatically matched with local experiences (many of which have low price points that engage the entire donor base vs just a few heavy hitters).

MOBILE BIDDING INTEGRATIONS We also learned firsthand that nonprofits struggle to accurately load their items into their mobile bidding and online auction software, so we invested in API integration technology that eliminates .csv files and saves participating nonprofits time and headaches. Thanks to this development, TravelPledge experiences can be automatically added and synced with your mobile bidding or online auction solution.

FREE ONLINE AUCTION SOFTWARE In addition, TravelPledge has evolved to be far more than just an aggregator of fun experiences from generous businesses. We've introduced free software that makes it easy for nonprofits to run a simple online auction. Many nonprofits leaders use our simple online auction software at their golf tournaments and/or between their in-person galas as an easy way to generate additional donations and to keep donors engaged. We make it easy to upload your donated items or add TravelPledge experiences with a single click.

"We've enjoyed helping thousands of nonprofits generate bigger and bigger donations each year. Thanks to the generosity of some great experience partners, we'll soon reach $100M in fun local (and not so local) experiences that nonprofits can easily convert into big donations. In contrast to "old school consignment", our platform will always remain transparent, direct and efficient."

- Mike Last, Founder TravelPledge