Members and partners of Signature Travel Network raised over three-quarters of a million dollars at the network’s Owners’ Meeting last week in San Diego. Through silent and live auctions and other donation methods, the nearly 500 attendees raised about US$763,000, with all proceeds going to the Global Impact Grant Program operated by Signature’s nonprofit arm, Travel Elevates.

Since 2019, Travel Elevates has given 20 global grants worth US$1.5 million, along with US$645,000 in emergency relief. The Global Impact Grant Program has helped more than 25,000 students and teachers, built four technology centres, and assisted in the start-up of seven small businesses, mainly by women entrepreneurs.

An Updated Mission

This ambition to serve and better the communities in which it sends travellers has led Signature to update its mission statement, CEO Alex Sharpe announced to Owners’ Meeting attendees.

Previously comprising “to serve our members by creating industry-leading technology, marketing and training programs, while building strong preferred partnerships that deliver a differentiated travel experience,” the statement has been amended with an additional sentence:

“Though our nonprofit, Travel Elevates, we further this mission by serving global communities with positive impact travel.”

Vicky Gallion, Communications & Development Manager for Travel Elevates, told LATTE that Signature will fully integrate Travel Elevates into its DNA “100%.”

Sharpe noted that the mission is beneficial twofold: one, it’s the right thing to do for these destinations and their community and, two, it’s simply good for business. He explained that Travel Elevates is a big reason why many employees of Signature enjoy working at the company so much.

Gallion said this is even more important to Signature’s younger employees. She explained that the mindset of the network’s Gen Z employees—when it comes to programs that give back—is: “do you walk the walk or not?” They don’t want to hear about “someday;” it’s a requirement.

And, as Sharpe added, “If people are joining our team because they want to make an impact, would it be easier for you to recruit advisors if you had something that was meaningful [to offer them]? Would it make it easier for you to recruit customers because you have something meaningful?”

A Positive Impact—for Communities and Travellers

The launch of Travel Elevates and the subsequent integration into Signature’s operations has been a long time coming, said Nina Patel, Founder and Meaningful Travel Specialist with Vacations That Matter.

Patel said her family’s past trips stood out most for the impact they created. “The immersion was so impactful that when we came back from a trip, that was the highlight,” she told LATTE. “It wasn’t the sites, it wasn’t the hotel, it wasn’t the beaches—although all of that mattered. Long after, when we look back, it was the impact that we made that was the most memorable part of the trip.”

Since launching her agency in 2011, Patel has noticed a serious shift in the way clients have considered positive impact travel. Back then, at best, it was only about “voluntourism”—travellers in search of a free trip. Now, “clients are gaining more knowledge and are asking for more sustainable and eco-conscious” experiences.

Pack for a Purpose—founded in 2009 and acquired by Signature in 2024—first changed how Patel’s clients traveled by encouraging them to get more financially and emotionally involved. “It’s about education, it’s about the journey and it’s clearly about evolving—and in a very positive way,” said Patel.

Connecting the Dots

A major focus of Gallion’s, Travel Elevates’ and Signature’s is making sure these grants are not a one-and-done-type of situation. They want to ensure that the money is continually reinvested into the community, focusing more on improving and less on sustaining. Hence the network’s focus on “positive impact” travel versus “sustainable” travel.

“At Regionals, I was able to unveil that we are going back to all our grantees and we’re asking them to step up—and they all are,” said Gallion. What does this mean? “They are going to make themselves available as a point person—almost a concierge” for travel advisors who are (or whose clients are) traveling to their destination to assist in booking on-the-ground tours and volunteer experiences.

The reaction from advisors at those Regionals? Gallion said, “They just got so excited.” They must all know what Patel knows: these types of experiences make the most lasting impact for travellers (as well as those in the destination).

An integration into SigNet will allow Travel Elevates to offer these types of experiences the way Pack for a Purpose works within the network. When a Signature advisor goes to log an itinerary for a client, they will be able to see what grant recipients are located in the destination and how their clients can give back in a meaningful way.

“We’re going to connect the dots for them and make positive impact travel even easier,” said Gallion.

Patel added: “I think it’s the perfect resource. I used to have to do this research on my own,” vetting each individual foundation, which she said “was the most critical thing, because you don’t know what you don’t know.” This takes the guesswork out of it and provides confidence that she isn’t sending her clients to something that looks “great on the outside, but then you show up and it’s something completely different.”

A Lasting Impact

What Signature hopes is that this creates a ripple effect among travellers. Gallion explained that Signature hopes travelers will join a Travel Elevates experience once they learn how they can help on the ground—but she added the network would be just as happy if travelers find their own meaningful ways to support the community.

The goal, said Gallion, is to stay connected to these communities perhaps for years after Travel Elevates’ initial grant offering.