2026 Sponsored Projects
Travel Elevates is honored to support twelve grant recipients for 2026. Below find the details for each community project sponsored and further ways to learn more about each non-profit.
Women’s Skill Center & Entrepreneurship Hub
India | AKP’s Project Shakti will help 75 women every six months receive hands-on training, mentorship, and job placement support—empowering 300 women over the next two years and helping launch 20 women-led micro-enterprises. The Travel Elevates grant will provide Project Shakti the opportunity to expand with a new Women’s Skills and Entrepreneurship Center in Jaipur, offering certified training in sewing, computer literacy, and business development for women seeking financial independence. The center strengthens long-term economic stability by providing market access and entrepreneurial guidance. After the initial implementation period, the facility becomes self-sustaining ensuring continued education, employment, and empowerment opportunities for women across the region.
Expanding Educational Impact Around Amboseli
Kenya | Travel Elevates grant will help AKP upgrade Kitirua Nalepu Primary School near Amboseli National Park to enhance education for young learners. The project includes constructing two new classrooms, an office, proper washrooms, and a kitchen/dining space—creating a healthier, more supportive environment for 200 current students and enabling enrollment to grow to 240. With improved sanitation, daily meals, and safer learning spaces, students will experience better attendance. Sustained through local partnerships and community involvement, this initiative strengthens the link between tourism and positive social impact, ensuring long-term educational benefits for children in the Amboseli area.
Children of the Rainbow Secondary School
Peru | In Peru’s Sacred Valley, AKP is partnering with Children of the Rainbow to expand educational opportunities by building a new secondary school. Serving a community where dropout rates remain high, the Travel Elevates grant will build classrooms and essential facilities for 30 students, growing to 150 annually. For over 20 years, Children of the Rainbow has provided holistic support—academics, health, nutrition, and emotional care—to vulnerable youth. This expansion ensures continuity in their education, equipping students with skills for employment and pathways out of poverty. With AKP’s long-standing support since 2008, the project is built for sustainability and community transformation.
Elevating Education in Bwindi’s Highlands
Uganda | AKP is elevating education in Nkuringo, Uganda, with a multi-purpose school pavilion at Ntungamo Primary School. The Travel Elevates grant will help Serve 650 students and over 2,800 community members, with the pavilion functioning as a dining hall, exam center, and community gathering space—improving nutrition, academic performance, and local engagement. Hosting national exams onsite reduces travel burdens for children, increasing attendance and safety. Rental income from community events will help sustain operations long-term. Modeled after other successful initiatives, this project strengthens health, education, and community, demonstrating how tourism-driven philanthropy positively impacts rural communities near Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
Building Sanitary Buildings at Primary Schools
Tanzania | Children in the Wilderness is addressing critical sanitation challenges at Manyara and Gwikongo Primary Schools, where over 2,000 students rely on unsafe, overcrowded latrines, impacting health, dignity, and girls’ access to education. The Travel Elevates grant will construct two gender-sensitive sanitary blocks with private stalls, water points, handwashing stations, and dedicated menstrual hygiene spaces. Complemented with hygiene education and maintenance training, the initiative is expected to reduce girls’ absenteeism up to 40% and improve overall student well-being. Community committees and hygiene clubs will help manage long-term upkeep, ensuring that safe sanitation, dignity, and gender equity remain central to these schools’ future.
Digilearn Expansion
Zambia | Project Luangwa’s Digilearn initiative has been transforming education in rural Zambia by providing tablets loaded with national curriculum content, interactive lessons, and digital learning tools. Many students previously learned computer skills only from chalkboards, limiting academic and job opportunities—especially for girls. Supported initially by a Travel Elevates grant in 2024, the program now reaches 824 students across multiple schools and aims to scale to 1,645 learners. Digilearn has already doubled literacy levels, increased pass rates by 31%, and reduced failure rates from 40% to 4%. Powered by solar infrastructure and trained local teachers, the initiative ensures long-term sustainability and equitable access to quality digital education. The new Travel Elevates grant will provide expansion in the Digilearn initiative and expanding program.
Hands of Hope: Baking & Sewing to Combat Gender-Based Violence
South Africa | Uthando’s Hands of Hope initiative supports survivors of gender-based violence by offering skills training, emotional support, and pathways to financial independence. In partnership with the Philisa Abafazi Bethu Women’s Centre, the six-month program provides baking, sewing, and basic computer literacy training for 20 women rebuilding their lives. Participants receive mentorship, counselling, and workshops focused on resilience, substance abuse prevention, and GBV awareness. The initiative improves mental health, confidence, and income potential while fostering strong community support networks. With plans to establish a permanent skills center in the Northern Cape, the program aims to break intergenerational cycles of poverty and violence.
Elevate Community Center
Colombia | Make a Miracle will establish the Elevate Community Center in Montería, Colombia—a permanent educational and wellness hub designed to meet high community demand for tutoring, technology access, and youth programs. The Travel Elevates grant will help build a 2,070 sq. ft. center, offering classrooms for tutoring and English lessons, a computer lab for digital skills, and multipurpose rooms for workshops, clubs, and counselling. The new center will double tutoring visits annually, provide daily tech access for 300 students, and host parent workshops on wellness and financial literacy. With no rental overhead, more funding supports programming, ensuring sustainable community uplift.
*This grant was funded by Amawaterway’s 2025 Partner Incentive Program campaign.
Digital Horizons: Multimedia & Digital Skills for San Pancho Community
Mexico | The Entreamigos’ Digital Horizons program will use this year’s Travel Elevates grant to expand digital access for children, youth, and entrepreneurs in the San Pancho community by offering over 150 annual workshops in multimedia, coding, animation, storytelling, and digital marketing. Designed to bridge educational gaps where local schools lack computer resources, this initiative will provide playful tech labs for young children, advanced digital design training for teens, and practical marketing courses for small business owners. Supported by digital nomads and local experts, the program and technology center will strengthen community skills, creativity, and economic opportunity.
Restoring Dignity For Students at Kijini School
Tanzania | Wild Impact Foundation is restoring dignity and improving health for students at Kijini Primary and Secondary Schools by addressing severe sanitation shortages. Nearly 1,000 students and teachers currently share just six toilets, creating unsafe conditions that disproportionately affect girls’ attendance and well-being. This Travel Elevates grant will construct 35 student and 4 staff ablutions at the Pre- and Primary School, and 10 student and 4 staff ablutions at Junior Secondary—achieving a 20:1 student-to-ablution standard. Daily cleaning by school staff and long-term maintenance by the Department of Education ensure sustainability, supported by Wild Impact and &Beyond guests. The upgrades create safer, healthier learning environments for all students.
The Shift
Bulgaria | This year Travel Elevates is providing a grant to the New Norm Hospitality’s initiative, The Shift, modernizing hospitality education in Bulgaria’s poorest regions by upgrading outdated school programs and facilities. Through new textbooks, renovated training kitchens, and teacher development, the program strengthens over 40 professional schools and equips students with practical culinary, customer service, and business skills. Over 75 educators and 500 students will benefit from improved training, entrepreneurship opportunities, and connections to local employers. Student teams will participate in business showcases, building confidence and real-world experience. By aligning education with industry needs, The Shift aims to reduce youth migration, strengthen local economies, and create a stronger hospitality workforce for Bulgaria.
Creating Change for Women of Indonesia
Indonesia | Planeterra has partnered with Rinjani Women Adventure in Senaru Village, Lombok, to help empower women through community-led tourism. With a Travel Elevates grant, the project will strengthen this women-led trekking guide association through specialized training, product development, and essential infrastructure upgrades. The initiative supports 30 women guides and over 50 households, improving economic independence, leadership skills, and community well-being. Using Planeterra’s four-step model—collaboration, training, market access, and mentorship—the project will create market-ready tourism experiences and secure long-term partnerships with responsible travel companies. This approach has been proven to ensure sustainable income, expanded skills, and lasting social and environmental benefits for community participants.