Client Case Study: Social Impact
Mandeep Kaur Jhajj - TribesforGOOD
Mandeep Kaur Jhajj represents a new generation of social entrepreneurs in India. Her work has taken her to various cities in India & South East Asia. Along with many years of corporate sector experience, her deep motivation to help the marginalized in India makes her a unique and talented leader.
Mandeep is undeniably one of the most passionate leaders in the Transformational Travel Movement, bringing the social impact sector to new heights. She founded TribesforGOOD to give change-makers a deeper understanding of how to use their own talent and energy to better the local community, country and the world!
Our world is full of people wanting to travel and make an impact but with little direction on where to begin. We are on a mission to change that.
Social Impact Journeys
Vs
Volunteer Tourism
While they may be mistaken for traditional volunteering, Social Impact Journeys are quite different by nature.
Social Impact Journeys are designed to be the first step on a life-changing path. They help travelers find the ways to get involved, and gain the skills to affect the social issues that matter. Volunteer-tourism on the other hand offers “make you feel good” trips that act more like a showcase without making a long-term impact on the community.
TribesforGOOD trips are more of a “consulting assignment” rather than volunteering, therefore the impact is measured in months rather than simply instant gratification.
The Social Impact Journey is a 7-day experience in Mumbai for individuals who are interested in the social impact space, entrepreneurship and innovation. Each Social Impact Journey comprises of 5 workshops, 4 field visits and 1 hackathon.
TRAVEL
Sector Deep Dive & Learning Walks: travel off the beaten path to speak directly with community leaders, see local innovations in action, and understand how progress is being lead from the ground up
LEARN
Discover ‘you’ as a changemaker. Reverse that feeling of ‘not sure how’ by contributing your strengths to solve the issues that bother you.
GIVEBACK
HACKATHONS: work with local entrepreneurs on causes close to your heart and solve some of the most pressing issues in India. Projects range from marketing, fundraising, writing proposals and design solutions.
Trip CHALLENGES
- Strategic planning
- Attention to logistical details
- Alignment of participants personal goals with the travel program
Themes covered during the trips:
- Urban poverty
- Women empowerment & Livelihood
- Collaboration between Non-profits & Government schools and Sustainable Fashion
Group Travel Management Lessons from TribesforGOOD
APPLICATION PROCESS Is Critical
To participate in the experiential learning travel with TribesforGOOD, a traveler must go through an application process. Because it is so immersive, it can be quite challenging. Mandeep needs to know that the people who are coming are the right fit, understand what they are getting into and have the right mindset for the trip. The application process ensures the participants have their expectations set properly and are prepared to put in the work.
The First Trip Is Of STRATEGIC Importance
2018 social impact journey was set to barely cover costs the first time around as it was viewed as an investment in the future. The purpose was to create advocates from the first cohort that would spread the word for the next time around, like this article on “5 Things I Learnt on TribesforGOOD’s Social Impact Journey!” by the first trip participant, Jeanetta Munro.
Find The Right Influencer for YOUR Audience
Mandeep mapped her target market onto the influencers who were in social entrepreneurship. Along the way she found Pam Grout, author of 16 books and a truly inspirational human. Mandeep invited Pam to join her first journey, and in exchange Pam wrote articles to help Mandeep reach more of the people who are looking for the type of career and life-changing experiences TribesforGOOD delivers.
PRO Advice: be sure to get Google Analytics data to confirm real traffic from influencers before you commit to spending PR money. Set the right goals and performance indicators – sometimes success cannot be measured in conversation, and should be set to awareness instead.
Passion-Driven Doesn’t Mean Low Quality Expectations
The fact that travelers are passionate about the cause doesn’t mean the trip can be disorganized. In fact, the quality of the group travel product is as important for future development as social impact, and personal interaction with the participants is critical for building long term connections.
While TribesforGOOD is “not a travel company” her participants often expect travel agent-type support, so she has partnered with a company that can add excursions to other travel offerings
What's NEXT
You can apply for the next Journey by TribesforGOOD to support local initiatives in India and make an impact you always wanted to make.
Unique programs involving unique group travel trips like the ones TribesforGood offers is something we see quite often in the Transformational Travel Movement when you’re not just selling the flights and hotels that typical travel companies make their money from. In fact, Mandeep feels coordinating the travel component is not part of their core competency since she doesn’t want to be seen as competing with typical travel companies.
We see this a lot with YouLi trips, which is why assigning tasks to your travelers to book their own flights and/or accommodation is a great way to avoid having to do the booking yourself while still ensuring it gets done for everyone. You can invite your partner Travel Agent so you manage both the program and the bookings in one place.
Available for all YouLi clients
Personalized Itineraries
Personal Interaction with every traveler is what helps TribesforGOOD stand out from the crowd
Tasks for Travelers
When you don't book the flights for the program participants but need to ensure they get done, tasks feature is critical for success
Registration Pages with Private Access
Not all travelers are allowed into social impact journeys, so the software that can separate public from private access makes life of a trip leader much easrie
Automated Emails
Updates and reminders automatically sent out to every involved party.
Team Communications
No emailing spreadsheets around. All documents are synchronized and updated instantly.
Document Management
International travel involves high amount of paperwork. YouLi document management feature significantly simplifies the process.