Corporate Travel Suppliers, Buyers Join Charitable Effort

The Millennium Foundation today announced it would enable donations for its Massivegood charity to be collected through corporate travel channels, with the backing of industry heavyweights including Amadeus, American Express, BCD Travel, Carlson Wagonlit, Sabre and Travelport.

Massivegood, which aims to fight HIV, malaria and tuberculosis and promote maternal and child health in conjunction with UNITAID, launched in September last year and went live in the United States in March, but initially was limited to collecting donations—a couple of dollars at a time—through retail-focused travel sites.

Now, companies can opt into the program and allow their travelers to make personal contributions through their corporate booking channels, donate corporate funds or both. Marathon Oil Corp. is the first corporate client to do so, said Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria president and CEO John Tedstrom. GBC said it expects to identify other companies to "serve as early participants" this week during its conference.