Visitor Giving Forum

The Visitor Giving Forum took place across two days. Day one consisted of key note speakers and a selection of workshops and master classes. Day two comprised of site visits to see projects and businesses involved locally in Visitor Giving. The forum was enjoyed by all and received some great feedback. Thank you to everyone who came and we hope you left enthused and ready to set up or revamp Visitor Givnig in your destination. 

 Visitor Giving Forum Summary Report 

Key Note Speakers

The forum was privileged to have Harold Goodwin from the International Centre of Responsible Tourism and Louise Stewart from Visit England present at the event. Together they gave an overview of Visitor Giving in the global and destination context. Sue Savege, Nurture Lakelands director also shared how Visitor Giving works here in Cumbria. Use the links below to access their presentations. 

 Harold Goodwin 

 Louise Stewart 

 Sue Savege 

 

Marketing Visitor Giving

Delivered by former Cumbria Tourism, BBC and M&S marketing expert, Sheona Southern armed delegates with the know how to effectively market Visitor Giving within new destinations.

 View presentation here     

 

How and Why Should Tourism Give?

Experienced trainer and director of WildFell Training ltd, Bev Cavender, led this master class to ensure delegates are able to engage tourism businesses in Visitor Giving. Ruth Kirk, Nurture Lakeland’s dedicated fundraising manager, was also on hand to share her experiences and together Ruth and Bev explored the various methods that enable Visitors to donate via Visitor Giving.

 View notes and masterclass feedback here 

Utilising Social Media

Nurture Lakeland members have been privileged to enjoy the expertise of Zoe Dawes aka The Quirky Traveller at previous training events. Zoe's workshop explored the social media world in relation to Visitor Giving and provided the following information.

 The benefits of blogging 

 Nurture Lakeland example blog   

The Visitor Giving Model

The director of Nurture Tourism, Sue Savege, led this workshop to share her experience of running a Visitor Giving organisation and the options and best practice choices available to delegates who are thinking about starting a Visitor Giving scheme. 

 View notes from this workshop  

Visitor Giving Technology

Technology gurus Changing Horizons have helped Nurture Lakeland utilise technology numerous times over the years. Ben shared his expertise with two groups who benefited from tailored advice.  

 

How to Select Beneficiaries

Surprisingly the hardest part of Visitor Giving is deciding who to give the visitor donations to. With so many worthwhile projects in need of support, developing robust criteria will simplify and strengthen this part of the process for any destination. NIck Lancaster, Nurture Lakeland's director and small grants panel representative shared his experience.

 View notes from this workshop