Starfish Ventures
Hi,
I am the owner and founder of Starfish Ventures, a volunteer organisation based solely in Thailand. My background is advertising, after working for 7 yrs in London for The FT and The Economist I came to Thailand on a career break. I was touched by the people I met and the hardships they faced. I decided to start my volunteer company to help. Five years on we are going strong and helping communities, people and schools in rural Thailand. However we need to raise our profile to find the additional volunteers required to meet our investment aims.
In the last five years we haven’t made a profit, nor do we intend too. There is so much more I would like to do and have big plans for the future. Is there any advice, support or help with promotion you could offer?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
D. M.
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Dear D. M.,
Thank you for your email. I look forward to reviewing your operations more closely to better understand what it is that you do.
In answer to your question, you have at least five things to consider.
1) You can look at entities that currently service Thailand – nonprofit organizations, tour operators, hoteliers, etc., and discover ways in which you may “contract” with them to craft VolunTourism trips tailored to their specific needs.
2) You may review the companies and NGOs that provide VolunTourism trips and engagements in Thailand and discuss the possibility of creating a cooperative or collective marketing group. Something like this may already exist in Thailand.
3) Reach out to the Tourism Authority of Thailand to discover if they are promoting VolunTourism options in any of their publications or online. This may give you a chance to draft a story for them.
4) Look for blogs, websites, etc., that focus on Thailand – tourism, philanthropy, nonprofit services, etc. See if they are looking for content into which you may have deep insights or unique experiences that can be shared with their audiences.
5) The anniversary of the 2004 Tsunami is approaching in December. I do not know how or if you were involved in the recovery process, but it could be something that impacted your organization. Telling your story in relation to that event may very well serve your goal of motivating folks to volunteer.
I hope this supports you in beginning your journey.
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