Travel built for the mission-driven leader.
A new HCI membership for the Group Leaders at nonprofits, foundations, and mission-driven organizations delivering purposeful group travel.
Your travelers are connected to your mission and they expect meaningful experiences, not just sightseeing. We've built this membership for the people designing those journeys, and the organizations whose missions depend on getting them right.
For the mission-driven leader.
This membership is built for nonprofit organizations that use travel to deepen member engagement, support their mission, and generate revenue that keeps the work going.
Art, history, science, & cultural institutions
Wildlife conservation & education centers
Public & specialty libraries with member travel programs
Gardens & arboreta with engaged membership bases
Heritage organizations & preservation groups
Planetariums & STEM education organizations
Symphonies, theaters, & cultural foundations
Mission-driven organizations with loyal travel communities
Two missions, one trip itinerary.
You're not just planning trips, you're extending your organization's mission, deepening donor and member engagement, and generating the revenue that keeps programs running. Every trip has to satisfy the board, the development team, and the travelers themselves.
That's a different job than running a bank club, and it's a different job than running a for-profit travel business. Nonprofits carry unique accountability to their mission and their communities. We see that, and the membership reflects it.
Nonprofit travelers aren't booking vacations. They're extending a mission. The Group Leader who designs those experiences is part program officer, part relationship builder, part travel agent… and they deserve a community that gets all three.
Everything HCI offers, tuned for educational travel.
You get the same membership benefits as our other Group Leader members, with resources, peer connections, and education specifically built for the institutions you represent.
Peer Group Conference
Annual 4-day conference. Meet fellow Nonprofit Group Leaders, connect with Travel Partners who specialize in mission-aligned journeys, and build the relationships that make your year easier.
Curriculum-Driven Trip Design
Dedicated learning on building itineraries with academic substance, lecture integration, expert guides, theme development, and the educational frameworks that make trips count as real learning.
CTGL
The industry's formal credential, open to Nonprofit Group Leaders. Demonstrates professional standards to your board, your members, and your organization's leadership.
Nonprofit-Focused Peer Circles
Small curated groups of fellow Nonprofit Group Leaders only. Trade itinerary ideas, vendor reviews, fundraising integrations, and solutions to the organizational challenges only your peers really understand.
Nonprofit & Institutional Resources
Templates for board reports, ROI frameworks for development teams, member-engagement metrics, fiscal-year planning calendars, and the documentation institutional travel programs actually need.
HCI Partner Network
Direct access to PTOs, Travel Partners, and Corporate Partners, including the operators experienced with educational journeys and culturally-themed itineraries.
Monthly Virtual Meetings
Free monthly Zoom meetings for the whole HCI community, Member Spotlights, Travel Spotlights, and round tables. A consistent way to stay current with the field without leaving the office.
Mission Storytelling Support
Resources to help you communicate the educational and mission value of your travel program to boards, donors, and program officers, turning your trips into stories that resonate.
Built for the way your institution works.
Nonprofit Group Leaders get the same HCI benefits as our other members with resources, peer connections, and learning tracks tuned for mission-driven organizations.
The commercial path
Travel as a customer-relationship driver (banks) or a stand-alone business (independents). Success measured in trip volume, customer retention, and revenue growth.
- Primary metrics: Trip fills, deposits, customer retention
- Stakeholders: Bank leadership or business owner
- Trip design: Member experience & entertainment value
The mission-driven path
Travel as an extension of your institution's mission, education, engagement, and development. Success measured in mission impact, member loyalty, and the depth of the experience.
- Primary metrics: Educational impact, member engagement, development pipeline
- Stakeholders: Board, executive director, development, education team
- Trip design: Curriculum, faculty/expert content, theme integration
Same membership, same price.
Nonprofit Group Leader membership is priced identically to all our Group Leader memberships and the benefits are the same, with resources tailored to your organizational context.
joiners fee
For a limited time, the $350 joiners fee is waived for Nonprofit Group Leaders. Apply with the Quick Application below and we'll personally walk you through onboarding.
Annual dues for Nonprofit Group Leader members. Membership runs October 1 through September 30, and can typically be processed as an organizational expense.
Three steps to becoming a partner.
Complete your application
Complete the Membership Application. Or use the Quick Application at the bottom of this page if you'd prefer we reach out to you.
Submit it to HCI
Email completed applications to Andy Ziegler or call 401-443-0652 with questions.
Pay & you're in
You'll receive an electronic invoice to pay online, or mail payment to 359 Putnam Pike Unit B1, Smithfield, RI 02917.
Ready to join the community
Enter your email below to get started. Our team will follow up personally with the membership form, payment options, and answers to any questions you have.