TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Accessibility Funding

TravelAbility Deepens Its Impact with Formation of the TravelAbility Foundation

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The New Nonprofit Arm Provides Additional Tools to Promote Inclusive Travel

TravelAbility Foundation logo on top of a screened image of a person in a wheelchair on a field of grass.

Sausalito, CA—TravelAbility, the leading organization working to improve the travel experience for people with disabilities, has announced the formation of the TravelAbility Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to removing barriers to accessible travel. 

“The Foundation gives us a new set of tools to expand our work within the travel industry and create additional pathways to support individuals with disabilities, families, and seniors,” said Jake Steinman, founder and CEO of TravelAbility. “It diversifies our business model and allows us to pursue new sources of funding in support of, and in partnership with, our network.”

TravelAbility has grown rapidly in five years primarily through the guidance and resources it provides to destination marketing organizations (DMOs) including a very successful annual conference, the Emerging Markets Summit. Other programs and initiatives include The Accessibility Playbook, Accessible Journeys Magazine, hospitality training courses, and the recently launched TravelAbility Trusted, a vetted list of vendors and service providers that meet TravelAbility’s standards for accessibility. 

“The for-profit and the non-profit complement each other,” said Steinman. “They will share some resources, but they are separate entities with different goals. The for-profit provides goods and services to our clients in the field. The nonprofit will focus more on advocacy and in identifying and scaling up promising practices from our network.”

The Foundation recently landed its first donation, a $60,000 gift from Wheel the World. See related story. It is also in the process of hiring grant writers to partner with leaders of DMOs seeking public funding for innovative solutions to improve access for travelers with disabilities. 

TravelAbililty’s reach is local, regional, and global. It is the official Accessibility Advisor/Partner for:

-Destinations International

-Visit Florida

-The American Pavilion at Cannes Film Festival

-Conference Direct

-Visit the Palm Beaches

Funders can also support the Foundation’s work by making donations on its website.

For more information contact info@travelability.net.

TravelAbility Community Members Who Shined Bright

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Recognitions and updates from our partners in the field

Events

A photo from the Rose Parade of a dancer dressed as a three-headed red rose

Visit Lauderdale turns an industry lunch into a full-scale production

“We unveiled a dynamic new marketing plan for the year, a blossoming bouquet of innovative ideas and strategies that promise to dazzle and embrace.”

People

A collage of head shots of Alvaro Silberstein; Cory Lee, Suzanne Edwards, and Sylvia Longmire

Condé Nast Traveler Names 14 People Making Travel More Accessible in 2024

The list includes several current and former advisors to TravelAbility: Alvaro Silberstein of Wheel the World; Cory Lee of CurbFree with Cory Lee; Suzanne Edwards of AirBnB; and Sylvia Longmire of Spin the Globe

Head shot of Josh Loebner

Interview with longtime TravelAbility advisor Josh Loebner on inclusive design

Community/DMOs

A small boy using a wheelchair next to a man who is pointing out a mural of a dog's face on a city building

BBC features Fort Wayne as a model of accessibility

16 Michigan DMOs win accessibility grants

Visit Huntington Beach takes a field trip to Visit Mesa

Oregon Coast Scores $1.1 Million in Grants for Accessibility

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Historical photo in sepia tones of an older Black man playing a violin

As we reported in last month’s Insider, Travel Oregon has awarded $3.6 million in competitive grants to DMOs, attractions, and cities for inclusion and accessibility projects. Of that total, more than $1 million will go to Oregon Coast organizations. 

The scope and diversity of the funded projects is vast. Travelers with disabilities will gain both new and improved access to a wide range of natural, recreational, and historic sites. The grants will also fund accessibility studies by Wheel the World in two regions along the coast. Read more.

TravelAbility TakeAway: If you want to see the impact that all of you are making through your participation in TravelAbility, take a trip to Oregon. Travel Oregon, which sent more than 30 staff members to the Savannah summit, is putting into practice ideas and partnerships they’ve developed through active engagement with the network. It’s inspiring to see an ambitious program implemented state-wide.

Census Bureau Considers Controversial New Criteria for “Disability”

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Author and disability activist Alice Wong seated in a wheelchair.
Author and disability activist Alice Wong

In an effort to obtain more nuanced information and to bring US disability data in line with international standards, the Census Bureau is recommending replacing yes/no questions with performance scales, such as:

Does this person have trouble walking?

  1. No Difficulty
  2. Some Difficulty
  3. A Lot of Difficulty
  4. Cannot Do At All

One federal agency has recommended that only answers C and D would meet the definition of a “disability,” vs. a “condition.” 

“Millions of disabled people will no longer count, which is just the latest in the historic struggle to be seen as a significant community that matters,” says author and disability activist Alice Wong, founder of the Disability Visibility Project. 

Read more

TravelAbility TakeAway: This approach to redefining “disability” could have far-reaching implications for federal funding for accessibillity. We’ll be tracking the progress of the debate leading up to the next period of public comment in the Spring.

Disability Opportunity Fund Awards $250,000 in their own Shark Tank

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Group of 13 people posing with an oversized check bearing the Maidenbaum logo and standing in front of a Maidenbaum backdrop

Long Islanders typically cringe at the mention of sharks, but eight companies serving the disability community were thrilled to enter the Shark Tank in Garden City last month organized by the Disability Opportunity Fund (DOF). The fund gave out $250,000 during the pitch fest to support product development and job creation benefiting individuals with disabilities. First prize of $50,000 went to Valence Variations, which has developed an AI-powered app that can read and interpret a speaker’s emotions.

“Thank you so much to the Disability Opportunity Fund for this opportunity,” said Valence Vibrations Co-Founder and CEO Chloe Duckworth. “This capital is going to accelerate our growth to be able to support more neurodiverse people and help in building digital accessibility.”

The Shark Tank competition was part of the DOFs (DOF) 15th anniversary celebration. The evening also included a major funding announcement from the Maidenbaum Property Tax Reduction Group, which together with DOF awarded $75,000 in grants to 15 Long Island nonprofit organizations that support people with disabilities. Each organization received a $5,000 grant to continue and expand on their work. Read more.

TravelAbility TakeAway: Are Shark Tank competitions taking a bite out of the traditional phone book-sized grant proposal? (By the way, what’s a phone book?) That could be a welcome trend in the industry, particularly for the extroverts out there who make it look easy. Don’t be fooled: Pitching to an audience is still a lot of work and a lot of pressure.