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Massivegood Kicks-Off Corporate Donation Program

Companies now have an easy way to demonstrate commitment to global health with the launch of MASSIVEGOOD's corporate program, which lets them integrate a simple donation solution into their corporate travel systems. MASSIVEGOOD corporate is being unveiled today at the annual conference of the Global Business Coalition for HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis (GBC) in Washington, DC.

This year, the GBC will award special honors to Condoleezza Rice, Former US Secretary of State, the National Basketball Association, among others, and feature MASSIVEGOOD as an initiative that can add new meaning to business travel. "MASSIVEGOOD is a straightforward and effective way for companies and their employees to save lives, as a routine part of doing business," said GBC President and CEO John Tedstrom. "We're pleased that one of our members, Marathon Oil Corporation, has stepped up to make the first contribution as part of MASSIVEGOOD's expansion to the corporate travel market. And we're proud of other Coalition members - American Express, Carlson and Accor - who stand ready to put their systems and reach behind the effort. The Coalition is happy to support MASSIVEGOOD's work.

The world needs more and better financing mechanisms in global health." MASSIVEGOOD's program for leisure travelers was announced during the UN General Assembly in September 2009, and went live in the United States on March 4th, 2010 in New York, during a ceremony at the UN in which President Bill Clinton and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon were the first to "click" on MASSIVEGOOD.

The leisure program allows individual travelers to easily and securely donate $2 when they book travel reservations on websites like Travelocity and Accor, and through travel agents. "Micro-contributions" are used to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis and to improve the dismal state of maternal and child health in the developing world. Now, with MASSIVEGOOD corporate, companies can also donate to MASSIVEGOOD, and encourage their employees to donate as well when they travel for business, through a technology solution developed by the Global Distribution System (GDS) provider, Amadeus.

Companies can activate their MASSIVEGOOD corporate account on www.massivegood.org and can opt to match employee's micro-contributions or donate additional funds on their own. "Frequently traveling to the corners of the world, business travelers are more likely to have seen and experienced firsthand the challenges and conditions facing our global communities.

Amadeus is pleased to deliver the technology that will enable these global citizens to easily make a donation - and a difference - with a simple click each time they book a travel reservation," said Kay Urban, president and CEO, Amadeus Americas.

Leading travel management companies including American Express Business Travel, BCD Travel and Carlson Wagonlit Travel along with major online booking tools including GetThere from Sabre, e-Travel Management from Amadeus and Cytric from iFAO and others are committed to make MASSIVEGOOD a reality for corporations and business travelers. Aside of the support from the Corporate Business Travel sector and the GBC, giants such as the World Travel & Tourism Council, Amadeus, Sabre, Travelport, Mondial Assistance, Accor, Voyageurs du Monde, Club Med, Travel Corporation, BCD Travel, Travelocity, Delta Airlines, PhoCusWright and ASTAalready support MASSIVEGOOD. MASSIVEGOOD was created by the Millennium Foundation for Innovative Finance for Health.

Funds will be distributed in priority to UNITAID, an innovative funding mechanism for the purchase of drugs that has already saved millions of lives by lowering the price and increasing the availability of key treatments in poor countries. Bernard Salomé, Managing Director of the Millennium Foundation, stated "The private sector's involvement in this movement is vital. MASSIVEGOOD is about everyone's responsibility to improve global health. We would never have been able to launch this project without the support of the travel and tourism industry...now it is up to companies and citizens to do their part."

About the Millennium Foundation: The Millennium Foundation for Innovative Finance for Health ("Millennium Foundation") is a Swiss not-for-profit organization created in 2008 whose mission is to create a sustainable source of needed additional funding to achieve the three health-related Millennium Development Goals agreed to by the United Nations in 2000: to treat and fight life-threatening diseases, including HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis; to reduce childhood mortality; and to improve maternal health. To achieve its mission, the Millennium Foundation aims to inspire and empower citizens to join a global movement of solidarity dedicated to reducing the glaring inequalities in access to health care between rich and poor. The initial focus is the creation of MASSIVEGOOD, an innovative fundraising solution that makes it easy for all those who travel to make micro-contributions aimed at saving lives by fighting life-threatening diseases among the world's most vulnerable populations. For additional information, visit: http://www.millennium-foundation.org.