Airbnb Community Fund grant supports Canadian sustainability & conservation

When Hosts on Airbnb open their doors to travelers from around the world, they welcome their guests into their communities, too. As part of our commitment to share Airbnb’s success with our stakeholders, we want to give back to the neighborhoods and towns our Hosts call home. In 2020, Airbnb created the Airbnb Community Fund to distribute $100 million USD through 2030 to help strengthen communities around the world. 

We are excited to announce the 2022 Airbnb Community Fund grant recipients. In 2022, the program’s primary focus was sustainability, with more than $6 million in grants awarded to over 20 organizations working to protect our planet and promote environmental sustainability and conservation in 19 countries across six continents. As in 2021, our Host Advisory Board provided important feedback to inform this process. 

In Canada, we’re thrilled to announce that Surfrider Foundation Canada is a grant recipient, receiving a $25,000 USD grant. Surfrider Foundation Canada is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the ocean, beaches, and waves.

“Surfrider Foundation Canada is so grateful for this generous donation from Airbnb. These funds directly support our important work in communities across Canada to reduce plastic pollution, protect the ocean, preserve public beach access and ensure clean water so that all people can enjoy the coast.”

Surfrider Foundation Canada

Other 2022 grant recipients include organizations around the world such as: Leave No Trace in the US, WWF-Brazil Coral Reef Restoration Project in Brazil, EcoExploratorio in Puerto Rico, Retake Roma in Italy, Lapalala Wilderness School in South Africa, The Association of National Trusts in Japan, the National Trust of Korea in Korea, and Bush Heritage in Australia. 

In 2022, the Airbnb Community Fund also supported sustainability education and awareness programs, as well as organizations performing home energy audits to help Airbnb Hosts across the UK and France improve the energy efficiency of their homes. The recipients were Effy and Essentiem in France, and Energy Savings Trust and The Energy Saving Trust Foundation in the UK. In addition, Airbnb also directed Community Fund grants to additional organizations that we believe play an important role in communities around the world. 

During 2021, the Community Fund’s inaugural year, Airbnb distributed grants to more than 150 organizations focused on COVID-19 relief, economic empowerment, and education as they worked to meet the unprecedented needs brought about by the pandemic. Many of these organizations have since shared how the funding impacted their communities over the last year. Among the impacts these organizations shared, Rescuing Leftover Cuisine, Inc. provided 410,000 meals for Americans living in food insecurity and the Irish Hospice Foundation developed bereavement education programs for frontline workers. 

To learn more about the Community Fund and the grant recipients, please visit the Airbnb Community Fund page.