Impact Report 2025 - Butterfly Foundation

IMPACT REPORT 2025

Thank you

Our Progress Belongs To You Everything you’ll see in the pages ahead every milestone reached and partnership formed - started with you. You’ve helped us write a remarkable story of what happens when we choose action over apathy.

Whether you gave your resources, your voice, or your trust, you’ve made our planet’s future look a little brighter today. In an era of climate urgency, your support proves what is possible when we lead with purpose.

We are profoundly grateful to have you by our side in this mission.

€1 MILLION TO POSITIVE IMPACT* BY 2028

2023

2024

2025

2026

€35.560

€85.193

€269.522

€129.807

2027

2028

MILESTONE IN THE MAKING

*POSITIVE IMPACT IS THE MEASURABLE, BENEFICIAL CHANGE RESULTING FROM A SPECIFIC ACTION OR INVESTMENT. IT DOES NOT MEAN "DOING NO HARM".

A Milestone In The Making We’re on a mission to redefine travel and make the whole industry more responsible.

Thanks to your continued support, we are on track to deliver €1 million (EUR) in direct environmental and social impact by 2028. €1 million means clean water, breathable air, restored ecosystems, and resilient communities leading the charge for a healthier planet.

Every contribution to the Butterfly Foundation accelerates this momentum, turning your generosity into tangible action across the globe.

The road ahead is long and full of hurdles...

The Long Game The world is looking for hope. For leadership. For ways to help. We have the stories and solutions, but we need your help to amplify them.

If 2025 taught me anything, it’s that driving systemic change is a slow, often unsexy process. When trying to create change, you'd better prepare yourself for endless lobbying, difficult conversations, and the persistence required to convince the skeptics. But I’m grateful for those moments of uncertainty, because they taught me that the only way through is action.

Action - no matter how small - is the only thing that moves the needle. While we’re programmed to celebrate the "big milestones”, it’s the small wins and targeted actions along the way that fuel us to reach the other side.

Looking back at our achievements in 2025, I am incredibly proud, but I am also restless. We have done much, but we are far from finished. The work remaining is vast.

A Perspective Shift The more I listened to the stories of our partners, the more I realized that the climate crisis is not just an ecological struggle; it is a profound social issue. Those with the fewest resources are often the ones bearing the heaviest burden. To fix our planet, we must also fix the inequities within our communities.

In 2026, we are learning to be smarter, more intentional, and more resilient. Thank you for learning and acting alongside us.

Harry Butterfly Foundation

Butterfly Foundation

Our Story

The Concept

We are travelers at heart, and we’ve seen the toll our journeys take. From the scarring of wild landscapes to the invisible weight of carbon emissions, the beauty we seek often pays the price for our curiosity.

Picture a single butterfly in the heart of the Amazon. A solitary beat of its wings creates a tiny stir in the air — a miniature current that, through a miraculous chain of events, eventually fuels a storm across the ocean.

In early 2024, an idea broke free from its cocoon. What began as a conversation became the Butterfly Foundation: a movement designed to transform the travel industry from the inside out.

This is The Butterfly Effect: the profound truth that tiny, intentional shifts, when layered together, generate monumental and unstoppable change.

“Within you lies the spark to shift the world.

No act is too small to be significant.”

The Butterfly Effect

The Mission

Be the Butterfly

To restore the balance, we are rooted in social and planetary stewardship. We mainly channel our resources into:

We believe every traveler holds the power of the wing-beat.

Whether you trade a flight for a train, choose a plant-forward menu, or support local grassroots efforts, you are the catalyst. Each choice sends a pulse of positive impact through the global ecosystem.

Rewilding & Regeneration: Healing the Earth’s wild lungs.

Education: Empowering the next generation of explorers.

Clean Energy: Powering the journey ahead without the footprint.

Animals: Protecting wildlife and helping strays receive the care they deserve.

As a for-purpose non-profit, our flight is fueled by travel brands and conscious explorers who believe in doing the right thing.

Guided by the Three P’s (Planet, People, and Profit), we protect the habitats we love while driving social progress.

© Volunteer Kjeld Zwier

Because we believe travel should also have a positive impact.

Trail Maintenance Iceland Super troopers Lars & Janine building a set of stairs on The Iceland Trail

71

Butterfly Projects in 2025

100 100

80 71

60

40

42

20 11

0

2023

2024

2025

2026

IT’S OUR GOAL TO SUPPORT 100 PROJECTS IN 2026

20.000m

2

old-growth forests protected

Preservation Our partnership with the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation took a stand for Europe’s last remaining ancient woodlands. By funding the direct purchase of endangered old-growth forests—including over 20.000m² across Äkäslompolo, Levi, Rovaniemi, Luosto— and protecting them under the Finnish Nature Conservation Act, we are permanently shielding these ‘primeval lungs' from commercial logging. This initiative creates forever-sanctuaries for endangered species, preserving the raw, untouched wilderness of Lapland for generations to come.

Lesson from the Field: The most effective way to prevent deforestation is simple but bold—buying the land and giving it back to nature, ensuring it is protected by law forever.

12.650

native trees planted

Reforestation Trees are more than carbon sinks; they are the lungs of the community.

Trees were planted in the green corridor by the Precious Tree Project during their Ecolution Festival in South Africa, and in the Peruvian Andes with the HoPe Foundation, while Lignaverda is making the desert green again in Namibia. Saplings restore degraded landscapes, fighting against desertification. We’ve learned that reforestation is most successful when it mimics natural biodiversity rather than monoculture.

Lesson from the Field: Success in reforestation is measured by the survival rate five years later, not the number of seeds dropped today.

Local soil knowledge is our greatest asset. Our trees planted in South Africa in 2024 had a 99% survival rate in 2025.

1 3 6 1.983

irrigiation tower

water wells

eco toilets

people gained access to better sanitation

3.754 people gained water access

2.700 animals gained water access

Fresh Water A water well is the starting block for education and health. By forging partnerships with Join For Water & Charity:Water in Uganda, and the Sustainability Development Trust in Namibia, we’ve seen communities transform. When children (mostly girls) no longer spend 4-6 hours a day fetching water, school attendance figures skyrocket. We are seeing time and time again that when we invest in the empowerment of women, the whole community flourishes.

Lesson from the Field: Sustainability means the community owns the pump. Our partners don't just drill water boreholes, they also focus on training local 'water committees' to maintain their own infrastructure, ensuring the water never stops flowing.

2.781,05 ton CO2e reduced

Clean Cooking In many rural communities, the traditional open-fire stove is a significant barrier to health and gender equality. By introducing high-efficiency clean cookstoves via our partnership with Greentripper, we are directly tackling the "hidden" labor of wood collection. Switching to clean technology reduces fuel consumption by up to 50%, immediately granting women hours of reclaimed time each day. This shift does more than clear the air of toxic smoke; it provides the breathing room necessary for women to pursue local leadership roles.

Lesson from the Field: Empowerment starts with the infrastructure of the home. Clean cooking isn't just an environmental fix; it is a catalyst for social agency.

98 37

Namibian seals freed Albanian strays spayed

Animal Conservation

© Volunteer Kjeld Zwier

Our partnership with Ocean Conservation Namibia proved that a single intervention can save a generation. Immediate action on the coastline ripples through the marine ecosystem, from entanglements to habitat protection. Alongside Wild At Life, we transitioned from crisis response to long-term habitat security. Beyond the wild, we funded numerous spay and neuter programs and animal shelters in Albania and Sri Lanka, humanely managing stray populations and improving animal welfare at the source.

Lessons from the Field: Long-term conservation success relies on the creation of "safe zones" where nature can recover, and populations are managed without constant human interference. In cities, spaying strays prevents overpopulation and reduces the number of homeless animals born into suffering.

3 3 28

hiking trails maintained cleanup actions international volunteers

Volunteering From the rugged highlands of Iceland with the Thórsmörk Trail team to the wild Balkan forests of Albania with PPNEA, our volunteers moved beyond observation to active protection. Whether it was hauling stones to prevent trail erosion, digging drains, or building stairs, these partnerships proved that the most immediate change happens when we roll up our sleeves. During our second River Cleanup in the French and Belgian Ardennes, our team gathered trash from the river banks and physically pulled plastic from our waterways.

Butterfly Foundation does not just want to transfer funds to other organizations. We want to send super troopers in the field who make a real, tangible impact. Come join us via info@butterfly-foundation.org!

Lesson from the Field: Change isn't just something we fund; it’s something we build, repair, and clean with our own hands.

1.500 1 meals provided

© Partner Honnold Foundation

greenhouse constructed

Education Education is a bridge, but it requires a solid foundation to span the gap of systemic poverty. Our work with HoPe Foundation in Peru and Limitless Horizon in Guatemala has taught us that children learn most effectively when their cultural identity is respected and integrated into their growth.

This year, the power of self-sufficiency became our allconsuming mantra: "Teaching people how to fish." In the Peruvian Andes, we supported a community in building a sustainable greenhouse.

Seeing school children take full responsibility for every seedling—nurturing them daily until they harvest the literal fruits of their labor—showcases the kind of "precious change" we strive for.

This hands-on approach to learning transforms a classroom lesson into a life-long skill, proving that true empowerment is rooted in the soil of one's own home.

Lesson from the Field: Lasting impact is born when we move from aid to an entrepreneurial mindset; by teaching the community ‘how to fish’ through projects like these, we create self-sustaining cycles of growth that we intend to double down on in the years to come.

5.663,50 raised for flood relief

Our Top Campaign In late 2025, our community demonstrated the true power of collective action when devastating floods hit Sri Lanka.

Through our partnership with local tuk-tuk teams we were able to witness the destruction firsthand and coordinate an immediate response. Thanks to your generosity we donated €5.663,50 to our partner's emergency relief fund, providing essential life-saving equipment like life jackets and boats.

These funds ensured that emergency responders could reach affected communities more quickly and safely, proving that when we come together, we can provide vital support exactly where it is needed most.

Lesson from the Field: Rapid-response disaster relief is most effective when built on pre-existing local partnerships and powerful campaining, allowing us to turn individual donations into immediate, life-saving resources on the ground.

Financial Transparency €533.834 RAISED FROM DONORS FOR POSITIVE IMPACT SINCE 2023

CORPORATE DONATIONS

2023

2024

2025

2026

€520.082

€35.560

€85.193

€269.522

€129.807

PRIVATE DONATIONS

2023

2024

2025

2026

€13. 752

€0

€5.476

€8.276

TBC

Who Is Funding Us? Corporate Donations At the moment, Travelbase is responsible for all corporate funding of the Butterfly Foundation. Travelbase gives 1% of the revenue of its ‘financially healthy’ business units to the Butterfly Foundation. ‘Financially healthy’ means all trips where the overarching business unit has a profit margin of 10% or more.

By booking a trip with Travelbase, 1% of your trip cost goes directly to the Butterfly Foundation, which means that while you explore the world, you’re also helping to build a more responsible travel industry.

Private Donations Beyond trip-based contributions, Butterfly Foundation also relies on private donors. These are one-time donations and monthly supporters — our BFFs (Butterfly Friends) — who help drive long-term, meaningful change.

Responsible Spending Our financial approach is rooted in intentionality and maximum efficiency, which is why we have been purposefully conservative in deploying our funds to date. We believe that generating a lasting positive impact requires more than just writing checks; it requires finding the right partners who can turn every euro into tangible change.

To ensure this, we consciously avoid large, traditional NGOs where contributions often get lost in complex overheads and administrative webs. Instead, we focus on empowering smaller, agile organizations that operate on the front lines, as we are convinced they can do more effective, targeted work with the resources they receive.

It is important to note that up until 2025, Butterfly Foundation operated with zero overhead costs, as these were fully carried by Travelbase; however, as we are scaling our operations, this has changed since January 2026. The breakdown will be shared in next year’s impact report.

The €153.565 currently* remaining is not idle capital—it is a dedicated fund being strategically held to fuel more high-impact environmental and social projects.

TO SPEND 28.8%

€153.565 REMAINING FOR POSITIVE IMPACT

€380.269 SPENT ON POSITIVE IMPACT SINCE 2023

SPENT 71.2% *Numbers reflect financial situation on 11.03.2026 at time of release of this impact report

2026 - What’s Next?

As we move into 2026, our primary objective is to scale the impact of our outdoor partners by focusing on carbon accountability and circular mountain economies.

Decarbonizing the Peaks For 2026, we are doubling down on initiatives that decouple mountain tourism from carbon emissions. New partnerships loading with ...

Montagne Verte: they make low-carbon rail travel the standard for alpine tourism and upcycle leftover outdoor apparel Protect Our Winters (POW): they mobilize the outdoor industry to influence climate policy and transition to renewable energy Mountain Riders: they accelerate the "Zero-Waste Mountain 2030" goal by implementing pollution surveys that stop waste at the source Summit Foundation: they provide infrastructure like cleanup bins and ecoboxes to ensure mountain trails remain pristine year-round

Protecting Our Playground The snow melting on high peaks eventually flows down to meet the sea. We want our work to protect the entire path, from the mountains where the water starts to the coastlines where it ends.

Defending the Coast Our collaboration with the Surfrider Foundation supports a powerful grassroots network dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s ocean, waves, and beaches.

Surfrider operates on the front lines of coastal conservation by focusing on five critical areas: plastic reduction, ocean protection, beach access, clean water, and climate resilience.

Join The Movement Building on the success of our previous trail and river projects, we are expanding our volunteer network to even more corners of the globe for 2026.

We are looking for passionate explorers to help us restore balance through hands-on stewardship in the following regions: Iceland: Return to the remote volcanic landscapes to continue vital work on trail maintenance and beach cleanups.

Africa: With WeAdventures, we’re launching WeVolunteer trips focused on sustainably supporting local projects and creating positive impact with a small group of volunteers. These are not intended for commercial profit.

We aren't just looking for physical labourers; we need a diverse team of nurses, social workers, and creative storytellers in Africa, too. Whether you are applying for our new 4–6 month ‘Butterfly House’ residency in Namibia or a trail maintenance project, we provide the flights, accommodation, and meals—you bring the passion.

The Packraft Trail - River Cleanup on May 18th, 2026 A huge thank you to the ten amazing volunteers who paddled the Semoy, searched tirelessly, and collected over 15 full 100L bags of waste to protect our waters!

Butterfly Houses 2026 is the year of the ‘Butterfly House’. We are evolving from supporting global projects to planting our own roots on the ground, starting with a landmark social impact pilot in Namibia (and further potential extension to Tanzania).

The First Wings: Namibia 2026 In partnership with the One Economy Foundation, we are launching a high-impact social program this Fall. We are searching for passionate volunteers—from nurses and social workers to creative storytellers—to join our movement for 3 months.

Our volunteers will live alongside the Namibia Nomads rangers in our very first Butterfly crew house. They will provide vital support where it’s needed most: Mentorship: Supporting street-integrated and orphaned children.

Healthcare & Education: Assisting in local clinics, administering vaccines, or teaching English on or off campus.

Data & Insight: Collecting on-the-ground data to ensure our impact is measurable and scalable.

© Partner Rainbow of Hope

A Continent of Connection The Namibia crew house is just the beginning. Our vision is to ‘pop up’ Butterfly Houses across Africa, creating a network of Social & Planetary Stewardship hubs. These houses will serve as the heartbeat of our local operations—fueling much-needed social work and community empowerment by bringing the right skillsets to the right places.

Be The Butterfly At the Butterfly Foundation, we are incredibly proud of the milestones we've reached together, and your support is what will drive us toward our ambitious 2026 goals. To build a more responsible travel industry, there are several ways you can take action: Become a BFF By joining our community of monthly donors, you are directly investing in the health of our planet and its people. Whether you are a traveler, a parent, a business owner, or a concerned citizen, becoming a BFF is a commitment to the well-being of future generations. Your recurring contributions provide the stable foundation we need to scale our work—reminding us all that collective action is the heart of the "Butterfly Effect".

“Small acts, multiplied by millions of people, can change the world.”

– Howard Zinn

Partner With Us We are always looking for non-profit organizations or grassroots activists who need a boost in funding. We believe that the more wings we have, the stronger our positive impact becomes. If you are an influencer, journalist, or policymaker with a passion for philanthropy, let’s explore how we can drive meaningful change together. Reach out to us via email to start the conversation.

Volunteer Your Time If you want to do more than just donate, you can make a tangible difference by getting your hands dirty in the field. Our events range from mountain trail restoration and river cleanups to tree planting and advocacy. Check our webpage and follow along with WeVolunteer for upcoming opportunities to experience the Butterfly Effect in real life.

“The most important right we have, is the right to be responsible.”

– Gerald Amos