Why You Should Help Support Outdoor Education

The novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic James Baldwin said it best when he wrote: “We are responsible for the world in which we find ourselves, if only because we are the only sentient force which can change it.” Those words guide us here at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE). Sure, we’re all about extreme adventures for teens and adults, along medical training for those interested in working in outdoor education and backcountry guiding, but at our core is a deep desire to help make the world a better place.

Through our values-based outdoor and adventure education curriculum, we’re able to foster an environment where personal growth and development flourish. But like most outdoor education programs fronted by amazing administrative staffers and outdoor educators and guides, we’re unable to do it entirely alone. That’s why — in addition to charging registration fees for our courses and trainings — we actively submit grant applications to foundations, seek gifts-in-kind, accept donations online, and encourage volunteers to share their time and expertise with our growing not-for-profit organization.

Sadly, most outdoor education programs would shutter if they had to survive on registration fees alone. It is only when registration revenue is combined with non-registration revenue (e.g., product sales) — and then augmented with grants and donations — that we find ourselves on solid financial footing.

With that in mind, we encourage you to consider outdoor education programs like NCOAE when planning your annual and seasonal giving. As we mentioned above, like many of the nation’s leading outdoor & adventure education programs, there are many ways to support what we do, including:

Make a donation: Cash donations help us enroll deserving middle and high school students in an NCOAE course aimed at providing a fun and educational outdoor adventure that is shown to improve one’s self-actualization, decision-making skills, and esteem.

Give a gift-in-kind: Rather than toss your old outdoor gear, office equipment, electronics, and slightly used whatever-you-haves, consider donating them to a outdoor education organization like NCOAE.

Volunteer your expertise and time: While we’re lucky to have great team here at NCOAE, we sometimes need additional support. If you have a particular expertise — one that’s related to education, youth development, or the acquisition of technical outdoor skills, you’re likely the perfect volunteer for an organization like ours.

Call our national office in Wilmington, North Carolina, today to discuss how best to support our unique outdoor education and adventure-based programming organization (we’re available weekdays, Monday through Friday, between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM [Eastern Time] by calling 910-399-8090).