The Outdoor Foundation
The Outdoor Foundation is a public charity based in Boulder, Colorado. The organization says it is the philanthropic arm of the Outdoor Industry Association and works to expand access to outdoor recreation, address barriers to participation, and encourage the next generation of outdoor participants.
The Outdoor Foundation at a glance
In short: The Outdoor Foundation gave $514K across 12 grants in 2025 (avg $43K), top state Michigan. 33% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $514,029
- -21.8% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 12
- -7.7% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $42,836
- -15.3% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $25,000
- Total assets
- $2,268,045
- +33.6% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 33% first-time grantees (4 of 12, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Michigan (19% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated November 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to The Outdoor Foundation
- Contact
Mailing address: PO Box 21497, Boulder, CO 80308
Phone: (303) 444-3353
Website: https://outdoorfoundation.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who The Outdoor Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Detroit Parks Coalition ($100K). Together the top 10 received $474K.
Grant Size Distribution
60 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 24 grants of 60 (40%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The 2024 grants were distributed across multiple states. The largest shares of grant dollars went to recipients in Minnesota (20%), Michigan (19%), Virginia (19%), Washington (15%), and Maryland (8%). These figures describe the locations of reported recipients, not necessarily the full geographic scope of the foundation’s work.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 12 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is The Outdoor Foundation open to new grantees?
33%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 4 of 12 grantees (33%) were first-time recipients. With only 12 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 8 points. First grants averaged $41K; repeat grants $44K. How we count
Medians: $38K first-time, $25K repeat.
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2019–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $514K (2025) to $1.3M (2022). In 2025 it made 12 grants totaling $514K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Detroit Parks Coalition Detroit, MI | — | $100,000 |
| Thorne Nature Experience Lafayette, CO | — | $100,000 |
| King County Play Equity Coalition Seattle, WA | — | $74,029 |
| The Outdoor Inclusion Coalition Pittsburgh, PA | — | $50,000 |
| Maine Audubon Falmouth, ME | Youth Outdoor Part. | $25,000 |
| National Wildlife Federation Reston, VA | Youth Outdoor Part. | $25,000 |
| River City Outdoors St. Louis, MO | Youth Outdoor Part. | $25,000 |
| Riversport Foundation Oklahoma City, OK | Youth Outdoor Part. | $25,000 |
| The Nature Conservancy Arlington, VA | Youth Outdoor Part. | $25,000 |
| The San Diego Foundation San Diego, CA | Youth Outdoor Part. | $25,000 |
Ready to take the next step with The Outdoor Foundation?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $2,268,045 | $1,561,107 | $1,003,614 | $514,029 | 12 | $58,386 |
| 2024 | $1,697,791 | $824,925 | $1,231,540 | $657,212 | 13 | $21,126 |
| 2023 | $2,111,705 | $1,020,247 | $1,753,203 | $824,372 | 12 | $48,052 |
| 2022 | $2,849,383 | $2,636,844 | $2,217,006 | $1,313,469 | 15 | — |
| 2021 | $2,612,993 | $2,553,438 | $1,659,800 | $759,949 | 8 | $10,646 |
| 2020 | $1,662,305 | $1,423,237 | $1,095,688 | $586,300 | 12 | $-493 |
| 2019 | $1,275,083 | $1,907,778 | $1,693,219 | $871,173 | 29 | $12,190 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The foundation’s stated mission is to pursue charitable and educational purposes related to outdoor recreation and education, including preserving the natural environment, addressing outdoor-industry issues, and promoting participation.
Its filing describes two areas of work: convening and participation, including community-level partnerships and Thrive Outside support for existing programs and the infrastructure, planning, and resources to build lifelong engagement with the outdoors; and research on outdoor activity, participation trends, and youth inactivity. The foundation’s website describes Thrive Outside as connecting communities to the outdoors through equity-focused local partnerships.
In 2024, several grants were reported with the purpose “YOUTH OUTDOOR PART.” The grantees’ own descriptions illustrate the range of organizations supported: Wilderness Inquiry says it connects people of varied ages, backgrounds, identities, and abilities through shared outdoor adventures; the Detroit Parks Coalition describes its work supporting healthy, equitable parks and community parks programming; and Seattle Parks Foundation says it partners with community to champion thriving and equitable parks and public spaces. The Nature Conservancy describes its mission as conserving lands and waters, while RiverSport Foundation says it builds community through rowing and paddle sports.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2024, the foundation reported 13 grants totaling $657,212. Grant amounts ranged from $16,812 to $115,400, with a median of $25,000. Its largest reported grants included $115,400 to Wilderness Inquiry; $100,000 each to Seattle Parks Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, and Detroit Parks Coalition; and $50,000 to Chesapeake Bay Trust. Its 2025 filing, the latest on this page, reports 12 grants totaling $514,029.
Other reported grants included $25,000 each to the City of Grand Rapids, Maine Audubon, National Wildlife Federation, River City Outdoors, RiverSport Foundation, The San Diego Foundation, and West Atlanta Watershed Alliance.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2024 filing lists Kent Ebersole as president; Dr. Arlene Charles as former COO; Lesford Duncan as executive director; Amy Dominquez-Arms as chair; Hilary Hartley as secretary-treasurer; Jen Boldry, Danica Carey, Bill Neff, and Nate Simmons as directors; and Jen Neuhaus as past chair.
The Outdoor Foundation is led by Amy Dominguez-Arms, Chair since 2024 (on filings since 2019); none of the 7 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Amy Dominguez-Arms
Chair
Director → Vice Chair, 2023
Vice Chair → Chair, 2024
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Bill Neff
Director
On filings since 2022
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Danica Carey
Director
On filings since 2022
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Nate Simmons
Director
On filings since 2024
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jil Littlejohn Bostick
Director
New on the 2025 filing
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jen Neuhaus
Past Chair
Chair → Past Chair, 2024
On filings since 2021
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Hilary Hartley
Secretary-Tr
Director → Secretary-Tr, 2024
On filings since 2022
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (12)
- Former: Jen Boldry (2019–2024) — Director
- Former: Arlene Charles (2021–2024) — Former COO
- Former: Lesford Duncan (2022–2024) — Executive Di
- Former: Kent Ebersole (2024) — President
- Former: Ray Rivera (2019–2023) — Secretary
- Former: Joe Pellegrini (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Stephanie Maez (2021–2023) — Executive Di
- Former: Beaver Theodosakis (2019–2021) — Secretary
- Former: Sally McCoy (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Steve Barker (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Elizabeth Aangeenbrug (2019–2020) — Executive Director
- Former: Jennifer Mull-Neuhaus (2019–2020) — Vice Chair & Chair
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Frequently asked questions about The Outdoor Foundation
How much does The Outdoor Foundation give each year?
The Outdoor Foundation gave $514K across 12 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $657K across 13 grants.
What is The Outdoor Foundation's typical grant size?
The Outdoor Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $25,000, and its average grant was $42,836, across 12 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Outdoor Foundation that year got $41K on average.
Where does The Outdoor Foundation give grants?
The Outdoor Foundation's top state is Michigan, with 19% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990. The next largest states were Colorado (19%) and Washington (14%).
Who are The Outdoor Foundation's largest grantees?
The Outdoor Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Detroit Parks Coalition ($100,000), Thorne Nature Experience ($100,000) and King County Play Equity Coalition ($74,029), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 53% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Outdoor Foundation?
The Outdoor Foundation reported $2.3M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $1.6M.
What does The Outdoor Foundation fund?
The foundation’s stated mission is to pursue charitable and educational purposes related to outdoor recreation and education, including preserving the natural environment, addressing outdoor-industry issues, and promoting participation. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Outdoor Foundation?
The Outdoor Foundation has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check outdoorfoundation.org for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is The Outdoor Foundation's EIN?
The Outdoor Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 84-1549065. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated November 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS September 21, 2026)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS July 30, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS October 5, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS August 9, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS August 22, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS August 23, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS July 28, 2025)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work The Outdoor Foundation funds
Education Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
- UK Annual Writing Award: 'Pleasure in the Task of Writing' £250 (1st prize); £50 (runners-up); books for school library · Due November 5, 2026
- Nellie Mae Event Sponsorship Fund Grant Up to US $5,000 · Due November 5, 2026
- Rubin and Gloria Feldman Family Educational Institute Up to $5,000 · Due November 5, 2026
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in The Outdoor Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Outdoor Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-outdoor-foundation-morg_6c020a09c414430d9457529b987713f9
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_841549065_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Outdoor Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-outdoor-foundation-morg_6c020a09c414430d9457529b987713f9},
note = {Accessed 2026-11-04. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from The Outdoor Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
The Outdoor Foundation down — hundreds of funders to go?