The Mountaineers
Since 1906, Mountaineers members have come together to discover the best ways to go farther together. Today, members still continue to find ways to promote the benefits of getting outside to resource and elevate our mission using their shared love of the natural world, along with a healthy dose of imagination, hospitality, determination, and generosity.
Mission: The Mountaineers enriches the community by helping people explore, conserve, learn about, and enjoy the lands and waters of the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
Through a careful strategic planning process, Mountaineers members like you help to shape the way that we accomplish our mission. You provide input and feedback to steer our community toward the future that you want based on your values and experiences. You lead trips and courses to meet the growing demand of outdoor education. And you provide funding, in the form of donations, to accomplish our goals. Together, we build a foundation to engage future generations in advocacy, adventure, education, volunteerism, and community.
Year-end fundraising plays a key role toward investing in our best ideas and growing our impact in the PNW and beyond. Donations help more people access the outdoors and join in conserving our natural world.
The Mountaineers Strategic Plan
As a direct result from community feedback, our current strategic plan, Vision 2022, put into words how The Mountaineers adventure with purpose. It provided focus and structure to support our ability to work together across all activities, branches, lodges, and education centers. The plan also put a stake in the ground for our goal to become a more equitable and inclusive organization where all people can feel belonging. Three key priorities emerged to guide our actions and investments: Lead, Engage, and Advocate.
Investing in the future of outdoor recreation through conservation continues to be a top priority for Mountaineers members. Photo by Mckenzie Campbell Davies.
As we close that 5-year plan, we are deep in the process of revisiting our goals for the coming decade and we know that we’ll continue to lean into our three strategic priorities, but with a refreshed perspective.
As a community, we want to lead innovation in outdoor education, engage a vibrant community of outdoor enthusiasts, and advocate on behalf of the natural world. These priorities helped to inform the development and growth of programs across activities and branches over the last 5 years, even in the face of extraordinary changes to our world and economic landscape.
Adventure with Purpose
Lead
Engage
Advocate
Donations fund Mountain Workshops as well as the Gear Library, which outfits young participants, and helps foster a future generation of outdoor advocates. Photo by Bri Vanderlinden.
Funded by the Community
Ever since The Mountaineers became a 501(c)(3) in 2011, members have been able to support our mission and operations with tax-deductible contributions. This additional revenue supports the things we value most, such as community, advocacy, accessibility, and volunteerism. In short, donations help us fund innovation and access through scholarships, advocacy, new programs for youth and adults, and support for our volunteers.
For the 2023 fiscal year starting on October 1, 2022, we hope to raise $1.8M in charitable donations to fund our member- and volunteer-informed goals. Earned revenue, like book sales and course fees, sustain much of The Mountaineers operations. But philanthropic revenue helps break down financial barriers for people in our community, fund conservation education and advocacy efforts, invest in innovative volunteer-led outdoor education, and more.
Charitable contributions bolster volunteer leaders and support their ability to lead innovation in outdoor education. Photo by The Mountaineers.
Year-End Donations Have an Outsized Impact
About a third of Mountaineers donors choose to make a gift in November or December. Because of this, our success in 2023 is both fueled and predicated by hitting our year end fundraising goals. In the next four weeks, we hope to raise $200,000 to set us on a path for success in the year ahead. And as of December 1, we have raised more $50,000! Your donation this month will make the best parts of what we do possible. Your year-end donation will help us go farther together.
If you’ve found value in your Mountaineers experience and feel inspired to give back to fund the future of outdoor education, there are many ways to help:
- Make an unrestricted year end donation to maximize your impact.
- Donate in honor of your favorite volunteer or in memory of a loved one. We can work with you to send a special recognition of your gift to a friend or family member.
- Direct a gift through your donor advised fund, IRA, or gift of stock. Your financial advisor can help you determine the best way to leverage a planned gift for tax benefits.
- Amplify your giving as a donor or volunteer with an employer match. Many companies will match employees' donations and volunteer hours.
- Contribute to our scholarship fund to improve access for youth and adults.
The Mountaineers® is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located at 7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115. Our staff work to support our seven branches (Bellingham, Everett, Foothills, Kitsap, Olympia, Seattle, and Tacoma), three lodges (Baker, Meany, and Stevens), and our Kitsap Forest Theater. Tax ID: 27-3009280.
