Climbing related non-profit organizations.

I'm looking to make some charitable donations soon, and I'm wondering if there are any other suggestions for non-profit organizations that benefit climbing, specifically those that benefit areas close to home (northern Colorado). Not only that, I'm wondering if anybody knows which organizations are most efficient with their donations. I've seen plenty of non-profits that waste money on things that don't directly benefit the cause and I'd prefer to give money to those that make the most of it. Safety (eg. bolts) and access issues would be my primary concerns.

So far my list includes:

• ASCA (American Safe Climbing Association)
• Access Fund
• AAC (American Alpine Club)
• NCCC (Northern Colorado Climbing Coalition)

Any suggestions are welcome, and I urge everybody else to help out in whatever way they can, too.
- Ian

Hmm, where did the "Access fund, access fund, access fund" reply go? Though it may not have seemed like a very useful reply, it did prompt me to go read more about the Access Fund, and so far I've liked what I read (only 16% is spent on administration and fundraising...not bad at all).

All of those are good choices. Ignoring the statement around most efficient use of your funds, as that is extremely debatable, and only looking at if you want the money to go as close to home as possible, the best choice is a LCO (local climbing organization). For Fort Collins, the NCCC is very good - they do great work with access, trail days, bolt replacements, etc. The next closest LCOs would be in Boulder. The Boulder Climbing Community (BCC) is a nonprofit 501c3 that uses its money for trail work, bolt replacements, etc. Flatirons Climbing Council (FCC) and Action Committee for Eldorado (ACE) also do similar things for their respective areas. All the aforementioned organizations do not have paid board members, so all money going in goes towards climbing related things (trail day stuff, bolts, etc).

In the end, I don't think you can go wrong with any donation as it's all for the greater good. I can give you direct contact info for any of the leaders of the local LCOs if you want. I myself sit on the board for the BCC and FCC and would be happy to answer any questions you have about them. Just PM me through this site.

As a side note, I would guess most of those organizations would be fine with spending your contribution on whatever you tried to earmark it for (if appropriate of course). For instance, you can contribute to the BCC and say I'd like this to go towards fixed anchor replacement and we could do that. What we wouldn't necessarily agree to is bolt replacement on a specific route or something like that. It'd just go into the bolt replacement fund, which we get great deals on, so the money goes even further than "retail" price on bolts/hangers/etc

Ian, check out vetexpeditions.com/

It's run by some local (Denver) veterans, who are getting other veterans outside, most frequently on climbing trips, to help them with PTSD and even suicide. Great people, and it was Veteran's Day 4 days ago!

I don't know the numbers for their "efficiency", but I do know the guys who started this, and I doubt you'd find people that are more deserving of your generosity.

AMGA

Thanks for the info Jason!

Jason Haas wrote:Ignoring the statement around most efficient use of your funds, as that is extremely debatable... All the aforementioned organizations do not have paid board members, so all money going in goes towards climbing related things (trail day stuff, bolts, etc).

That's good to know. I hadn't really looked into the organizations too much before posting, and my only past experience with non-profits has been with some "green" non-profits in the Bay Area that have board members with salaries that put them in the 1% (middle six figures). I find that kind of crap disgusting. It's good to know that these climbing organizations are all run by people with integrity.

Phoenixmultisport.org these guys are for a great cause.

Ah, the business of "non-profit." It seems the majority of so-called "non-profits" are ran as large, for-profit corporations (e.g. most "non-profit" hospitals and many colleges).

That said, the Access Fund is one of the few remaining real non-profits. I would put your money there and know it is being spent well. Awhile back the Access Fund flew a policy expert out to my area to help us with an issue. Great guys for sure. The ASCA is another good bet. Those are probably the best two options, and those two are probably the closest to the legitimately-non-profit spectrum.

ParadoxSports.org is my favorite.

escaladaurbana.com/english/
Asa Firestone's program to get kid's from the slums up on the rocks.

Friends of Indian Creek