grant program

The Access Fund Climbing Preservation Grant Program funds projects that preserve or enhance climbing access and opportunities and conserve the climbing environment throughout the United States. We are most interested in making grants to organizations and individuals that identify and work on the root causes of local climbing access and conservation issues and that approach issues with a commitment to long-term change. Because we believe that true change will occur only through a strong grassroots movement, our funding focuses on organizations that build a strong base of local climber support and activism.

We fund, support, and work with grassroots activist organizations and individuals with direct-action agendas, working on multi-faceted campaigns to keep climbing areas open and conserve the climbing environment. The Access Fund believes that the local battles to resolve an access issue or conserve a climbing resource are effective in raising more complicated issues—particularly those of rock climbing as a legitimate use of public and private natural resources and conservation of climbing resources. We look for projects that produce measurable results, and we like to support efforts that compel the government to abide by its own—our own—laws.

Your group's efforts should be quantifiable, with specific goals, objectives and action plans, and should include measures for evaluating success. Because we're a member supported non-profit organization, we fund groups with missions aligned with ours and grant objectives that further that mission, and that's where we believe our small grants are most effective. Most grants are in the range of $1,000 to $4,000. The Access Fund considers requests for over $10,000, but these projects should have national significance and utilize a high degree of matching funds. If you are requesting more than $10,000 please call the Access Fund before submitting your application.