Honor the past and create future leaders with a gift today!
On June 8, 1965, 43 students gathered near Lander, Wyoming, to embark on a 30-day adventure into the Wind River Mountains. This trip marked the founding of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Today, 59 years later, we celebrate NOLS as a global leadership school offering a wide range of programs from Wilderness Medicine to Alumni Trips and Custom Education to Risk Services.
We invite you to support NOLS's mission by making a gift on our second annual Founders Day! Every contribution made has a significant impact on the development of our future leaders!
All donations in recognition of Founders Day count as participation and are eligible for a 1:1 match with our $4M donor challenge.
Please help us spread the word about #NolsFoundersDay and share your impactful NOLS memories with us on social media!
Dear Friends,
This Founders Day, we surpassed our goal of 300 donors by 15% and counting! Donations and notes are still coming in, and we couldn't be more grateful for your stories, passion, and commitment the NOLS mission.
With the support of our matching donors, we raised over $220,000 for the NOLS Fund, with our total still climbing.
Thank you for making this Founders Day truly remarkable. Please watch this short video of gratitude with words from NOLS President Sandy Colhoun.
The NOLS community never ceases to amaze me - and this Founders Day was no exception!
Thanks to YOU, we soared past our goal, securing the matching $40,000 and propelling us closer to our $4 Million Donor Match Challenge.
Your generosity didn’t just double - it created ripples of impact across the entire NOLS community!
Because of your support, Paul Petzold’s legacy of exploration, transformation, and adventure continues to flourish. Your contribution is a vital part of keeping the NOLS magic alive, and we couldn’t do it without you!
With heartfelt gratitude,
Lindsay Turner and the NOLS Team
838 days ago by Lindsay TurnerThanks for all your support this Founders Day. We are 38 donors shy of our 300 donor goal, with many hours still ahead of us. Your donations have helped to make this day a great success!
We have some great NOLS gear to giveaway: two NOLS wind pants, four NOLS branded puffy coats, and four NOLS branded rain coats.
You must complete these three steps in order to be entered:
- Follow NOLS.edu on Instagram
- Share a Founders Day post and
- Tag @nols.edu
*Winners will be direct messaged on Instagram by June 15th and prizes will be shipped, sizes are not exchangeable.
Good luck!
The NOLS Team
Thanks to your generous support, we have already reached 68% of our 300 donor goal for this year's Founders Day.
Please be sure to follow along tomorrow, June 8th, for fun stories, giveaways, and trivia on NOLS' social media pages.
In this video, NOLS graduate, Tom Warren fondly recalls his experiences from the inaugural Wind River Wilderness (WRW) Expedition with Paul Petzoldt.
Because of your support, this legacy of exploration, transformation, and adventure continues to drive the NOLS mission forward. Your contribution is a vital part of keeping the NOLS magic alive, and we couldn’t do it without you!
With gratitude,
NOLS Advancement Team
839 days ago by Lindsay TurnerGet ready for NOLS Founders Day and our Decade Challenge!
Here is how you can help us as an Ambassador
Step 1: Create a GiveCampus user account. You only need to provide name, email, and create a password
Step 2: Log in to your GiveCampus user account and start using the following advocate tools to promote Founders Day
- Click on any of the social sharing buttons.
- Create your own match or challenge:
- Match example: “Paul Petzold has pledged to match all first time donors gifts up to $4,000” OR “Thelma Young is matching every staff donation up to $1,000.”
Donors and Leaderboards
View All Donors| Decade | Donors | Raised ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s Decade (1965 - 1969) | 8 | $950 |
| 1990s Decade (1990 - 1999) | 58 | $13,250 |
| 2010s Decade (2010 - 2019) | 35 | $9,030 |
| 1980s Decade (1980 - 1989) | 24 | $17,100 |
| 1970s Decade (1970 - 1979) | 38 | $6,272 |
| Future NOLS Grad! | 0 | $0 |
| 2000s Decade (2000 - 2009) | 35 | $12,219 |
| Campus | Donors | Raised ($) |
|---|---|---|
| NOLS River Base | 6 | $1,245 |
| NOLS Mexico | 12 | $5,830 |
| NOLS Rocky Mountain | 65 | $12,135 |
| NOLS Wilderness Medicine | 11 | $713 |
| NOLS Patagonia | 16 | $5,419 |
| NOLS Pacific Northwest | 20 | $8,955 |
| NOLS Alumni Trips | 9 | $2,050 |
| NOLS Southwest | 6 | $1,030 |
| NOLS Teton Valley | 7 | $900 |
| NOLS Northeast | 7 | $925 |
| NOLS Alaska | 28 | $10,505 |
| NOLS East Africa | 11 | $2,085 |
| NOLS Three Peaks Ranch | 2 | $120 |
| NOLS New Zealand | 2 | $1,250 |
| NOLS Amazon | 0 | $0 |
| NOLS India | 4 | $405 |
| NOLS Scandinavia | 2 | $1,100 |
| NOLS Wyss Campus | 2 | $200 |
| NOLS Yukon | 1 | $20 |
| NOLS Australia | 1 | $300 |
| Programs & Pillars | Donors | Raised ($) |
|---|---|---|
| NOLS Expeditions | 66 | $21,274 |
| NOLS Alumni Trips | 15 | $5,150 |
| NOLS Wilderness Medicine | 25 | $2,033 |
| Other | 11 | $1,435 |
| NOLS Risk Services | 1 | $20 |
| NOLS Custom Education | 4 | $215 |
| Parents | Staff | Friends | Donors | Raised ($) |
|---|---|---|
| Former Faculty/Staff | 21 | $2,900 |
| Faculty/Staff | 25 | $2,092 |
| Parent | 25 | $7,378 |
| Student | 30 | $7,500 |
| Friend | 4 | $165 |
