NOLS Founders Day New Donor Challenge

Elevating the Leader for Over 60 Years.

On June 8, marking the moment in 1965 when Paul Petzoldt and a team of instructors led the first students into Wyoming’s Wind River Range with a bold vision: leadership is learned through experience.

Over 60 years later, that vision still drives us.

Today, more students are ready for that experience, but not all have access. We’re proud to launch our fourth annual Founders Day Campaign—an ambitious effort to fuel the future of NOLS. Your first-time gift to our 2026 Founders Day Campaign helps a student take that first step. Your support can help equip a student for the field, support critical instruction in wilderness medicine, fund a 30-day course, the core of our curriculum — along with all of our life-changing work. Every gift opens the door to transformative experiences.

Right now, your impact goes even further: please join our NOLS Fund New Donor Challenge to have your first-time gift matched by a generous donor. Help us reach our goal of 150 new donors for this Founders Day.

Join us in honoring #NolsFoundersDay.

Make a gift. Share your NOLS story. Help us write the next chapter.