The North Face believes exploration has the power to change lives and connect communities. The Explore Fund is how we’ve put this idea to work—by removing barriers so everyone can get outside. Together with our partner community, we’ve activated what it means to explore, for people and for culture. Since 2010, The North Face Explore Fund has funded and collaborated with hundreds of nonprofits to support access and equity with communities of explorers.
In 2019, The North Face implemented an evolved approach to impact with a focus on cultural relevance and collaborative grantmaking. To bring this vision to life, the Explore Fund Council was formed—an annually evolving cohort of leaders across culture, entertainment and academia—who join us in this effort, leading to the Seven Practices for Inclusive Exploration, an inclusivity framework to enable work at The North Face and in the outdoors more broadly, and other advancements.
Meet the new Explore Fund Council.
Creatives. Scholars. Outdoor leaders. Athletes.
Alastair Lee Bitsóí
Writer. Sovereign. Entrepreneur.
Dani Reyes-Acosta
Athlete. Cultivator. Storyteller.
Evelyn Escobar
Culture Shifter. Creator. Storyteller.
Kareemah Batts
Outdoor Enthusiast. DEI Professional. Para Climber. Community Builder.
Manolo López
Chef. Producer. Storyteller.
Princess Daazhraii Johnson
Storyteller. Writer. Producer. Director.
Tara Roberts
Explorer. Writer. Traveler. Scuba Diver.
Vasu Sojitra
Athlete. Disability Access Strategist. Storyteller.
Colour the Trails
Colour the Trails advocates for inclusive representation in outdoor spaces, working with brand partners, businesses, and organizations to break barriers and create accessibility. They subsidize outdoor adventures, create diverse content, and are actively working with their allies to create the change they want to see in the world. As a socially conscious business rooted in collective community well-being, they operate a business model focusing on social change and sharing successes with local and global communities.
Indigenous Women Outdoors
Indigenous Women Outdoors’ mission is to hold space for Indigenous women to come together and feel safe on the land. They want Indigenous women* to be leaders in the outdoor industry and to be confident in sharing their knowledge and connection of the land with the greater public. Through guidance and mentorship, participants can choose to start getting their own training and certifications to feel safe on the land, as well as lead other groups and women to get outside.
*Women* refers to gender expansive community members.
Our work.
Since 2010, we’ve worked to create access and drive equity in partnership with a community of hundreds of outdoor leaders and organizations. Discover more of our projects below.
Walls Are Meant for Climbing
We are helping build free, public climbing boulders within city parks to make climbing more accessible in U.S. communities. Our first climbing boulder was designed by local youth in partnership with The Trust For Public Land and Enviromental Learning for Kids, in the Montbello Open Space Park in Denver, CO.
American Alpine Club | Climb United
Climbing culture is rich with traditions—some worth celebrating, and some that need reexamining. Oppressive route names, underrepresentation in imagery and story, and practices that limit access to climbing are some of the ways that women, people with disabilities, Black, Indigenous, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals are made to feel unwelcome and unsafe in the climbing community. We’re working with the American Alpine Club (AAC) to help change this through Climb United.
The Conservation Alliance
The Conservation Alliance works within the outdoor industry to fund and partner with the most effective conservation organizations to protect wild places for their habitat and recreation values. Since we co-founded the group in 1989, The Conservation Alliance has helped preserve more than 51 million acres of wildlands.
Alaska Wilderness League
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is considered by many to be America’s last wild frontier. Iconic for explorers everywhere, this land is home to Gwich’in people who have lived in the region and depended on the Porcupine caribou herd for generations. The Arctic Refuge is home to polar bears, muskoxen and migratory birds that travel to every continent. This fragile landscape is one of the first areas to feel the effects of climate change and extractive industry. We support the Alaska Wilderness League and many others working to protect this region.
Protect Bears Ears
Through our support, our partners at Bears Ears Partnership have built a “Visit with Respect” Education Center outside of the Bears Ears National Monument. The center provides resources to educate and serve the thousands of visitors exploring the Bears Ears region. We also donate the profits from the Protect Bears Ears products to support the advocacy work of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition.
Protect Our Winters
Climate change is affecting how we spend time outside. For years, we’ve been working with Protect our Winters on the Hot Planet/Cool Athletes program, connecting high school students with athletes to learn about climate change. Our athletes help educate by sharing firsthand accounts of how climate change is affecting their sport, making climate change digestible and providing concrete actions for students.
Justice Outside
In 2020, we helped launch Justice Outside’s Liberated Paths Grantmaking Program with an eye towards creating a more just and sustainable outdoor and environmental movement. The Liberated Paths Grantmaking Program aims to shift resources to and build power with Black, Indigenous, and Communities of Color. Meet the inaugural grantees.
American Mountain Guides Association
In 2018, we launched the first Women’s Rock Guide Course in partnership with The American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) to help create more inclusive spaces and communities in our vertical landscapes. The grant-driven course, which was the first of its kind, is designed to bring more individuals who identify as women into positions of power in guiding professions.
Outdoor Afro
In 2010 when Rue Mapp launched her new blog called Outdoor Afro, she was also receiving one of the first Explore Fund grants. Since then, Outdoor Afro has grown from a blog into a national movement empowering leadership and connections for people of color in the outdoors. For over a decade, we’ve supported this growing network of leaders and the meaningful outdoor experiences they create for local communities.
Greening Youth Foundation
Our outdoor spaces benefit when more people with diverse perspectives and experiences are represented. Together, with the Greening Youth Foundation, we are working to build opportunities for more self-identified women of color to enter into environmental and conservation careers through the Women of Color Environmental Leaders grant.
Black History Month
Follow your lines in a collection influenced by Memphis Rox, an inclusive climbing gym that fosters a culture of encouragement and empowerment for all.
Women's History Month
Our Women’s History Month Capsule is designed to honor our athletes and their mantras—and motivate the next generation of boundary-breakers.
Explore mode, activated.
Check out our events. Connect with a crew near you. Get in on the adventure.