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.
Adaptive Climbing Group
ACG creates affordable and transformational climbing experiences and community for people with disabilities, empowering persons of all ages and abilities to explore indoor, outdoor, ice, rock and competition climbing—365 days a year.
Black Girls Trekkin
BGT creates experiences that inspire Black women to pursue outdoors adventures with confidence, establish connections with one another, recreate on the land with care and rekindle a deep-rooted cultural relationship with nature.
Climbers of Color
Climbers of Color is a non-profit promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the climbing and mountaineering community. They provide supportive mentorship, technical training and access to key resources to develop leaders of color.
Disabled Hikers
Disabled Hikers is an entirely Disabled-led organization celebrating and facilitating Disabled people’s experiences in the outdoors, while also being committed advocates for justice, access and inclusion.
Diving With a Purpose
Diving With a Purpose provides education and training programs, mission leadership and project support services for submerged heritage preservation and conservation projects worldwide with a focus on the African Diaspora.
Hike Clerb
Hike Clerb is an intersectional women's outdoors club and 501c3 non-profit equipping Black, Indigenous, women of color with the tools, education, resources and experiences they need to collectively heal in nature.
LandPaths
LandPaths is an environmental education and conservation leader facilitating culturally relevant and multilingual connections to local nature and community through outings, environmental education and land stewardship.
Native Women Running
Native Women Running builds and nurtures a community that features and encourages Native women runners on and off the reservation, while increasing visibility worldwide for historically excluded runners.
Rezduro
Rezduro is the first and only Indigenous-led mountain bike enduro race facilitating intergenerational knowledge and connection to ancestral trails for and with Diné (Navajo) people on Diné Lands.
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.
Explore mode, activated.
Check out our events. Connect with a crew near you. Get in on the adventure.