Alpkit Foundation
Helping People Go Nice Places Do Good Things
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Supporting Grass Roots Projects
Alpkit Foundation is the charity that helps people Go Nice Places Do Good Things
We make small awards to people, groups and schools that work to remove the barriers in getting outdoors and experience wild places.
Spending time outdoors is good for the mind, body and soul. But generally people are spending less time outdoors. That is a problem we're helping to solve. We support grass-roots direct action projects that tackle issues such as the community response to Covid 19, diversity & inclusion in the outdoors, participation, education, conservation and protection of our natural environment and health & well-being.
Over £300,000 Awarded To More Than 900 Incredible Projects
Alpkit donates 1% of sales and at least 10% of annual profit to support grass roots projects. We’re incredibly proud to see the effect that these small steps can make.
Our support takes the form small awards to many projects and help projects get off the ground. This could be:
- £50 to £500 cash to individuals, community groups, schools and organisations to encourage people to get outdoors and have great experiences that otherwise couldn’t happen; e.g. giving a cash grant to a school to fund transport costs
- Provide discounted equipment for outdoor adventures and trips to individuals, groups, schools and organisations that wouldn’t be viable without support from the Alpkit Foundation
- Support outdoor educational programs; e.g. grants for outdoor First Aiders or Mountain Leader Training that wouldn’t be possible without Alpkit Foundation support
- Support proactive conservation and environmental projects; e.g. communtiy gardens and allotments or grants to help re-wild woodland and protect our wild places
- Support projects which encourage the development of facilities for outdoor skills and activities to be experienced by wider groups who otherwise may miss out e.g. cycling, climbing, outdoor swimming facilities
There's no limit to the number of times you can apply for an award. We welcome multiple awards over time and each award is assessed on its own merit. The only criteria we apply in making awards is that the project meets the funding criteria and the Alpkit Foundation has the enough money in the pot.
If you know of a deserving project, or think you’re someone that only needs a bit of backing to make a big difference, it’s simple to apply, or donate.
Where Small Steps Add Up To A Huge Difference
Read how the Alpkit Foundation makes a big difference by awarding small amounts of money to incredible people and organisations. This little book showcases eight such projects where ordinary people are doing extraordinary things to make the world a better place.
It's been humbling to see the effect that these small steps can make to so pany people. It is massive. Our hope is that we all get the chance to Go Nice Places Do Good Things just sometimes.
We couldn't have done any of this without you. Every time you treat yourself to some of the gear we make here at Alpkit, from ti-spoons to expedition tents, you help fund projects like these.
How awesome is that?More projects Alpkit Foundation has supported
Apply
It's easy to apply.
Simply fill in the online form below and we'll consider it for an award at our next trustee awards meeting. We'll let you know the trustees decision shortly after.
Our trustees meet every 2 months to consider applications. If your project meets our criteria and we have the funds then you should be succesful. There's no limit to the number of times you can recieve an award.
If possible, please apply at least 3 months before the start of a project so that the trustees have time to consider it at their next meeting.
Yes, we love to support:- Diversity and Inclusion Projects that engage individual and groups from a diverse range of backgrounds
- Environmental Projects that seek to support, conserve, or generate understanding of our environment and wild places
- Health Projects enabling people to gain physical and mental wellbeing from the Great Outdoors
- Education Projects such as First Aid, D of E, Forest Schools and Mountain Leader
- Participation Projects that get more people experiencing the Great Outdoors
- Pandemic Projects that are a community response to Covid 19 such as food access, health, well-being and recovery issues
We particularly like to support projects that:
- Encourage responsible outdoor activity
- Have longlasting benefits
- Introduce new people to get outdoors
- Demonstrate value for money
No, we will not support:
- Holidays
- Charity challenges
- Commercially led travel Expeditions that are not focused the Great Outdoors (e.g. rebuilding schools, overseas medicine)
- Scout Jamborees – due to the large number of participants involved in Scout Jamborees, this is not something we are able to support. We do support the Scout Association through our Youth in Adventure Fund
- Retrospective applications – make sure you get your application in on time!
Application Form
Making Donations
We couldnt have done any of this without you. 1% of sales and at least 10% of Alpkits profits are donated to Alpkit Foundation. We also accept donations directly through Paypal, Amazon Smile and Facebook Fundraiser.
Every pound donated to Alpkit Foundation goes directly to support the outdoors. If you are a UK tax payer, don’t forget to sign the Gift Aid Declaration. It means we can reclaim the tax on this and any future donations you may make. You can make postal donations, cheques should be made payable to Alpkit Foundation. Download the PDF donation form.
We are also registered with Paypal Giving, Facebook Fundraiser and Amazon Smile for you to give through these platforms.
Meet the Team
Governance
The Alpkit Foundation is managed by nine trustees. The four director co-owners of Alpkit are trustees along with an independent trustee, staff trustees and customer trustees. This means that, by design, Alpkit does not have a majority of trustees on the Alpkit Foundation and we have staff representatives from across the company. The independent trustee, staff trustees and customer trustees are all annual appointments.
Pete Whittaker
Alpkit Foundation Patron and Customer Trustee
Alpkit Foundation
Charities Commision Registration Number 1162585
The Alpkit Foundation is a not-for-profit independent charity founded on 8 July 2015. It is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation that is registered with the Charities Commision in the UK. More details including its aims and financial accounts can be found on the Charities Commision website.