Access and service through a climbing lens:
California charity: CTO259955
Federal charity: 82-5497506
Purpose: The Ascent Foundation’s goal is to provide funds and programs that give people life changing experiences and opportunities to will help them gain access to something they ordinarily wouldn’t have access to, whether it is intellectually, physically, socially, or culturally. It is our hope that we will inspire them to create and follow goals that elevate themselves and their community along their journey.
Where programs are limited, funds go to organizations already doing the work.
Current focus
- Providing gym and youth programming scholarships to those demonstrating need through an application. – APPLY HERE
- Making our outreach more robust – actively connecting with underserved groups to get them into the gym on at least a monthly basis at no-cost
- Providing recipients of scholarships and mentors with no- or low-cost climbing shoes, chalkbags, resuable water bottles
Planned projects
- Expanding benefits to other experiences: outdoor climbing, hiking, horseback riding, water sports
- Facilitating meetup groups for underserved populations
- Funding climber and community underserved nonprofits
- Funding accessibility and adaptive clinics
Community partnerships
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Annual holiday lighting of SLO’s Octagon Barn
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Monthly birthday parties for the children of Santa Maria’s Good Samaritan shelter
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Free membership for CASA SLO / SB, Family Care Network, Foster Care, and Big Brother Big Sister SLO / SB pairs
- Youth in Action, Veterans Service SLO County, Wounded Warrior Project, GYSA, and SLO Excursions enjoy monthly free visits!
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We are a partner gym for Access Fund and support outdoor land stewardship
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We are an approved PE vendor for Inspire Charter schools!
- We serve PE classes to private and homeschool students
We are grateful to the Morro Bay Triathlon for making us their primary charity.
Hosting an event? Help us grow! All of your funds go directly to our mission.
HELP US GROW
Are you an outdoor recreational business owner who is willing to donate entries to your experience during slow seasons and times?
Are you someone that works with an organization who would like to take advantage of our programs and scholarships?
DONATE NOW
Your funds go to support:
- Scholarships for individuals
- Supplies to provide long-term access
- Outreach staff to develop and maintain relationships in our communities
- Programming fees outside normal operation cost
When SLO Op stopped being a nonprofit, we couldn’t let our heritage go. That’s why we founded The Ascent Foundation. We believe that showing people that they can means changing lives. And we didn’t want to have our investors ever be a reason for us to say “no” to supporting the community.
It all started with some teens working an event we put on though All Out Events. Part of an organization that gives structure to high school dropouts, they were providing volunteer efforts for the day: giving instruction on an obstacle and keeping people safe. One of them said to us, “This is the coolest thing I’ve ever done.” He was just volunteering. He wasn’t even participating in the race: but it broadened his mind and made him see something he wouldn’t otherwise have seen and enjoy something he would never have experienced.
We take for granted the experiences that come our way.
Base needs like food and shelter are important: but lives don’t change unless there’s belief in something different than just survival.