Community Grants Initial Application

The Global Climbing Initiative's Community Grants support local climbing organizations to implement the visions they have for their climbing communities.

We prioritize support for organizations that experience limited access to climbing industry resources due to geographic and financial barriers and use climbing to create positive economic, social, or environmental change in their communities.

Before applying, please learn more about our eligibility requirements, grant categories, and factors in selection by visiting globalclimbing.org/community-grants

This application will ask about your climbing organization's mission, programs, team, impacts, community context, and project vision. 

We strongly recommend reading our Guide to Applying at globalclimbing.org/grants-guide before submitting your application.

If you have any questions, please send them (in any language) to grants@globalclimbing.org

Applications are due July 26, 2026. No matter where you are located, you may submit up until 11:59pm UTC-12 (the last time zone in the world where it is still July 26). Please note that we cannot offer any deadline extensions.

 

Notifications will be sent by August 3, and will include either an invitation to submit a project proposal or a decision that your project idea was not selected to proceed this cycle. Please check your spam folder if you don't see an email from us on this date.

 

To begin, click "next"

 

 

Background photo by Bernardo Restrepo / Fundación Edenes de Colombia

First, we will ask you some questions to help determine if you are eligible to apply for our grants.

We're sorry, but you do not meet one or more of our eligibility requirements:

 

Climbing organization

Due to the specific contextual safety knowledge needed to use climbing gear, we only accept gear requests from experienced climbing organizations.

 

Geography

We welcome applications for projects taking place outside of the continental United States or led by Native American/First Nations communities. This means that applicants from Hawaii, Alaska, US Territories, and all other countries are eligible to apply.

 

Local leadership

GCI partner organizations must be led by local vision in alignment with our values and theory of change. Non-locals are welcome to support the application, but should not be the primary applicant.

 

For more information, visit globalclimbing.org/community-grants

 

You may close this window. Clicking "next" will route you back to the beginning of the eligibility questions.

According to your answers, you are eligible to apply.

Please continue the application by clicking the "next" button.

Please review the eligibility requirements and grant category details as you write your application:

• Environmental grants (Stewardship, conservation, and sustainable climbing practices)
• Social Impact grants (Access, belonging, and leadership for underrepresented climbers)
• Economic Development grants (Livelihoods, businesses, or tourism initiatives connected to climbing)

Initial Applications will be reviewed based on the following:

• Eligibility and alignment with grant category
• Organization mission, activities, and demonstrated impact
• Leadership and local representation
• Communities served and barriers to accessing resources
• Clarity and feasibility of the proposed project vision
• Potential for meaningful environmental, social, or economic impact
• Competitiveness of the applicant pool

If you would like to propose multiple project ideas for consideration, please submit a separate Initial Application for each one. Submitting more than one idea will not advantage or disadvantage you.

Please complete this application in the language that best allows you to express your ideas. We will translate responses as needed and follow up with any questions. We do not evaluate applicants on spelling or grammar, and all applications will be reviewed equally regardless of the language they are submitted in.

It is very important that we hear your words through your own perspectives and voice. As a result, we are unable to accept responses written by ChatGPT or other forms of artificial intelligence.

If writing in English feels difficult, we strongly encourage you to submit your application in your native language, and we will translate it.

Please include at least one link (website and/or social media). This helps us understand your organization and its work. Applications without any links will not be considered.

Please review descriptions for each category and select the grant category most aligned with your project idea.

All applicants who submit an Initial Application will receive an email on August 3 indicating whether or not they are invited to submit a full Project Proposal. Due to the competitive nature of each grant cycle, not all applications will be able to advance. We recognize the time, thought, and effort required to complete this application and appreciate every application we receive.

 

Please add grants@globalclimbing.org to your contact list and check your spam folder if you do not see an email from us on August 3.

 

Click "next" and click the green "Submit" button on the next page to submit your application.

To submit your answers, please click the "submit" button. Please note that answers cannot be revised after submission.