2 INCH DIAMETER CIRCLE, BLUE PRINTED

ON TRANSPARENT SHEET
2 INCH DIAMETER CIRCLE, BLUE PRINTED
ON TRANSPARENT SHEET
C ampaign NOLS: Endowing Our Core Values is a $20 million campaign made up
of $15 million to strengthen our endowment and $5 million for annual philanthropic
support. This campaign will not only help us achieve the goals we have set for ourselves,
but it will also allow NOLS to financially prepare for the future.

Storms on an expedition are inevitable and so, clearly, are the fiscal ebbs and flows
that affect endowments. But we believe in what we teach in the field—the necessity
of taking the long view, of looking at the big picture. We recognize that financial
stability happens over time, not overnight. We also recognize that putting the right
pieces into place today will foster such stability down the road.
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Andrew Riley

Juan Queirolo

Rainbow Weinstock

Andrew Riley Craig Muderlak

Craig Muderlak Craig Muderlak Lena Conlan

Our Mission
The mission of the national outdoor leadership school is to be the leading source and
teacher of wilderness skills and leadership that serve people and the environment.

Our Core Values

The NOLS community—its staff, students, trustees, and alumni—shares a commitment to
wilderness, education, leadership, safety, community, and excellence. These values define
and direct who we are, what we do, and how we do it.

Campaign NOLS: Endowing Our Core Values  3

 cor e va lu es : L e a de r shi p and C om m u n it y

R egrouping in The Frontcountry

Incredibly excited, a little sad, dirty but happy, a group of NOLS students pose for a
group photo at their pick-up point. The attitude among the group is much different than when
While their time
they embarked on their journey. Before, they were all strangers, each with different expectations and
with NOLS may be
apprehensions. Now, they have formed meaningful relationships with one another and are an efficient
brief, their potential
team, accomplishing group goals while laughing about an inside joke that only their specific expedi-
to impact their own
tion could understand.
communities and
Every time a course returns to one of NOLS’ bases around the world, the scene is similar. Students
beyond is infinite.
are excited to return to the luxuries and familiarity of home, but with the new skills they have acquired,
they return changed.
Despite troubling economic times, students coming back from courses today do so feeling em-
powered, equipped to face an uncertain future with grace. These are exactly the kinds of leaders we
need right now, and we need them from every background. These graduates will take their new skills
back home, where they will teach others in their classrooms and neighborhoods the lessons they’ve
learned about leadership. While their time with NOLS may be brief, their potential to impact their
own communities and beyond is infinite.

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 Lena Conlan
Students and instructors gather for a final photo before beginning the de-issue process at NOLS Scandinavia. The feeling of re-entering the frontcountry after working
and growing as a team is one of the most profound moments of an expedition.

Campaign NOLS: Endowing Our Core Values  5

 Bradly J. Boner
The health and well-being of students and staff is one of our highest priorities as a school, and we consistently live up to this expectation.

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cor e va lu es : S a fe t y and E xcelle nce

A Culture of R eliability
At NOLS, we pride ourselves on providing an education that is relevant and demanding.
Graduates go on a unique intellectual and physical adventure, leaving the school at the end of their Central to the
courses with the ability to lead a group and deal with real challenges. These newfound skills are wilderness experience
grounded in personal experience, developed and honed through feedback from peers and instructors. is the uncertainty
Central to the wilderness experience is the uncertainty that comes from interacting with nature— that comes from
our risk management program at NOLS is the best in the industry. We develop and apply systems interacting with
that are grounded in theory and combined with established field practices in concert with instructor nature—our risk
skill, expertise, and judgment. With these practices in place, we are confident in the foundation of management program
risk management on each expedition that leaves for the field. at NOLS is the best
The school’s student body is as multifaceted as our course offerings. Thousands of people join in the industry.
us for courses each year, ranging from high school and college students to teachers, astronauts, and
parents. Our youngest students are 14; our oldest are over 60. There are nearly 200,000 expedition
and wilderness medicine alumni from over 50 states and more than 80 countries—and all have expe-
rienced our unparalleled commitment to quality wilderness education.

Campaign NOLS: Endowing Our Core Values  7

 cor e va lu es : W i l de r n ess and E duc at ion

A Wilderness E xperience , A L ifetime I mpact

Education should be exciting, fun and challenging. With this in mind, our courses are
On our expeditions, designed to help people develop and practice the skills they need to live, travel, and play safely in the
people gain a greater outdoors. On our expeditions, people gain a greater understanding of and connection to the natural
understanding of world by living and traveling in some of the world’s most spectacular wilderness classrooms.
and connection to Our instructors are educators, not guides. They are committed to inspiring students to explore and
the natural world by develop their understanding of wilderness ethics, leadership, teamwork, natural history, and technical skills.
living and traveling When students return home, they are changed—the differences stemming from their newly
in some of the world’s acquired skills and competence. Even decades after their courses, graduates continue to credit NOLS
most spectacular for helping them learn technical backcountry skills and develop an ability to serve as a leader.
wilderness classrooms. The opportunities for learning at NOLS are diverse, and include wilderness medicine training
and custom leadership and risk management courses.
For two decades and with over 100,000 graduates, the Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS (WMI)
has defined the standards in wilderness medicine training. WMI empowers people to act with confidence
in emergency situations through our curriculum that is evidence-based, relevant, and practical.
NOLS Professional Training offers innovative, customized NOLS courses for businesses and
organizations, focusing on any aspect of the NOLS core curricula—leadership, technical skills, risk
management, or environmental studies.

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 Juan Queirolo
Whether on a Wind River Wilderness expedition, a Wilderness EMT course, or in a risk management seminar, our students are sure to come away with skills that will
impact the rest of their lives.

Campaign NOLS: Endowing Our Core Values  9

 Craig Muderlak
To remain the leader in wilderness education, we need to make a plan that will create a foundation for the school's future.

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Map Check: The Route To Financial Stability
There’s no question that now, more than ever, the world’s communities need competent leaders such
as these. We need leaders who know how to listen to and communicate with people from every
background. We need leaders who can adapt to challenges presented by a turbulent market or a
changing climate.
NOLS has always been a nimble organization with a creative, dynamic staff. These qualities have
served us well over the years; indeed, they are what allowed us to emerge from the recent economic
downturn still able to provide first-rate educational experiences for our students. But when we look at
where NOLS needs to go—if we are to remain the leader in the industry, if we are to stay at the cut-
ting edge of leadership and wilderness education—it becomes clear that we will have to rely on more
than flexibility and quick thinking for our school’s security. NOLS is maturing as an organization, and
to ensure our continued success into the future we need to shore up our financial foundations now.
To this end, we will embark on a campaign to strengthen the NOLS groundwork to ensure a stable
financial future so we can best serve our current and upcoming students through mission and values.

Campaign NOLS: Endowing Our Core Values  11

 Craig Muderlak
The decision to grow the NOLS Endowment while also supporting the Annual Fund is a result of taking the long view and planning ahead. Just as on an expedition,
the decisions we make today will set us up for success in the future.

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A Commitment To The Future
After the completion of our most recent long-range strategic plan, we identified a number of key goals
NOLS must meet if our leadership instruction is to have the greatest possible impact. Among these
goals are increasing the diversity of both our students and our staff in addition to working toward
greater environmental sustainability schoolwide.
We are similarly committed to greater fiscal sustainability. Every year, four percent of the returns
on our endowment fund are released into the budget. This four percent is based on how the school’s
endowment investment performed over the past 12 quarters and ensures financial stability in a dynamic
market. This system is what makes NOLS a benchmark organization in the outdoor education field no
matter what the economy.
The endowment’s value lies in its permanency, and growing it sends a clear message that NOLS’
programs will be assured for generations to come. Building our endowment is also the best way for
NOLS to strengthen the foundation of all of our programs and ensure that we can stay sharply fo-
cused on our goals even as we weather potentially difficult times.

Campaign NOLS: Endowing Our Core Values  13

14
Mike Colpo Alex Plank

Jacqui Holmes

Nate Steele Lindsay Nohl

Tracy Baynes/STEP Madhu Chikkaraju

Abe Goodale

Jamie O"Donnell Abe Goodale

Invest in the World’s Next Leaders For a Guaranteed Return
It’s impossible to assess the true impact today’s financial investment in NOLS will have on a future
generation of leaders. As we strengthen our programs by strengthening our core values as an organi-
zation, our ability to produce the competent and honest leaders the world’s communities need will
multiply immeasurably.

Campaign NOLS: Endowing Our Core Values  15

 executing, launching, success in some way, achievement
on the way travel vs. summit/done

This page: Andrew Riley, Cover: Repurposed retired maps from NOLS Rocky Mountain
By tapping the tremendous commitment, vision, and creativity of our supporters, we will ensure that we achieve our goals as a community dedicated to leadership,
community, safety, excellence, wilderness, and education.

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National Outdoor Leadership School
Development Office
284 Lincoln Street
Lander, WY 82520
(800) 332-4280 • development@nols.edu