Founded in late 2018, the Charlotte Outdoor Alliance is a local non-profit in the beginning stages of making an impact. Our hope is that you align with our mission and can help carry out the vision.
Our Mission
We exist to create a unified voice between local and regional outdoor-minded organizations and individuals in order to position Charlotte, NC as the center point of outdoor activity, industry, and responsibility in the South.
Our Vision
Our vision is for Charlotte and the surrounding area to be the outdoor hub of the South. We want our community to feel continuously connected to the outdoors and our visitors to see Charlotte as the starting point for their outdoor adventures and opportunities.
We want not only to inspire the local and surrounding communities to get outside and lead healthy active lifestyles, but be a voice for and support conservational, environmental, and sustainable campaigns.
We want to promote and highlight the local outdoor-minded non-profits doing good works in our community while showcasing opportunities to get involved and volunteer.
We want to fight for the remaining open green spaces in Charlotte and help create new ones while bridging gaps to accomplish common goals.
We want to help build a booming outdoor-focused job industry and have outdoor-minded companies, manufacturers, and brands pursue physical presences in Charlotte and be proud of it.
We want to provide opportunity for our outdoor community to connect with one another and make an impact on this city.
Join us.
Why?
For whatever reason, Charlotte has always struggled with having an identity. In particular, the city has done a poor job embracing the outdoor industry and taking advantage of its physical location to claim its outdoor identity. This has lead to missed opportunities in both tourism and economic impact as well as general misperceptions.
We love this city and we love the outdoors and we want to change that.
We believe that the Greater Charlotte Area is well positioned both geographically and economically to be this “outdoor hub of the South.” Close to the mountains and the beach, surrounded by lakes, rivers and forests, outfitted with a large international airport, and booming with a rapidly growing economy, it has everything it needs to be a destination for outdoor recreation and industry.
Beyond that, we believe this city is already made up of outdoor-minded individuals who through the week are actively participating in run clubs, are involved yoga groups, or are biking to work, and on the weekends or in their free time are taking a trip up to the mountains to do some hiking or heading out to do some fishing on the lake. We believe these same folks want to see their city take on this identity and receive the benefit of living in such a town that puts an emphasis on green space, sustainable practices, and outdoor recreation.
On top of all of that, there are numerous amounts of outdoor-minded non-profits and organizations here in and around Charlotte who are all doing good works but have not been unified under one voice… until now.
The opportunity is here and the time is now.