December 10, 2024 Outdoor Diversity Alliance steps up its game in effort to keep outdoor DEI funded

As political upheavals in the US threaten recent progress with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the outdoor industry, the newly minted Outdoor Diversity Alliance introduces a new model to help keep this important work funded.

Launched late last year, the Outdoor Diversity Alliance (ODA) is already in a unique position to carry on the work of diversity within the outdoor community at large. That’s because ODA has achieved broad support from outdoor industry businesses and organizations like Protect Our Winters, Nemo, Peak Design and REI, all working together to build the outdoor industry of the future.

It hopes that by working together, it can help catalyze the outdoor industry by addressing systemic issues related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through collective action and centering historically underrepresented communities across gender, race & ethnicity, physical ability, and sexual orientation.

How “Catalyst Members” help Outdoor Diversity Alliance support DEI in the outdoor industry

This work can only be done with financial backing, and with the recent political pushback on diversity, equity, and inclusion, participating members of the alliance are concerned that funding will be increasingly difficult to come by.

The Outdoor Diversity Alliance has therefore announced its first Catalyst Member, Keen – a 21-year-old family-owned, purpose-driven shoemaker. As a Catalyst member, Keen is committing $25,000 to ODA in 2025. With Keen’s support along with its other members, ODA believes that it will be able to move forward in its efforts to further engage the outdoor industry and underrepresented communities in collaborative diversity, equity, and inclusion work.

“We cannot afford to sit on the sidelines and expect the work of diversity to remain relevant on its own,” ODA said in a statement,

“We must work diligently to ensure that it does.”