Membership & Consulting
OEN Membership
OEN’s member organizations support access to outdoor adventures for tens of thousands of youth each year. Members partner with community-based youth service agencies, schools, and other youth-centered groups to make transformative outdoor experiences happen through our core programs: gear, training, and community support.
Being part of OEN gives members the opportunity to build networks, share best practices, fundraise for gear, and see the national impact of collective work. Our core program model brings together a wide variety of members, all working together to bring more young people into the outdoors. OEN supports members wherever possible, including through gear acquisition, thought leadership, member support, and a robust professional community.
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All members receive access to the following benefits. Additional fees may apply for extensive gear acquisition, inventory management software, and consulting needs outside of the scope of OEN membership. Please go to the Membership Benefits page for more details.
Gear Acquisition - Outdoors Empowered Network supports our members through fundraising for in-kind and monetary donations, bulk purchases, and programmatic design.
Member Support - OEN staff provides members with free consulting support to create industry connections, problem-solve, and design new programming.
Professional Community - Regular engagements provide members with a professional community for exploring new ideas and programming.
Thought Leadership - We encourage year-round member engagement on various topics including best practices and risk management.
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To be an OEN member, your organization must:
Mission Alignment - Your programs must support outdoor access for young people, understand the challenges that many communities have in getting outside, and be committed to finding solutions to these challenges.
Programs - Have an active gear library with community training opportunities and other community support.
OEN Community - Participate in regular staff attendance of OEN’s online community spaces and educational offerings and share resources with other members.
Leadership Engagement - Minimum of two meetings per year between OEN and your program’s executive leadership.
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Stage One: Relationship Building - Through 2-5 conversations with the Executive Director/programming team we will assess your readiness to become a gear library and your alignment with our mission. If needed, we will recommend additional consultative agreements to support community and/or program building.
Please fill out this Prospective Member Questionnaire to inquire about membership.
Stage Two: Membership Pathway/Prospective Member - During this time we will begin building/integrating your library. You will have conditional access to the gear acquisition and member support benefits.
Stage Three: Welcome - During this stage, we will introduce you to our membership, add you to our listserves and website, agree to a dues amount, and continue supporting you in all the ways that we can!
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Annual Members Dues - OEN has a sliding scale for network membership fees, ranging from free to $5,000, based on the size of your organization.
Membership Add-Ons - In addition to Annual Member Dues, OEN has optional add-on fees for extensive gear acquisition (more than $5,000 in discounts), inventory management subscriptions, and consultative support outside of the scope of membership.
Please see reach out to our staff for more detailed information.
Consulting
In addition to actively supporting OEN members, our staff also provides consultative expertise for organizations and individuals interested in building new gear libraries, support for existing gear libraries that are not interested or appropriate for OEN membership, as well as other projects for which OEN’s perspective and resources are helpful. Our hourly fee of $250 is discounted for OEN members.
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Community Organizing - Gear libraries often result from community organizing processes as a community explores how to create more equitable access to the outdoors. This process can be an important place to bring together community leaders and institutions for the purpose of building a clear and implementable gear library plan. OEN can provide consultative support as your community engages in these conversations.
Library Build & Design - When your organization or community is ready to start designing and building your gear library, OEN is on hand to work with you every step of the way, from inventory management to program design to gear acquisition.
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If you already have a library, OEN is able to provide consultative support for the following:
Gear Purchasing Support - OEN has an extensive collection of non-profit discounts that we are able to provide to gear libraries. Pricing is dependent on the overall quantity and cost of items you purchase.
Inventory Management - Good inventory management is an essential part of running a gear library and OEN staff can help your organization set up your system and provide ongoing support for its operation.
Program Design & Support - OEN has extensive expertise in designing culturally affirming train-the-trainer educational programs. Additionally, OEN can support your organization with gear library adjacent programming including staff support and DEI assessments.
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Gear Access for Foundations/Networks - for select foundations and networks OEN will provide gear access consulting and acquisition services. Please reach out to Seraph White at seraph@outdoorsempowered.org if you are interested in learning more.
Presentations - OEN can share its unique view of access and equity in outdoor spaces through the lens of gear library work. A presentation can provide the opportunity for your team or board to dig a little bit deeper into issues around diversity in outdoor spaces.
Consulting with OEN Members - Many of our members are leading the way around access and equity in outdoor spaces and OEN will happily create introductions for your organization to consult with our members.