NOLS Alaska

Our adult fly-in course at the toe of the Nelchina Glacier tonight. NOLS

Dramatic afternoon build-up!

Our summer semester headed into the Chugach for their mountaineering section!! NOLS

Thank you.

We asked you to step up, and you did. 505 strong – alumni, parents, friends. Exceeding last year’s Founders Day with record-setting support.

Thanks to a strong outpouring from the NOLS community near and far, our fourth annual 2026 Founders Day Campaign was a powerful success. Together, we exceeded even our extended goal.

Whether you support expeditions, Wilderness Medicine, have taken an alumni trip, or know someone whose life has been changed by this experience – we are all NOLS.

We’re deeply grateful for your support, and excited for what’s next.

Our goal was to inspire 400 donors to give back on Founders Day. Thanks to the incredible momentum generated across the NOLS community, we're now pushing toward a second summit: 475 donors by midnight tonight.

A NOLS alum and donor, has offered a special Founders Day challenge to take us over the finish line: every gift will be matched two dollars to one, up to $1,000 per donor, while matching funds remain available. Triple the impact.

This is one of those moments where showing up matters.

Donate 🔗: https://www.givecampus.com/s/obcqga

Happy Founders Day.

On this day in 1965, Paul Petzoldt and a small team of instructors led the first NOLS students into Wyoming’s Wind River Range with a bold idea: leadership is learned through experience.

That idea is alive in every NOLS course around the world🌎

And today—Founders Day—is when this entire community comes together to sustain it.

Tell us, what year did you take your first NOLS Course?

Donate Here: https://www.givecampus.com/s/obcqga