Reach Higher Adaptive Climbing Program

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Executive Summary

Reach Higher Adaptive Climbing Program is a nonprofit in Colorado that gives people with physical, cognitive and developmental disabilities a free chance to climb. Climbing builds upper body strength, problem-solving, confidence and trust. For people who have been told what they cannot do for most of their lives, standing on a wall and reaching the top is something they carry with them.

Most indoor climbing gyms are not equipped or staffed for adaptive climbing. The equipment is different, the instruction requires specialized training and transportation to a gym is a real barrier for many participants and families.

With this grant we will serve about 60 participants in Year 1 at two partner gyms, running weekly sessions with a PCIA certified adaptive climbing instructor, specialized harnesses and equipment and transportation for those who need it. We do not promise any participant will reach a specific climbing level. We promise a safe session, a patient instructor and a chance to try something new.

Our Year 1 budget is about $160,000, growing to about $274,000 by Year 5 as we add sites and instructors. Each year's budget is planned to balance, with a small surplus each year.

We are asking the Colorado Inclusive Recreation Foundation for $60,000 for an instructor, specialized equipment and transportation, for July 2027 through June 2028. State developmental disabilities funding, a gym revenue share, individual donors and other grants also give, so this grant is one part of a shared funding plan.

I am Carmen Lopez, the Executive Director. The numbers in this proposal are estimates based on the assumptions listed at the end, not promises.

Company Description

Reach Higher Adaptive Climbing Program is a nonprofit organization in Colorado. We are governed by a volunteer board of directors, with a written conflict-of-interest policy and a yearly budget the board reviews and approves.

Our mission. Climbing should be open to everyone. We exist to make that true for people who have been told otherwise.

How we started. Two years ago a PCIA certified adaptive climbing instructor began offering free monthly sessions at a partner gym for adults with developmental disabilities. The sessions filled immediately and families started calling. Our board formed to build that start into a real program.

What we do.
- Run weekly adaptive climbing sessions at partner gyms for people with physical, cognitive and developmental disabilities.
- Provide specialized adaptive harnesses, helmets, belay devices and holds.
- Arrange transportation for participants who cannot travel independently.
- Train volunteers and gym staff in adaptive climbing support.
- Work with occupational therapists and care providers who want to incorporate climbing into their clients' plans.

What we do not do. We do not diagnose, treat or offer medical advice. We do not promise any climbing outcome. We do not allow a participant to climb without written consent from their guardian or care provider, as applicable.

Where things stand today. We have signed agreements with two partner gyms that provide wall time and staff support. Our instructor holds a PCIA adaptive certification and has worked with our participants since the first day.

Problem & Opportunity

People with disabilities deserve access to the same experiences as everyone else. Climbing is one they are often excluded from.

Equipment barriers. Standard harnesses, belay devices and climbing shoes do not work for many people with physical disabilities. Adaptive equipment exists and is expensive.

Instruction barriers. Teaching adaptive climbing requires specialized training. Most gym instructors are not trained, and a gym without a qualified adaptive instructor cannot offer the program safely.

Transportation. Many participants cannot drive or use standard transit to reach a gym. Without transportation support, a free program is still inaccessible.

Awareness. Many care providers, occupational therapists and families do not know adaptive climbing exists. Programs that exist are often not well publicized.

Attitude. Some people with disabilities and their families have been told so many times what they cannot do that they do not consider climbing an option.

What we hear.
- An occupational therapist says she would refer clients to a program like this immediately if one existed near her practice.
- A mother says her son with Down syndrome has been excluded from every sports program she has tried, and she cries describing the day he topped out his first bouldering wall.
- A care home director says her residents watch climbing videos on YouTube and have never been offered a chance to try.
- A young man with a prosthetic leg says he assumed climbing was not for him until he saw a video of a Paralympic athlete on a wall.

We do not claim to fix every barrier to inclusion. We offer one more real experience for people who deserve more of them.

Products & Services

Reach Higher gives people with disabilities a safe, welcoming place to climb, with the right equipment and a trained instructor.

How the program works.
1. Intake. Families and care providers fill out a short intake form describing the participant's needs and any relevant medical information. Our instructor reviews it before the first session.
2. Welcome. On the first session, the instructor meets the participant, explains how the gym works, shows the equipment and starts with the lowest-risk introductory route.
3. Sessions. Weekly sessions run for two hours at a partner gym. Groups are small, with one instructor for every five to six participants. Volunteers trained by our staff assist.
4. Equipment. We provide adaptive harnesses, helmets and belay devices at every session. Participants do not need to bring anything.
5. Transportation. We arrange transportation for participants who cannot travel independently, at no cost to the family.
6. Progress. Instructors keep a simple record of what each participant tries and reaches. Families get a short note at the end of each season.

Partner gyms. Our partner gyms provide the walls, the crash pads and the staff support. They set aside time for our sessions outside of peak hours. We bring the adaptive equipment and the specialized instructor.

What we do not promise. We do not promise a specific climbing level, a physical therapy outcome or a competition placement. We promise a safe session, a patient instructor and an honest attempt to find the right challenge for each participant.

Market Analysis

Who we serve. People of any age with physical, cognitive or developmental disabilities who want to try climbing or who have a care provider or family member who thinks it could help them. We do not require any prior experience.

How we estimate need. We cannot count every person who could benefit, so we plan from what we can see. Our first monthly sessions filled within a week of being announced. Twelve care providers have asked to be notified when we expand. Our Year 1 plan is for about 60 participants across two sites. By Year 5 we plan to serve about 160 participants across four sites.

Who else benefits.
- Families and care providers, who gain a safe activity they can count on.
- Partner gyms, which gain certified staff training and a new community of members.
- Occupational therapists, who gain a referral option for clients who need upper body and coordination work.
- Volunteers, who gain hands-on experience in adaptive recreation.

How participants find us.
- Referrals from occupational therapists, care homes, developmental disability service providers and special education programs.
- Outreach materials at medical offices, community centers and disability advocacy organizations.
- Word of mouth from families and care providers.

Capacity. Each session has room for about 10 to 12 participants with one instructor and two volunteers. We add sessions and instructors as demand grows.

Competitive Landscape

What people with disabilities can access today, and how we are different.

1. General gym memberships. Most gyms are not equipped or staffed for adaptive climbing and cannot offer a safe adaptive session.

2. Adaptive sports programs in other disciplines. Wheelchair basketball, adaptive swimming and sled hockey exist in our region. Climbing is not currently offered as an adaptive program.

3. Occupational therapy and recreational therapy programs. They are valuable and focused on clinical goals. We are not a therapy program and do not replace one. We offer recreation and community.

4. Home-based recreation. Many participants spend most of their recreation time indoors. We offer something different: a physical challenge in a community setting.

What makes us different.
- A PCIA certified adaptive climbing instructor at every session.
- Specialized adaptive equipment provided at no cost.
- Transportation support for those who need it.
- Small groups so every participant gets real attention.
- Partner gyms that are trained and welcoming.

What we will not do. We will not run a session without a certified adaptive instructor, and we will not turn away a participant because of the severity of their disability without first exploring whether we can safely serve them.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How participants and partners will find us.

Reaching participants and families.
- Care providers. We will contact occupational therapy practices, developmental disability service agencies and care homes directly and offer to present at a staff meeting.
- Schools. We will reach out to special education departments at local schools and offer to hold an informational session for families.
- Medical offices. We will leave accessible materials at pediatric and adult rehabilitation offices.
- Word of mouth. Families who have a good experience tell other families. We will invite each current family to bring one other family to a free trial session.

Reaching partners and funders.
- Gyms. We will present our program to climbing gyms in our area and ask them to consider becoming a partner site.
- Disability advocacy organizations. We will attend their events, present our work and ask for referrals.
- Individual donors. We will hold two family showcases each year and send a short report to every donor.
- Foundations. We will apply for grants that match our goals and send honest reports on results.

How we will know it is working. We will track participants enrolled, sessions completed, transportation trips arranged, care provider referrals and family feedback at the end of each season.

Operations Plan

How the program will be carried out.

Timeline for Year 1:
- Months 1 and 2 (July and August): Hire the instructor, buy adaptive equipment, complete background checks, finalize consent and intake forms with our attorney and confirm our schedules with partner gyms.
- Month 3 (September): Begin weekly sessions at two partner gym sites.
- Months 3 to 12: Run weekly sessions, arrange transportation, train volunteers and track participant progress.
- Month 12 (June): Survey families and care providers and plan for Year 2.

Where we meet. Each partner gym provides the wall, crash pads and base-level staff support. We bring adaptive harnesses, helmets, belay devices and our instructor.

Safety. Every participant has a signed intake form and, where applicable, a guardian consent and medical release. Our instructor reviews each participant's needs before their first session. A first aid kit is kept at every session, and we follow the gym's emergency plan. Participants are released only to people named by their families or care providers.

Privacy. Participant names, medical information and contact details are kept in a secure system that only staff can see. We never share photos or names without written permission.

Measuring results. We track session attendance, transportation trips, volunteer hours and family feedback. We share results with funders each quarter.

Staffing. In Year 1 we have an Executive Director, one PCIA certified adaptive instructor and one part-time volunteer and family coordinator. We add a second instructor in Year 4 as we add sites.

Management & Organization

Carmen Lopez, Executive Director. I lead the organization, report to the board and am responsible for budgets, partnerships and reporting to funders. I came to this work because I have family members with disabilities who have spent their lives in the audience rather than on the field, and I believe that is wrong. I will complete the same volunteer training in adaptive climbing support that we require of all our volunteers.

PCIA Adaptive Climbing Instructor. Our instructor holds a PCIA adaptive certification and ran our first sessions. He stays on as our lead instructor and trains our volunteers.

Volunteer and Family Coordinator. This part-time role manages the volunteer schedule, supports the intake process and keeps families informed before and after each session.

Our board. Our volunteer board includes a physical therapist, a disability advocacy attorney, a parent of one of our participants, a nonprofit finance volunteer and a climbing gym owner. The board meets monthly and approves all budgets and policies.

Outside help. A bookkeeper, paid by the hour, keeps our books. An accountant reviews them each year. Our attorney helped write our consent forms, intake policy, medical release and partner agreements. An insurance agent helped us choose the right coverage.

Pay. I am paid $52,000 a year, and the instructor is paid $40,000. Both are included in the budget.

Milestones Narrative

Our goals, how we will measure them and when we plan to reach them.

Year 1 outcomes (July 2027 through June 2028):
- Serve about 60 participants at 2 partner gym sites.
- Run at least 40 weekly sessions across both sites.
- Complete at least one transportation trip per week for participants who need it.
- Receive positive feedback from at least 80 percent of families on safety and communication.
- Train at least 10 volunteers in adaptive climbing support.

How we measure. Session attendance, transportation records, volunteer training logs and family surveys at the end of each season.

Year 2 (about 80 participants):
- Add a third partner gym site.
- Begin a peer mentor program where experienced participants support newer ones.

Year 3 (about 100 participants):
- Add a fourth site and expand transportation support.
- Hold a community showcase where participants demonstrate their progress for families.

Years 4 and 5 (about 130 and 160 participants):
- Add a second instructor in Year 4.
- Report results publicly each year and ask an outside reviewer to assess our program.
- Build individual and corporate donor support so grants cover less than half the budget.

Funding Request

What we are asking for, and how the money will be used. Our request: $60,000 from the Colorado Inclusive Recreation Foundation for an adaptive climbing instructor, specialized equipment and transportation support, for July 2027 through June 2028.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: PCIA adaptive climbing instructor salary and volunteer coordinator stipend, $34,000 (other funds add $16,000).
- Supplies: Adaptive harnesses, helmets, holds and wall anchors, $14,000 (other funds add $6,000).
- Other: Transportation fund for participants who cannot travel independently, $12,000 (other funds add $4,000).

Other money in the program. This request is about 60% of our Year 1 grant income. State developmental disabilities funding, a gym revenue share, individual donors and other grants pay for everything it does not cover. If we receive less than we ask for, we will start with one site and fewer transportation trips and add them as funding arrives.

Year 1 budget: about $160,000, planned to balance with a small surplus (about $5,600 after the yearly wear on equipment). Year 1 money coming in: grants $100,000; Developmental Disabilities State Funding $32,000; Gym Partner Revenue Share and Family Fees $14,000; Individual and Corporate Donors $14,000. Year 1 costs: Executive Director $52,000; PCIA Adaptive Climbing Instructor $40,000; Volunteer and Family Coordinator (part-time) $20,000; Adaptive Equipment Upkeep and Replacement about $9,000; Transportation for Participants about $12,000; Coach Training and Background Checks about $5,000; Administration and Insurance about $12,000; about $7,000 a year for the wear on equipment.

One-time startup costs. Startup costs of $35,000 are paid once from startup money, not from the yearly budget: $12,000 for adaptive harnesses, helmets and belay devices for 20 participants; $10,000 for adaptive holds and wall anchors for low routes and seated climbing; $3,000 for attorney review of consent forms, medical release and privacy policy; $4,000 for background checks and first insurance payment; $3,000 for accessible transport vehicle deposit (first month); $3,000 for accessible outreach materials and a simple website.

How we got our startup number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds the startup costs ($35,000), the cash the program uses before it balances (about $0) and a cash cushion of about $37,500, which is about three months of Year 1 costs. In all, that comes to $72,500. We start with $12,000 from our founding board and $62,000 in startup support from two disability advocacy foundations and a gym partner, $74,000 in all, which covers that amount with room to spare.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $160,000 in Year 1 to about $274,000 in Year 5. Grants are planned at $100,000, $112,000, $112,000, $132,000 and $146,000 in Years 1 to 5. Other income grows as well: state developmental disabilities funding from $32,000 to $52,000, the gym revenue share and family fees from $16,000 to $36,000 and individual and corporate donors from $14,000 to $36,000. We grow from 2 sites to 4 and from about 60 participants to about 160, with a second instructor added in Year 4. Our surplus is planned at about $5,600 in Year 1, about $2,100 in Year 2, about $14,400 in Year 3, about $10,300 in Year 4 and about $19,800 in Year 5.

Savings. We plan to keep several months of costs in savings. The lowest year-end balance in the plan is about $55,600, at the end of Year 1. Some grant payments and partner payments arrive after we bill, so we plan for about $6,400 owed to us at the end of Year 1.

Cost per participant. In Year 1, our total costs are about $2,500 per participant, which includes setting up the program and providing transportation. By Year 5, with more participants and a trained team, that falls to about $1,500 per participant.

After the grant. Partner gyms and state developmental disability agencies become reliable ongoing supporters. Individual donors who see the program in action tend to stay. We are also building a volunteer base that reduces our staffing costs over time.

Risks and how we will handle them:
- A participant injury. PCIA certified instructor, specialized equipment, intake forms, small groups, consent forms and insurance.
- An instructor leaves. We keep a list of PCIA certified backup instructors and share all session plans in writing.
- A partner gym changes its schedule. We keep agreements with more than one gym and identify backup sites.
- Low attendance or high no-show rates. We address transportation barriers early and follow up with families before each session.
- Equipment damage or loss. We maintain an equipment fund and inspect gear before every session.
- A grant ends. We keep savings, grow state and donor support each year and avoid taking on costs we cannot cover.

If you are just starting. A new organization can begin before it has its own 501(c)(3) status through a fiscal sponsor: an established nonprofit that receives grants for you and passes them to your program, usually for a fee (commonly around 5% to 10% of the grant, sometimes more; ask before you agree). Another way is to start smaller: one neighborhood, a handful of participants and a small team, tracked carefully. Strong results from a small start make larger grants easier to win.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach with this proposal:

- Your IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter, or your fiscal sponsor agreement.
- Your most recent financial statements and your current year budget.
- A list of your board members and what each one does.
- Signed letters of support from partner gyms and care providers.
- Your partner gym agreements and your insurance certificate.
- Your participant intake form, guardian consent and medical release.
- Your safety plan and adaptive equipment inspection policy.
- Your instructor PCIA certification and background check policy.
- Quotes for adaptive harnesses, helmets and belay devices.
- Resumes for your Executive Director and instructor.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Grant Revenue: $100,000 in Year 1, growing to $146,000 in Year 5.
- Developmental Disabilities State Funding: $32,000 in Year 1, growing to $56,000 in Year 5.
- Gym Partner Revenue Share and Family Fees: $14,000 in Year 1, growing to $36,000 in Year 5.
- Individual and Corporate Donors: $14,000 in Year 1, growing to $36,000 in Year 5.
- Pay (a full year, per person, including payroll taxes and workers' compensation): Executive Director $52,000; PCIA Adaptive Climbing Instructor $40,000; Volunteer and Family Coordinator (part-time) $20,000; Outreach and Accessibility Coordinator (part-time) $24,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: Adaptive Equipment Upkeep and Replacement $9,000; Transportation for Participants $12,000; Coach Training and Background Checks $5,000; Administration and Insurance $12,000. These grow between 4% and 10% a year.
- Equipment: $22,000 at the start, then $3,000 to $4,000 a year.
- Startup costs: $35,000, paid once from $74,000 in startup money.
- Participants served: about 60 in Year 1, growing to about 160 in Year 5.
- Sites: 2 partner gyms in Year 1, growing to 4 by Year 4. Each participant attends weekly sessions of about 2 hours each.
- About 4% of each year's income is still owed to us at year end.
- Tax: none, as a nonprofit.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your own quotes and real budget.

Startup Costs