KEEN Footwear Introduces Access/Inclusion Grants to Underserved Kids

The KEEN Effect Kids’ Grant Program, which has introduced 130,000 underserved youth to the outdoors since 2014, is accepting applications. KEEN works directly with grassroots organizations around the United States making the outdoors more accessible and inclusive for all.

Groups are eligible for grants up to $10,000. The total available in the program in 2021 is $100,000. The application deadline is February 5 and may be submitted at https://www.keenfootwear.com/grants.

The 2019 and 2020 grantee Biscayne Nature Center, based in Key Biscayne, Fla., fully immerses kids in their surroundings by swimming, wading, paddle boarding, snorkeling and trekking through the Atlantic Ocean. Campers engage in hands-on science experiments and expeditions guided by professionally trained naturalists, artists, musicians and teachers who focus on how art, poetry, photography, jewelry, making songs and even food can better connect kids to nature.

A KEEN 2018 and 2019 Grantee, City Kids Wilderness Project, based in Washington D.C., set itself apart, working with its students over the course of seven years. Rather than individual outdoor experiences, it invests energy into mentorship, through middle school, high school and college, focusing on how outdoor skills can translate into a career.

The KEEN Effect Kids Grants Program was launched in 2014 to inspire outdoor participation and ensure access and inclusion for underserved youth through innovative and creative programming. Through support from more than 100 KEEN Grants totaling $700,000, partners will have engaged more than 130,000 kids outside for recreation, nature-based education and environmental stewardship, actively building a future full of formative experiences and lasting values based on nature.