Learn how the Build With Community Mindset™ can change everything about how you work with your community to develop an outdoor recreation economy that lasts. This course will help you develop (or deepen) your own mindset and learn specific "with community" strategies and tactics for building, marketing, funding, and sustaining outdoor recreation businesses, projects and initiatives. Learn to create an outdoor economy you can count on.

Whether they are old hands or just getting started, cities, towns and rural areas across the country—and around the world—are looking to outdoor recreation to play a bigger role in their community and economic development strategies, anchor a new sense of common purpose, pride and connection, and boost physical and mental health among residents. Entrepreneurs, businesses, NGOs and social ventures are looking toward outdoor recreation, too, seeing opportunities for growth, expansion and innovation. 

From hiking to hunting, walking to water sports, mountain biking to marathons, camping and picnics to geocaching, snowmobiling, horseback riding and more, outdoor recreation encompasses a wide range of motorized and non-motorized activities. And while travel and tourism makes up nearly half of the economic contribution of outdoor recreation in the U.S., there is a lot of value beyond serving visitors. The outdoor economy can involve a wide array of supporting businesses and services (think gear and rental shops, local food restaurants, tour guides, cultural experiences) as well as other aspects such as equipment development, manufacturing and testing, software and tech, financing, adventure and outdoor education services, conservation and restoration, and more.

As inviting as it is, the road to a sustainable, successful, long-lasting outdoor recreation economy that truly supports and serves your community can be fraught with challenges like infrastructure and resource limitations, seasonality, competition, lack of entrepreneurial capacity and investment capital, workforce, housing, and more. Crafting a vibrant, resilient business, project, or initiative—or a whole outdoor recreation ecosystem—is not a solo venture. If building with community is an idea that resonates, this course will give you a new lens, a fresh framework, and proven actions for navigating the road to long-term success.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, an economic developer, a trail organization, an interested community member, a collaborative organizer, or anyone else with a hand in the outdoor economy, here’s what you’ll learn:

ROOTS AND PRINCIPLES

• The Five Pillars of the Build With Community Mindset™

• How to apply this lens to do what you’re already doing—or know you should be doing— for better connection without extra work

• New ways of working “with community” that are repeatable, effective, rewarding, and fun

• Where and how to detect the Build With Community Mindset™ in action, including real-world examples

BUILD WITH COMMUNITY

• How to use the Build With Community Mindset™ network analysis to uncover who your community is and reflect on the effectiveness of current community engagement efforts

• “With community” action frameworks, including where, when and how to meet to build stronger community relationships that sustain momentum through community gathering 

• Community-driven assessments and asset mapping processes and how to use them to drive progress, connect resources, and identify gaps

• “With community” approaches to planning for outdoor recreation infrastructure and facilities, and how and when to engage local government and other organizations to pick up more formal planning, construction and maintenance

• How to cultivate, reinforce and enhance your community’s outdoor recreation identity including “with community” strategies for supporting outdoor recreation entrepreneurs and businesses

• How to overcome objections to the Build With Community Mindset™ approach

MARKET WITH COMMUNITY

• How to build a grassroots marketing strategy incrementally by leveraging digital opportunities using the Build With Community Mindset™

• Use an editorial calendar to drive “with community” storytelling and marketing

• Up your community’s digital presence on commonly used platforms for travel and outdoor recreation using existing community assets

• Nuts and bolts ways to connect outdoor recreation visitors to your community, including wayfinding and traveler information signage

• Use the Build With Community Mindset™ to turn locals into outdoor recreation ambassadors and word-of-mouth business generators

FUND WITH COMMUNITY

• How to use incremental implementation to manage early resource needs and grow the pot of resources available

• Identify overlooked and underutilized local sources and community resources

• Implement Build With Community Mindset™ crowdfunding strategies across the outdoor recreation economy spectrum

• Create “with community” vehicles to support and invest in local businesses and entrepreneurs, community-owned enterprises and outdoor recreation projects and facilities

• “With community” grant strategies and partnerships that extend capacity

• “With community” strategies for leveraging volunteer support and in-kind donations

SUSTAIN WITH COMMUNITY

• How to tap into supportive programs and build a peer learning habit

• Build With Community Mindset™ approaches to maintaining recreation facilities and programming including communications and other strategies to sustain support over time 

• Ripple Effects Mapping and other community-building approaches to evaluation, shared learning and ongoing improvement

• Celebrate progress using the Build With Community Mindset™ whether that’s a business expansion or a community milestone

• Collect data over time — What matters most? Indicators, progress, transparency and accountability 

PLUS ONE-ON-ONE COACHING

Your registration fee includes a post-course one-on-one or team consultation session to address your particular situation and needs.

WHO IS THIS FOR?

Community & economic development organizations and agency staff • Outdoor recreation user groups and organizations • Entrepreneurs and business owners • Chambers of Commerce & business alliances • Parks, trails and other recreational facilities managers • Place-based & conservation organizations • Extension & community development professionals • Downtown & Main Street groups • Other community leaders 

COURSE INSTRUCTORS

Kathleen Minogue has been pioneering work in the community capital space for over a decade. As the Founder & CEO of Crowdfund Better, she has guided small businesses, creatives, nonprofits, and communities across the U.S. in unlocking the support of their communities to build, market, fund, and sustain businesses and projects not supported by traditional capital sources. 

Michele Archie is a principal of The Harbinger Consultancy. She brings 30 years of experience with community engagement and community economic development in rural communities across the West and throughout the country to this course.

SESSION DATES AND TIMES

Four, live 1½ hour weekly video conference sessions

Inquire about future offerings.

FEES & DETAILS

Every class will be presented live and available for replay in case you need to miss a session or want to review.

$525 regular course fee • $425 early registration discount

Discounts for two or more participants from the same organization or community: $375 early registration, $425 regular group rate

Organizational and other special discount codes offer a discount in addition to early registration and group rates.

Contact us for special rates for groups of five or more. We often work with cohorts in our courses, and can create a custom package including group meetings and coaching during and/or after the course.

FREE LEARNING CREDITS

Through a partnership with American Trails, Harbinger is offering free learning credits for this and selected other courses. Credits are available by request, at no charge beyond the course registration fee, contingent on completing the entire course and a brief post-course quiz. American Trails is a certified provider, and you may request credits for:

American Institute of Certified Planners Continuing Maintenance (AICP CM)

Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System (LA CES PDH)

CEU/PDH equivalency petition for other accepting organizations

This course provides 6.00 CM | 6.00 LA CES NON-HSW | 0.60 CEU/6.00 PDH Equivalency Petition

SESSIONS

Four 1½ hour live webinars. Available for replay in case you miss a session or want to listen again.

Session 1: Roots & Principles + Build With Community, part 1

Session 2: Build With Community, part 2

Session 3: Market With Community

Session 4: Fund and Sustain With Community

Good Words From Course Participants

The Outdoor Recreation Roadmap class was really helpful for our informal collaborative. It was great to have access to all the resources presented, and overall the course helped us focus our efforts.

We decided on developing a wayfinding plan first.  We were just notified that we’ll be receiving the USDA Rural Business Development Grant that our little group applied for to get the process rolling.

Louise Bruce, The Wilderness Society, Salmon, Idaho