Newsletter Q1 2024
The Nick Would Foundation - Q1 2024 Newsletter
Dear Friend of the Nick Would Foundation,
Welcome to the Q1 2024 Nick Would Foundation newsletter. We have lots of news to share, but first, we want to thank each of you for your generosity, interest, and support in building this foundation and its mission to expand access to outdoor pursuits, wildland exploration and protection, and cultural development. We are deeply grateful for the incredible guidance and kindness we have received from so many.
It has been a productive first year at the foundation and we are pleased to announce we accomplished each of our first-year goals. We've listened and learned from others, nurtured a highly effective team of board members, developed an efficient grant-making process, raised over $300,000, and are well on our way to building out a world-class non-profit organization.
Our long-term goal is to raise over $1M, give away $100k annually, and impact at least 1,000 people each year. To create opportunities for all people to excel, break paradigms, and open new horizons; and to leverage the experience of outdoor pursuit, wildland exploration, or development of artistic talent into learning that we are all capable of more. More kindness, more love, more gratitude, more humility, more fun, and yes, a more enriched life. This is how we extend and expand the light and love Nick brought to our world.
The 2023 grant cycle was a huge success, with over $20,000 in grants made in Nick’s memory including $3,500 to Friends of the Yampa to support scholarships for Youth River Camps; $3,500 to Steamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports; $9,000 to the Steamboat Springs Free Summer Concert Series; $4,000 to California’s Windansea Surf Club/Me Water Foundation, teaching youth and those with disabilities how to surf; $3,000 to the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; and habitat renewal around the city. Separately, there were over $10,000 in grants made in the Nick Would Foundation name to the Tompkins Conservation Fund for rewilding Chile.
In 2024, the fund plans to donate over $30,000, enabling countless more people to pursue outdoor sports, expand their artistic talents, and explore or preserve our wild lands in honor of Nick and the life he led. Have an idea for a recipient? Send it in to nickwould11@gmail.com.
Upcoming Fundraising Plans and Events
There is no shortage of excitement when it comes to planning upcoming fundraising events! We have a lot of irons in the fire and can’t wait for you all to be a part of them. Plans are underway for a fundraiser in conjunction with the Steamboat Free Summer Concert Series again on June 21, 2024, with the weekend also including the first-ever Nick Would Summer Olympiad at the Simon’s Ranch on Sat. June 22 (stay tuned for more details).
Friends and board members are also launching a Nick Would Video Contest for aspiring outdoor adventure filmmakers, with winners to be screened as part of the Steamboat Ski Film Festival in Steamboat on Nov. 1, 2024. Other events include a surf competition in San Diego at the end of the summer (more details to come), and rumor has it that Ryan “Rydoh” Doherty is planning another fundraising adventure dovetailing on last year’s Canada-to-Mexico bike ride for Nick.
Sticker Slappin’
It’s time to pull out those Nick Would Foundation stickers and join the sticker-slapping movement! To date, stickers have been slapped all over the world, from surf sites in Portugal and Nicaragua to mountain climbs in Peru, Chile, and Nepal. Teagan Ludwick slapped a sticker in Costa Rica only to have it randomly discovered by Nick’s sister, Natalie, his girlfriend, Brooke, and his friend, Maggie, during their trip to Costa Rica three months later!
The more stickers we can get out there, the more we keep Nick’s spirit alive and spread the word on his foundation. Need a sticker? Email Sarah at simonsarah4@gmail.com and she’ll send one out. Keep them in your pocket, your car, and your backpack and when the location and moment feels right, slap one on somewhere special. And don’t forget to snap a photo or video of your sticker slap and upload it to the Foundation’s Instagram. Simply click the link in the bio, upload your photo or video, and provide a description of the where and why of your slap. We will feature one sticker slap story each month on the Nick Would Foundation Instagram feed.
Nick Would Merchandise AND A Chance to Win
Back by popular demand! After selling out in three days, we finally have more Nick Would caps available for purchase at Steamboat’s local sustainable clothing company West Lyfe. Their mission is to support organizations that protect and preserve wild land, which of course, was a passion of Nick’s and a pillar of the Nick Would Foundation. It’s the perfect place to sell these hats and we are proud to be their partner.
What’s more, 40% of the proceeds will go directly to the Nick Would Foundation. Find more info on West Lyfe here https://www.west-lyfe.com or buy a cap on the Nick Would Foundation website
You can also WIN limited edition caps, stickers, and koozies in our Instagram giveaway. Simply navigate to the @nickwouldfdn Instagram page, repost the latest image that says ‘Giveaway’ on your personal Instagram story, and be sure to follow the @nickwouldfdn Instagram handle for a chance to win! This merch sells out fast so get on the giveaway train as soon as possible to be entered into the competition. We will choose three lucky winners by Tuesday, February 20, so if you haven’t reposted the image yet on the NWF Instagram, do it now to be entered!
Steamboat Magazine Article
One of the most epic sticker slaps to date is from Matt Tredway, leading to an article in February’s issue of Steamboat Magazine on Nov. 10, 2023, Matt, Nick’s 6th-grade teacher, mentor, boss, and a close friend of the family, along with partner Jeff Buffetti made a first ascent of an ice climb in the Flat Tops Wilderness area. It was entered into the Mountain Project with the following description: a 3-mile approach from the trailhead, rated 3-4, and is a 320-foot, two-pitch climb. With first ascents come coveted naming rights, and we are grateful they chose to name it in honor of Nick. So, for perpetuity, the climb will be labeled “Nick Would.” "Nick Would is a perfect name,” Tredway wrote. “l remember asking Nick once about him hitting a huge double backflip on skis and he explained ‘I don’t know…suddenly, it was just going to happen.’ That's sort of like this climb. Nick had fun climbing ice, as much or more so than rock. I had taken him many times and he was really good...he calmed our nerves for us today.”
“Nick in Every Place” Video Tribute
Nick’s family got the surprise of their life when they were presented with a montage video of Nick’s friends and loved ones celebrating Nick and their memories. Spearheaded by the Rotermund and White families, Dan’s work colleagues, and many other friends, the hour-long video features heartfelt messages, hilarious anecdotes, and unforgettable memories as told by those who loved him most. It even includes a beautiful song written by Sarah White and performed by his friends called “Nick in Every Place.” Through tears and laughter, Nicholas’s family was overwhelmed with gratitude for those who contributed and have held them up for the last year and a half. Find this beautiful tribute on www.nickwould.com under Archives.
Accident Site Memorial
As if people couldn’t get any kinder, while visiting New Zealand, one of Nick’s great friends from Cal Poly, Olin Bruton, took it upon himself to not only visit Nick and Brooke’s accident site (which is off the beaten path), but commemorate it. Olin crafted a broken surfboard into a perfect memorial. He then reached out to Nick’s mom, Sarah, to find out how to get to the site, drove all the way there, and placed the roadside surfboard memorial in the perfect spot. Nick’s family and friends are forever grateful for this grand effort and feel comforted to have something there so people will remember him as they drive by.