Cali Collective + Riverbound: Fostering Community Through Paddling
We are beyond stoked to announce that the Cali Collective Outreach Project is now Riverbound, a 501c3 non-profit organization. In August 2024, we filed the entity and hired a board of directors. We are currently in the planning phases of expanding our programming to offer more training, scholarships and community river days providing more opportunities for women, indigenous, persons of color, economically disadvantaged persons and the LGBTQ+ community.
Diversity and inclusion have always been the cornerstone of California Watersport Collective. What began in 2015, as an initiative to encourage more female participation in whitewater kayaking, Cali Collective evolved into a mission-driven paddlesports school, with our Outreach Project as a pathway to further expand on this objective. Through creating a space for people from all demographics and backgrounds to learn, recreate and feel welcome in the outdoors and on the water, we have in turn, encouraged the next line of environmental stewards. The next logical course of action was to transform the Outreach Project into the non-profit organization Riverbound to help see this project to its fullest potential.
Since our founding, Cali Collective has introduced people from diverse backgrounds to the river, creating a safe space to learn, connect, and enjoy the outdoors. We’ve offered numerous scholarships for our trips and clinics across California, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon. We’ve also participated in international programs in Bolivia and Chile and brought our initiatives to communities with limited access to waterways.
Our collaborations with organizations like American Whitewater, First Descents, Diversify Whitewater, and Fundación de Mujeres del Río have allowed us to develop programs for youth facing adversity, women, Indigenous peoples, and other marginalized groups. These programs teach environmental awareness, leadership, water safety, and paddling skills, while fostering a love for the outdoors.
Here are few examples of programs we’ve supported over the past years:
We are currently developing a dedicated website to this project: riverboundoutreach.org
If you are interested in contributing to this program through sponsorship or donation, email us at info@cwwcollective.com for the full information kit.
Monetary and product donations are through Riverbound is a 501c3 non-profit organization and are tax deductible.
