May 2026 Grant Winner

Queer Youth Adventure Camps 2026

Huge congrats to REconnect Nature School, our May 2026 grant recipient! They're using their award to help run Queer Youth Adventure Camps, three weeks of outdoor day camp built for LGBTQIA+ youth ages 10-18 right here in Chattanooga.

REconnect is a nonprofit microschool where 80% of students and 60% of staff identify as LGBTQIA+ or gender non-conforming. Last summer their camp planned for 30 campers and got 36. This summer it's grown to three full weeks with room for 45 kids each week, staffed by queer adult counselors who show campers what community and joy look like even when things are hard.

Thirty campers are signed up so far, and half of them need a full scholarship to attend. Our grant goes straight to closing that gap: activity costs for paddling and climbing days, mileage for volunteer counselors, and snacks and water to keep everybody fueled across all three weeks.

Camp runs June 22-26, June 29-July 3, and July 13-17, alongside partners like Four Bridges Outfitters, Chattanooga Queer Climbers, Chattanooga Audubon Society, the Seed Theatre, The Food Forest Coalition, and Reflection Riding. The goal isn't just a fun week. It's proof that Chattanooga's wild spaces belong to every kid, and that being a Park City means being a Park City for all of us.

April 2026 Grant Winner

Blades of Hope

Summer is here! Huge congrats to The Reentry Playbook, one of our April 2026 grant recipients! They're using their $1,500 award to launch Blades of Hope, a lawn care and entrepreneurship program that puts tools, paychecks, and a real shot at a fresh start in the hands of returning citizens and high-risk youth right here in Chattanooga.

Founder Troy Rogers has spent 30+ years in public safety, reentry, and community healing. He knows firsthand that the people closest to the problem are often closest to the solution — which is why The Reentry Playbook is powered by credible messengers: formerly incarcerated individuals who turn their lived experience into a roadmap for others.

Our $1,500 investment goes straight to work: push mowers, weed eaters, and the gear needed to get a crew out the door and on the job. Within 30 days of funding, Blades of Hope will be operational — employing 1–3 returning citizens, providing workforce training, and delivering lawn care services to seniors and low-income homeowners who need them most. The goal isn't just clean yards. It's visible, tangible proof that second chances work, and that Chattanooga is better when everyone has a seat at the table.

April 2026 Grant Winner

Learn to Skate Clinics | ChattSkates

Chattanooga calls itself one of the greatest outdoor cities in the country. ChattSkates is here to make sure that's actually true for everyone.

We're stoked to name ChattSkates our April 2026 grant winner! This freshly minted 501(c)3 nonprofit has been building and activating the greater skatepark community since spring of 2020 — 30+ events, thousands of attendees, and a hand in launching Chattanooga's very first "Learn to Skateboard" program in partnership with Outdoor Chattanooga back in 2022. Over 150 local youth and adults took their first roll that year. Then the clinics went quiet. ChattSkates decided not to wait around for someone else to bring them back.

With their $1,500 UNFoundation grant, they're building out a fleet of skateboards, ramps, and safety gear to bring free Learn to Skate clinics directly into rec centers, parks, churches, and schools across the city — with a clear priority on underserved communities. They're also covering the operational nuts and bolts: insurance, licensure, event fees, and fundraising merch to keep the whole thing rolling long-term.

Oh, and while they're at it? They're pushing to change a little-known Chattanooga law that makes it illegal to ride a skateboard downtown — even as a form of transportation. Yeah, we said what we said.

ChattSkates isn't just building ramps. They're building access, equity, and a front door into a community that's been here all along — and three locally owned skate shops are pretty happy about it too.

Congrats, ChattSkates!

Alex Reed, Nollie Kickflip. photo Brent Sanders

March 2026 Grant Winner

Primavera Encantada

Congrats to our second winner of March, The Pop-up Project for their Primavera Encantada with their $1250 UNFoundation grant! This is an annual community celebration that is equal parts performance, party, and powerful statement of belonging. Young dancers from K–5 programs across Hamilton County Schools take the stage.

Held at East Side Elementary School, the event brings together students, families, educators, and community partners for an afternoon of dance, food, music, and connection.

Now in its fourth year, Primavera Encantada has become more than an event. It is a community saying out loud: your kids belong here, your culture belongs here, you belong here.

Come celebrate, April 24th, 2026 at East Side Elementary. Free and open to all!