Are you looking to check the next adventure off your bucket list?
Do you keep coming back to the same crazy idea that seems just out of reach?
We’re here to help!
The Bob Swanson Memorial Grant is dedicated to helping adventurers, explorers, and go-getters tackle their next big endeavor. To honor the memory of Bob Swanson, an icon in the outdoor industry and tent design, the grant committee seeks to help those who seem to best embody Bob’s spirit, love of life, and adventure.
The grant awards funds of varying amounts depending on the prospective project needs and its budget. Grants generally falls between the $500 to $1,000 dollar range and are awarded once a year. Applications open in the fall for adventures occuring the following year.
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Apply below to be funded for your expedition. Ideal entries will be groundbreaking, unique, and (most importantly) cool outdoor adventures, taking place in the 2024 calendar year!
Stay tuned for more details, and good luck!
Our 2023 winner, Peter, will head to Mongolia to start his 14,000-mile journey to Spain on bicycle, in which he is carrying 70 pounds of gear. We were able to grab Peter for a few minutes before he took off on his journey for a quick Q + A.
Few in the outdoor industry today know of Bob Swanson or his major contributions to our industry. He co-founded Sierra Designs, founded Walrus tents, then sold that to REI and followed it up by working for REI for several years before going out on his own as a consultant. Big Agnes was fortunate enough to connect with him, and a long relationship was born.
His passion for design centered on tents and tent architecture. He is widely recognized for ushering in the use of hubs into tent architecture and represented the cutting edge of shelter designers.
We had the pleasure of working with Bob at Big Agnes for more than a decade. His business card included the title, ‘The Tent Guy’. And while that was fitting professionally, he meant so much more to us as a friend, role model, sage and pioneer of the outdoor industry.
This grant was created by the owners and staff of Big Agnes in honor of our adventurous and worldly colleague Bob Swanson who passed away in 2016.
Learn more about Bob
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