Three climbers roped together on a glacier at night, headlamp beams pointing at the sky.

Partner development

Your trips. Her first big mountain.

Bring women and girls onto your trips

The Summit Scholarship pays the way for women and girls to join guided adventures in the mountains, on the trails and in the desert. We don't run trips. We work with a small group of women-led guide services and adventure companies that do, and with the funders who back them. Funding is limited and we screen carefully, so please read how it works before you ask.

Request partner onboarding Compare the two paths

Demand is not the shortage

2,150 applications for 14 spots

Women and girls are ready for big mountains. What limits us is funding and trusted trip partners. If you can bring either one, we want to hear from you, and we want to be straight about how selective we have to be.

Two ways to work with us

Pick the path that matches your money

The first question is simple: who is paying for the spots? If we are, you're an operating partner. If you and your funders are, you open a Friends of Summit Scholarship fund.

A group of women in down jackets sitting in a circle at a glacier camp beneath a snowy ridge.
Upward Transitions Institute

Path 1

Operating partner

We fund the spots. You host the women.

  • Summit Scholarship raises the money and pays your standard published trip fee for each recipient.
  • Recipients are chosen through our annual open call, and trips take place in the months after we announce them.
  • You host recipients on a trip you already run, then share their story.
Funding is limited, and we screen.

We add operating partners slowly, and only when new funding supports new spots. Before we consider a partner we look at values alignment and operating track record: how long you've run trips, who guides them, your safety record, your insurance, and how your trips have gone. A strong fit can still mean a wait.

Best forWomen-led guide services and adventure travel companies with a proven record of running inclusive, skill-building trips.
Request onboarding as an operating partner
A yellow tent on a rocky ridge at sunset with a glowing peak and storm clouds behind it.
Peru

Path 2

Friends of Summit Scholarship

You bring the funding. We hold it and make it deductible.

  • Your funders give to Summit Scholarship Foundation, a 501(c)(3). We hold the gifts in a fund named for you and pay your trip operator directly.
  • You run your own open call for your own trips, on your own schedule. Summit Scholarship approves the selection plan and gives final approval on every recipient.
  • You get a fund page on summitscholarship.org with its own donate button.
  • It takes about 1 to 2 months from first conversation to a live fund page. A modest administrative fee applies, and we share the details in onboarding.
We screen Friends funds too.

We review mission fit, the operator's insurance and safety record, and any conflicts of interest before we say yes.

Best forCompanies, guides and community groups that already have funders and no nonprofit to receive their gifts. It works whether you run the trips yourself or guide for another company.
Request onboarding for a Friends fund

Side by side

QuestionOperating partnerFriends of Summit Scholarship
Who pays for the spotsSummit ScholarshipYou and your funders
Who runs the applicationSummit Scholarship, once a yearYou, under a plan we approve
Who gives final approvalSummit ScholarshipSummit Scholarship, on your recommendation
When trips happenAfter our annual announcement, through the rest of the yearAny time, set by your trip dates
Cost to youNo fee. We pay your standard published price.A modest fee on gifts, shared in onboarding
Time to startYour trips join a future open call, if funding and fit allowAbout 1 to 2 months to a live fund page

Not sure which one fits? Choose "Not sure" on the request form and we'll help you decide.

Selective by necessity

How we screen

Every spot is paid for by donors, and every recipient trusts us with her safety. Funding is limited, so we screen for values, operating track record and safety before any partner joins. Most requests start with a conversation instead of a contract.

01

Values alignment

Your trips are built for women and girls, led by women, and designed so that recipients arrive in a space made around them. You can tell us which barriers your trips lower, and how.

02

Skill-building and welcoming

A recipient may be new to the mountains. Your trips teach, encourage and celebrate small wins, wherever she starts.

03

Operating track record

You have run these trips before. We look at how long you've operated, who guides your trips and their qualifications, and how past seasons have gone.

04

Safety you can show us

You carry general liability insurance, you can share your safety record, and you hold the permits and guide qualifications your destinations require.

05

Honest, responsible finances

We pay your standard published price. There are no markups for scholarship spots, and we never give cash to recipients or partners for general use.

06

A partner we can count on

You tell us promptly about a cancellation or a serious incident, you disclose any personal tie to an applicant or to our leadership, and you share recipient stories with their permission.

What we don't do

We don't run trips, sell trip spots, give cash to recipients or partners, pay salaries, or sign contracts for your business. Summit Scholarship funds the woman and the operator runs the trip.

Who's on the trail today

Our operating partners

Each one is a women-led guide service or adventure travel company, chosen for its commitment to inclusivity, skill-building and a supportive environment. Together they take recipients from Cascade glaciers to Peruvian peaks and the Alps.

Two women in helmets and harnesses climbing a rocky ridge above a glacier on the Matterhorn.
Matterhorn trip

How it works

From first request to first trip

We take this one step at a time. The full onboarding comes only after we've said yes to a first conversation.

  1. Request onboardingSend the short form below. It takes about five minutes.
  2. We review your requestWe read every one. Within 10 business days you'll hear from us with a yes, a no, or questions. We look at values, operating track record and safety.
  3. Private onboardingIf it looks like a fit, we send you a private onboarding page for your path, with the full questionnaire, the paperwork we'll need and the details of how it works.
  4. Agreement and launchAn operating partner's trips join a future open call once funding supports them. A Friends fund takes about 1 to 2 months from first conversation to a live fund page, once your materials are in.

Questions

Before you write to us

Why is funding limited?

Applications far outnumber the spots donors can pay for: 2,150 applications for 14 spots in our most recent cycle. Every new operating partner needs new funding behind it, so we add partners slowly and only as funding grows.

Do I need to be a nonprofit?

No. Most operating partners are for-profit guide services. The Friends path exists so that you don't have to start your own 501(c)(3) to take tax-deductible gifts.

Can my funders choose who gets a spot?

No. A funder can name a fund or a trip, but cannot choose the recipient or be promised a say. A gift earmarked for a named person is a personal gift, not a deductible charitable one, so this rule protects every funder's tax deduction.

Can an individual guide request onboarding, or only a company?

Both can. If you lead trips for another company, the Friends path works for you. Onboarding explains the short paperwork the company that runs the trip provides. You never handle scholarship money yourself.

Do you fund trips outside the United States?

Yes. Recent Summit Scholarship trips have gone to Peru, Switzerland and France, along with Washington State and Kentucky.

What does Summit Scholarship pay for?

We pay the recipient's trip fee directly to the operator, at the operator's standard published price, against an invoice. We don't give cash to recipients or partners for general use.

What if my trips don't fit your annual cycle?

Then the Friends path is likely the better fit. A Friends fund follows your trip dates instead of our calendar. Operating partner trips take place after our annual announcement.

What happens if it's not a fit right now?

We'll tell you plainly. Funding sets how many operating partners we can add, so a no is often about timing and not about the quality of your trips.

Say hello

Request partner onboarding

A short request, about five minutes. It starts a conversation and is not an application or a commitment. If it looks like a fit, we'll send a private onboarding page with everything else.

1. Which path?
2. About you
3. Your request
4. Before you send
We read every request.

Prefer to write first? Email us at sunny@summitscholarship.org.