If you’ve been paying attention to the last few blog articles, you’ve seen a footer at the end of each article talking about the 2025 ECOA Patron Support Team. Yes! The ECOA Patron Support Team is back for 2025 and the foreseeable future. In the past we made use of external platforms like GoFundMe in the early days and Patreon prior to the pandemic. Each had their advantages and disadvantages. This time around we integrated our crowdfunding efforts right here on the blog. Not only does this streamline and centralize things to one site — this one — it also gives us a few options we did not have before.
Another change for 2025 is on the backend of ECOA as we transition from an LLC (Limited Liability Company) into a 501c Non-Profit. Since our mission is rooted in education, and with all the stewardship work we’ve been doing, plus the fact that this isn’t all that lucrative an endeavor anyway, transitioning to a 501c Non-Profit makes the most sense. That means patronage to ECOA will count as a tax-deduction for anyone making a donation — be they an individual or a business. It also means it will be easier for us to get grant money to support our education and stewardship projects. This isn’t an easy change, so it won’t happen over night, but hopefully sometime soon we’ll have all the I’s crossed and T’s dotted to button up the backend of what we have going on here.
As for you, our supporters, we now have a few options for patronage:
Option #1 – One Time Donation
The first option for support a one time, non-reoccurring, donation. Think of it like a digital tip jar. This easy one-time donation can be done to show your gratitude for a specific piece of content be it a blog article, a podcast episode, a video, or even an in-person class or stewardship project. This amount is custom and reflects momentary gratitude.
Option #2 – Monthly Pledge
If you are a regular consumer of our content and/or you want to support our education and stewardship projects, there is also a monthly support option. This can be set up once and will continue for as long as you let it. This reoccurring payment is a way to show your support for not just once individual piece of content or project but shows your support for everything we are doing here; as well as hope to do in the future.
Option #3 – Annual Pledge
Like with a reoccurring monthly pledge, an annual pledge is available if you’d rather pay in a single payment rather than monthly installments. This option also offers a 20% discount over monthly payments of the same tier.
Where will the money go?
I’ve always prided myself on being as transparent as I can when it comes to ECOA and its funding. I didn’t start ECOA to become rich and/or famous. Nor did I want to create narcissistic “watch me play with my toys in the woods” content like so many other content creators out there. That kind of entertainment is fine, and I enjoy my fair share of it, but that’s not who **I** am as a person.
“Events” includes both in-person training and stewardship projects.
My roots always have been, still are, and shall remain grounded in education. From my early days teaching merit badges at summer camp to my later days teaching at overland events my goal is simply to share my knowledge and expertise with the next generation of outdoor and adventure travel enthusiasts. I want to make sure people such as yourself don’t make the litany of stupid mistakes I made over the years when there weren’t people like me sharing their experiences.
My roots are also in environmental stewardship. Since my days as a Boy Scout and enjoying the outdoors I’ve always had that “leave it better than you found it” ethos. To take it further my Master’s Thesis in graduate school was on teaching environmental ethics. Part of that paper was focused on experiential learning manifested through a student led service project. This was a way to take the typically intangible topics of philosophy and ethics and turn them into concrete results. It would also push students to not just think about problems but to enact real world solutions.
As such, the money sourced through the ECOA Patron Support Team will go to fulfilling our Mission to Educate, Encourage, and Inspire. This means covering time spent generating content like books, blog articles, podcast episodes, and (hopefully soon) more YouTube videos. More importantly such funds will be used to cover travel expenses too and from events we will be teaching at — most all of which do not compensate instructors. So if you’ve enjoyed one of our classes at an event, joining the ECOA Patron Support Team is a great way to ensure we can keep offering such classes at events up and down the east coast. It will also help us continue being involved in stewardship projects on public lands with organizations like Tread Lightly! and the Overland Expo Foundation.
What’s in it for the ECOA Patron Support Team?
Members of the ECOA Patron Support Team will receive a discount on all merch we offer as well as some exclusive ECOA Patron Support Team merch only available to monthly and annual pledges. Stickers will be the first thing available and will get sent out to everyone who contributes. Once we get enough members we will order patches for all annual pledges and those that have contributed a year’s worth of monthly pledges. Same goes for shirts and coozies. Patches, shirts, and coozies will also be available for purchase by people who contribute at least one via the tip option. We also have plans to host monthly “round table” discussions as a way to not only have us interact with you, our supporters, but for a way for supporters to meet and interact with each other. This may be online or in-person at events. Lastly, annual pledges and those with 12+ monthly pledges will receive a free download credit for one of the NHT books. Not to mention all members get that warm and fuzzy feeling for supporting our Mission to Educate, Encourage, and Inspire other overland adventure travel enthusiasts.
Now what?
If you’ve made it this far it’s time to check out the main page for the ECOA Patron Support Team. That page has a full breakdown of our annual budget and outlines how funds will be used for the various projects we’re involved in. That’s also where current monthly and annual ECOA Patrons will have their names listed.
