FAQS

RipLine Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Park City, Utah. We exist to turn the effort of America’s 168 million outdoor athletes into meals for kids who need them. Three challenges across the year — Gravity Quest™, Miles in the Wild™, and Balls Out™ — do the work.

Yes. 501(c)(3). Donations are tax‑deductible. We’ll send the EIN and a receipt on request.

Park City, Utah. Our Leaders span the country. Meals get delivered nationally.

A six‑member founding Board: Terrence Moorehead (Co‑Founder, President & Chairman), Bob Mercer (Secretary), Katie Mersch (Treasurer), Beth Armstrong, Mike Lee, and Jessica Carter. Full bios at riplinefoundation.org.

Fight Hunger. Feed the Future. Yes, it’s really that simple.

RipLine was incorporated in 2025 by a group of Park City business leaders. Public fundraising launched in Spring 2026 with our first national challenge, Miles in the Wild™.

The “ripline” is an elevated state of performance where physical effort meets mental focus — where power and precision align and everything clicks. From a social standpoint, it’s the point when intention and effort turn to purpose. We named the Foundation after that energy — because that’s what we’re channeling into the fight against childhood hunger.

Most hunger nonprofits ask you to write a check. RipLine Foundation wants you to go for a run, ride, hike, or ski your favorite mountain. Of course, we want the check, but what’s equally important, is that we want you to get outside, experience nature, have fun, be a Force Multiplier within the community. We don’t deliver meals — we mobilize people and let our giving partners (who are great at feeding kids) do what they do best. At RipLine it’s all about performance, purpose, and partnerships.

Subscribe at riplinefoundation.org and follow us on the social channels linked from the site. We share challenge launches, Leader stories, milestones, and where the meals are landing.

The most powerful way to “volunteer” is to become a Leader and rally your network. If you want to contribute beyond that — connections, expertise, partnerships, events — reach out through the site.

Our giving partners — Feeding America, No Kid Hungry, Feed the Children, and Vitamin Angels — are top‑rated hunger‑relief charities with deep, long‑standing relationships with food manufacturers, distributors, growers, and producers. They source food at well below retail, receive significant in‑kind food donations, and benefit from corporate giving programs that drive their cost‑per‑meal way down. We rally athletes and raise funds. They feed kids efficiently. Combined, every dollar you raise stretches far further than it would through any single channel. The 10‑meals‑per‑dollar figure is consistent with No Kid Hungry and Feeding America’s publicly stated math.

100% of every dollar raised through a challenge goes directly to our giving partners. No admin skim. No marketing dilution. Foundation operating costs are covered separately, by corporate sponsorships and a dedicated operations fund — never out of challenge dollars.

No Kid Hungry. Feeding America. Feed the Children. Vitamin Angels. All four are nationally recognized, independently rated by Charity Navigator and others, and selected after thorough vetting on efficiency, transparency, impact, and reach.

Yes — to the extent allowed by U.S. law. Digital tax receipt sent for every gift.

Yep. Every Leader has a page. Pledge a flat amount or a per‑mile (per‑foot, per‑hole) rate based on their goal, and watch them stack the season. You’ll be billed up front, so you’ll have to cheer them on to make sure they reach their goal!

Of course. Direct donations are welcome anytime at riplinefoundation.org — no signup required. Or boost a friend’s Leader page. Same effect, more fun.

All major credit and debit cards can be processed at riplinefoundation.org. For ACH bank transfers and wires, contact us through the website and we’ll follow-up with you.

Yes. Monthly recurring giving can be set up through riplinefoundation.org and adjusted or canceled anytime.

All three. Stock gifts, DAF distributions, and corporate matching are welcome — and most carry additional tax advantages. Contact us through riplinefoundation.org for specific instructions on each.

No minimum. Give what you can. Every dollar feeds kids.

A Leader is anyone who signs up for a RipLine challenge and raises funds to fight childhood hunger. You’re not just donating — you’re leading. Pick a goal. Rally your people. Turn movement into meals. That’s the Force Multiplier: $100 of your own can become $1,000+ once your network is in.

Elite athletes are welcome, but short answer is No. Hard no. Walk your dog. Run a 5K. Ski 10 days a season. If you move outside, you qualify. The kids don’t care about your pace. They care that you showed up.

Solo. Family. Team. Crew. Run club. Ski tribe. Golf foursome. Corporate team. All in. Team pages aggregate everyone’s miles and fundraising into one tally.

Miles in the Wild™ integrates with Strava™ — auto‑logged. For Gravity Quest™ you can pull vertical from ski‑area passes, GPS apps, and then self‑report. Balls Out™ runs on the honor system. (We’re not auditing scorecards.)

Your athletic goal — vertical, miles, or holes — is a target. Hit it or don’t. What really counts is your pledge: the funds your sponsors commit to send. That’s what turns into meals for kids. Whether you finish at 50 miles or 500, the kids still get fed. No pressure. We’re here to have fun, get outside, and help as many kids as possible. You can do it!

No minimum to register. Recognition tiers start at $500 (Scout) and scale to $10,000+ (Free Solo). Most Leaders pledge a personal amount and let their network multiply it.

Go to riplinefoundation.org, pick your challenge, click Register as a Leader. Five minutes start to finish.

Absolutely. Minors can register with parent or guardian approval and participate as part of a family or team Leader page. Some of our most inspiring Leaders are kids who decided to put their miles to work for other kids.

Nothing. Registration is free.

Yes — branded gear, performance apparel, and Leader recognition items are available through the RipLine site. A portion of every merchandise dollar supports the Foundation’s operating costs, so wearing RipLine helps fuel the mission.

One per season, one per sport vibe:

• Gravity Quest™ — Winter ski challenge. December–March. Vertical goal: 50K–400K ft.
• Miles in the Wild™ — Walking, running, biking, and hiking. May–September. 50–400 miles.
• Balls Out™ — Summer/fall golf. June–October. Track holes played.

Same fundraising tiers across all three ($500 / $1,000 / $2,000 / $4,000 / $10,000+). Same 100%‑to‑partners structure.

Gravity Quest™ runs the ski season, December through March. Miles in the Wild™ runs May through September. Balls Out™ runs June through October. Specific dates posted at riplinefoundation.org.

Please do, it’s encouraged. Many Leaders run the table — Gravity Quest in winter, Miles in the Wild in spring/summer, Balls Out into the fall.

They cover the year. They cover the country. And they map to the three biggest outdoor‑athlete communities in America — skiers/snowboarders; walkers, runners, hikers, and cyclists; and golfers. If you’re one of the 168 million who moved outside last year, there’s a RipLine challenge for you.

For Miles in the Wild™, treadmill and trainer miles can count — your Strava log is your log. If you have access to a Golf simulator, then go Balls OutTM all the way! Indoor Gravity QuestTM skiing? Sorry, that’s just too weird, even for us. The spirit of the challenge is to get outside, but indoors is great when life requires.

The top recognition tier in each challenge — for Leaders who blow past 400 miles, 400K feet, or 400 holes and raise $10,000 or more. Off the Chart is the Maxed-out term associated with a “Free Solo” caliber performance. Free Solo is the purest, most unforgiving form of climbing –no ripe, no harness, no protection, no partner. It’s a class unlike any other and above the rest. Same energy: you went above and beyond.

Pick the sport you already love. If you ski, Gravity QuestTM. If you walk, run, bike, or hike, Miles in the WildTM. If you golf, Balls OutTM. The whole point is to do what you’d be doing anyway — just with an added sense of purpose.

Both. There’s a community leaderboard, friendly trash‑talk encouraged, and recognition tiers. But your real goal is yours. Compete with yourself, compete with your run club, or just chase the meals — all valid.

We tally the impact: total miles/vertical/holes logged, total dollars raised, total meals provided. Then we celebrate Leaders, recognize tier achievers, and report directly to our community on what got delivered to kids — by partner, by region.

Recognition in the community and badges on your Leader page. You can buy some pretty bad-ass swag on the website, but the real prize is the satisfaction of knowing you turned your sweat into meals for kids. (Stronger legs are a bonus.)

Title sponsorship of a challenge, leaderboard recognition, corporate Leader teams, matching‑gift programs, branded merchandise partnerships, or a direct contribution. We design the right structure for each partner. Reach out through riplinefoundation.org to start the conversation.

RipLine is built by outdoor athletes for outdoor athletes — and it speaks directly to the 168 million Americans who got outside in 2024 to run, hike, walk, bike, roam, or ski. That’s one of the most powerful, motivated, and brand‑loyal communities in the country. For Outdoor Partners, RipLine offers a different and uniquely personal way to engage your customers — not a logo on a banner, but real, purpose‑driven connection through measurable, story‑rich impact. The business case is also real: childhood hunger costs the U.S. economy an estimated $160 billion a year in lost productivity, healthcare, and reduced workforce readiness — a workforce risk that Bank of America, Kaiser Permanente, Toyota, Denny’s, and Toast have all publicly named.

Yes — corporate Leader teams are one of the fastest‑growing segments of RipLine. Field a team of employees, set a collective goal, run an internal campaign. Many sponsors match employee fundraising dollar‑for‑dollar. (The match is tax‑deductible too.)

Yes — tiered sponsorship packages are designed to fit different budgets and engagement levels, from event‑level support to multi‑year, multi‑challenge partnerships. Contact us for current options.

Yes. Request the current Partner Deck through riplinefoundation.org — it covers sponsorship options, audience data, brand visibility benefits, and impact measurement.

Sponsors can be recognized on the community leaderboard, in challenge communications, on the website, on sponsored Leader pages, and through co‑branded social content. Specifics depend on the package — designed to feel authentic to the outdoor community, not corporate.

Yes. Title sponsorship is available for Gravity Quest™, Miles in the Wild™, and Balls Out™ individually, or across all three.

Sponsorships scale from small mission‑aligned brand partnerships up to multi‑year national‑presenting deals. We tailor each one to fit the partner. Contact us through riplinefoundation.org to discuss your goals.

Yes. RipLine Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) — corporate contributions are tax‑deductible per U.S. law. Cause‑marketing and sponsorship arrangements may have different tax treatments; consult your tax advisor or our team for specifics.

Yes. Cause‑marketing campaigns, percentage‑of‑sales partnerships, branded merchandise tie‑ins, and co‑created challenge moments are all structures we’re happy to design with our partners. Reach out to discuss.

Nearly 14 million American kids — roughly 1 in 5 — lived in food‑insecure households in 2024, according to the USDA. The number has continued to rise as grocery prices climb and pandemic‑era food support programs are rolled back.

No. Rising rents, child‑care costs, medical bills, and grocery prices are pushing more middle‑income families closer to the edge. It’s a middle‑class story now. We wrote a full article on it (“The Middle Class Squeeze”) at riplinefoundation.org/insights.

Because 168 million Americans got outside to move in 2024 — the highest participation rate ever recorded (Outdoor Industry Association). They’re already moving. They’re already organized in clubs, crews, and networks. RipLine just connects that energy to a problem we can actually solve.

When federally supported school meal programs end in June, an estimated 80% of children who rely on summer nutrition don’t receive it. Three months of missed meals equals three months of lost development. That’s why Miles in the Wild™ runs all summer.

Peer‑reviewed research links early‑childhood food insecurity to slower brain development, lower academic performance, higher rates of chronic disease, and reduced lifetime earnings. The damage doesn’t end when childhood does — it follows kids into the rest of their lives.

We report directly to our community on impact: meals delivered, partner organizations supported, total dollars raised, and regional reach. Sponsors and major donors receive more detailed impact reports.

Yes. The U.S. doesn’t have a food shortage — we have a distribution and access problem. Our giving partners have proven, scalable models for getting food to kids who need it. One million meals in 2026 is achievable. Four million by 2030 is the goal.

Hunger is the physical experience. Food insecurity is the household condition — lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. The USDA uses food insecurity as the measurable indicator. Hunger is what kids actually feel.

They cover gaps, not the whole problem. Programs like SNAP, school lunch, and the Summer Food Service Program are essential — but rollbacks, eligibility limits, and the summer‑meal gap leave millions of kids underfed. Private giving through organizations like our partners fills critical gaps government programs can’t.

Read the RipLine Insights articles at riplinefoundation.org/insights for in‑depth perspectives. For data, the USDA’s Household Food Security report, Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap, and No Kid Hungry’s research center are the best public sources.