Outdoor Afro’s Home Place
A permanent destination for connection, well-being, and outdoor life
Outdoor Afro is creating Home Place: a permanent destination with a standing invitation for Black people and communities to gather, learn, lead, heal, celebrate, and deepen lifelong relationships with nature and one another.
Rooted in founder Rue Mapp’s childhood experiences on her family’s land, Home Place will bring together culture, community, outdoor life, and the joy, well-being, and hospitality that have always been at the heart of Outdoor Afro’s mission.
Outdoor Afro is seeking a permanent property to bring our vision for a Home Place to life: a retreat and community centered outdoor space designed for gathering, learning, healing, and connection. This project represents an important next step in our evolution: creating a physical space that fully embodies our mission and provides a year-round destination for our national network. We are currently exploring opportunities in partnership with landowners, conservation organizations, and philanthropic partners who share this vision.
A Place of Our Own
For 18 years, Outdoor Afro has connected Black people and communities to lands, water, and wildlife through outdoor recreation, education, and conservation.Our national network reaches communities across the country.
Home Place represents the next step in that journey: a shared anchor where our volunteers, participants, partners, staff, and supporters can come together in nature. Home Place will not replace the work happening through Outdoor Afro communities nationwide. It will strengthen that work by creating a place to train leaders, deepen programs, restore and reconnect, develop new ideas, and celebrate together before carrying that energy back into communities across the country. More than a property, Home Place will be a permanent home for the spirit of Outdoor Afro, and welcomes everyone.
Our Vision for Home Place
Gather and Celebrate
Home Place will welcome retreats, reunions, celebrations, community gatherings, partner convening, and opportunities to simply spend meaningful time together.
Learn and Lead
It will provide a setting for volunteer training, leadership development, outdoor education, skill-building, conservation, and the exchange of knowledge across generations.
Rest and Restore
Home Place will make room for reflection, healing, joy, and “deep hanging out,” recognizing time in nature as a pathway to greater well-being, vitality, and longevity.
Experience Outdoor Life
Experiences may include hiking, camping, swimming, paddling, fishing, birding, gardening, stargazing, and exploring nearby public lands.
Care for the Land
Land stewardship will be central to Home Place. We envision a place where people can build relationships with the natural world while learning how to care for it responsibly and sustainably.
Ultimately, Home Place will function as a living platform for our mission, creating lasting memories and expanding access to nature for generations to come.
The Place We Envision
Outdoor Afro is exploring existing properties across the United States that can support both immediate use and the long-term Home Place vision.
The right property will ideally:
- Welcome up to 200 guests through cabins, camping, platform tents, or similar accommodations
- Be located within approximately three hours of an international airport
- Offer gathering, dining, learning, and recreational spaces
- Provide access to water, outdoor recreation, and nearby public lands
- Have core infrastructure such as roads, utilities, parking, water, and septic already in place
- Have zoning and land-use permissions compatible with retreats, education, recreation, and community gatherings
- Create opportunities for conservation, gardening, food, or other land-based programming
We prefer a turnkey or lightly improved property that Outdoor Afro can begin using without extensive new development.
We are actively exploring opportunities but have not yet selected or acquired a property. If a property, connection, or idea comes to mind, we would be grateful to explore it together.
Our Capacity & Commitment
We are approaching Home Place with both excitement and care.
We want Home Place to serve the Outdoor Afro community while also contributing positively to the place it calls home. That means balancing community access, land stewardship, local relationships, sound operations, and long-term financial sustainability.
Outdoor Afro is building the partnerships and resources needed not only to acquire the right property, but to care for it responsibly for generations to come.
Outdoor Afro brings a strong foundation of support to this project, including:
- A national network of engaged participants and leaders
- Longstanding relationships with donors and institutional partners
- Active support from our board of directors
- Organizational investment through available resources
We are committed to developing Home Place in a way that reflects our values, sustains the land, and serves the community for years to come.
Who We Are
Outdoor Afro is a national nonprofit that celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. For more than 15 years, we have reconnected Black communities to lands, water, and wildlife through outdoor education, recreation, and conservation.
Through a network of more than 100 trained volunteer leaders across 70 markets, we engage approximately 24,000 participants each year in meaningful outdoor experiences. Our programs are shifting perceptions of who participates and leads outdoors while nurturing environmental stewardship and creating experiences rooted in hospitality, connection, restoration, culture, joy, and well-being.
Through Making Waves, we also address critical gaps in water safety. Since the program launched in 2019, more than 7,000 swimmers have gained lifesaving skills and built stronger, more joyful relationships with water.