Come Alive Outside
Come Alive Outside is a Vermont-based 501c3 nonprofit that runs free, gamified nature-engagement programs (NatureRx, Passports, Mile-A-Day, Green Streets, Gear Library, Design Challenge) for children, adults, families, and healthcare-referred patients across all 50 US states and Canada.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersRutland, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Come Alive Outside does
Come Alive Outside is a Vermont-based 501c3 nonprofit that designs and distributes free, gamified nature-engagement programs for children, adults, families, and healthcare-referred patients across the United States and Canada. Its core programmatic portfolio includes NatureRx (a healthcare-prescribed outdoor activity initiative co-sponsored with Rutland Regional Medical Center and Community Health), Mile-A-Day (a walking challenge), Kid and Adult Passports (gamified local park and event trails with prizes), Green Streets (temporary street-to-park activations), the Design Challenge (a schoolyard redesign program with landscape professionals and college students), the Gear Library (free rental of outdoor equipment via the MyTurn platform), and the Summer Wellness Coaching Program. The organization also produces Rutland Winterfest, recognized as a Top Winter Event by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce.
The underlying technology is functional rather than proprietary: two consumer-facing mobile applications (the Passport app for iOS and Android released in 2024 and the Mile-A-Day app launched in 2023), both of which integrate with Apple Health and Google Fit for step tracking, supported by simple web tracking systems and partner-side donation portals on Neon CRM. The organization intentionally underweights technology in favor of community systems change, with healthcare, public health, landscape industry, and academic partners acting as the primary distribution layer.
Come Alive Outside, Inc. was incorporated as a 501c3 in Vermont in 2015 and is led by Executive Director Arwen Turner, succeeding founding director Andy Paluch. Revenue is generated exclusively through grants (Vermont state agencies including the Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation), corporate program sponsorships, donations, and in-kind support; participants are not charged. The organization is governed by a board of directors and an advisory board that retains the founders and landscape industry partners. Headcount is approximately six staff in the US organization, with a parallel charitable entity, Come Alive Outside Canada, established in Ontario in 2017.
Come Alive Outside firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Come Alive Outside
- Legal name
- Come Alive Outside, Inc.
- Website
- https://comealiveoutside.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Come Alive Outside is a Vermont-based 501c3 nonprofit that runs free, gamified nature-engagement programs (NatureRx, Passports, Mile-A-Day, Green Streets, Gear Library, Design Challenge) for children, adults, families, and healthcare-referred patients across all 50 US states and Canada.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Come Alive Outside industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Outdoor Wellness Programs
- NAICS
- Social Assistance (624), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Health Promotion, Prevention & Community Health Programs (BPAIAJAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Outdoor Recreation & Adventure Programs (Trips, Climbing, Rentals) (EDALAIAG), Health Promotion & Public Health Education (Community Workshops) (EDAAAFAG)
Keywords
Where Come Alive Outside is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Rutland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Come Alive Outside business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Grants and Foundation Funding: Nonprofit receives funding through transformational tourism grants (Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing), community wellness grants, health equity grants, and general program grants.
- Donations: Individual and corporate donations accepted through website donation portal.
- Program Sponsorships: Corporate sponsors fund specific programs and events such as Green Street Challenge, Mile-A-Day, and passport programs.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free programs for all participants |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Come Alive Outside product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Come Alive Outside designs and delivers free, community-based programs that connect individuals, families, and healthcare-referred patients with outdoor activity, including gamified passports, walking challenges, nature prescriptions, gear lending, temporary street parks, and wellness coaching. Programs are delivered through mobile apps, healthcare partnerships, school collaborations, and community events, with all participation offered at no cost.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- NatureRx: A national movement for doctors and healthcare providers to initiate conversations with patients about health benefits of connecting with nature and outdoor physical activity.
- Kid Passports
- Adult Passports
- Mile-A-Day
- Green Streets
- Design Challenge
- Gear Library
- Summer Wellness Coaching Program
Products and services
- Kid Passports
Quantifiable outcome
- 85% of participating kids increased time spent outside
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Come Alive Outside
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Come Alive Outside technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature2 records
Come Alive Outside partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Rutland Regional Medical CentercoreCo-sponsor of NatureRx program in Rutland County. Provides medical legitimacy and patient referrals for nature-based wellness interventions. Part of executive leadership support including Tom Huebner (CEO Retired) on advisory board.
- Community HealthcoreCo-sponsor of NatureRx program providing community health referrals, one-on-one health coaching, and organizational leadership through CFO Dean Rinaldo on board of directors.
- SVAHEC (Slate Valley Area Health Education Center)coreProvides trained Wellness Coaches for Summer Wellness Coaching Program, offering free one-on-one coaching to community members from July 1-August 15.
- JP Horizons, Inc.coreFounding partner and origin organization. Jim Paluch of JP Horizons brought together landscaping professionals in 2012 to create the Come Alive Outside movement. Jim Paluch serves on Advisory Board.
- Wentworth LandscapescoreFounding partner and origin organization. Scott Wentworth co-created Come Alive Outside movement in 2012 and serves as founding board president of Come Alive Outside Canada. Major supporter of Design Challenge program.
- Saratoga Sod FarmminorSponsor of 2023 Green Street Challenge event in Rutland, Vermont.
- Carpenter & CostinminorSponsor of 2023 Green Street Challenge event. Co-owner Russ Marsan serves on board of directors.
- Marble Valley KitchenminorSponsor of 2023 Green Street Challenge event.
- Killington ResortminorCommunity partnership supporting outdoor recreation programs and events. Has contributed $300,000 to community initiatives.
- Landscape Ontario GROW ProgramminorPartnership supporting 2022 Green Street Challenge in Toronto and Design Challenge programs.
- Open Streets TorontominorPartner organization for 2022 Green Street Challenge event in Toronto.
- Rutland Outdoor Equity CoalitioncoreCoalition launched to address recreation barriers in Rutland, partnering with Come Alive Outside on outdoor equity initiatives.
- Niagara CollegeminorPost-secondary landscape design students participated in 2020 Virtual Design Challenge for nature-rich schoolyard design.
- Seneca CollegeminorLandscape architecture students collaborated in 2020 Virtual Design Challenge.
- University of GuelphminorDesign students participated in 2020 Virtual Design Challenge for nature-rich schoolyard project.
- Colorado State UniversityminorResearch partnership for Nature's Passport study examining how mobile phone apps help families explore nature to increase well-being. Board member Sarah Walker affiliated with university.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Come Alive Outside competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Park Rx America: A national nonprofit that connects healthcare providers with local parks to prescribe nature time to patients. It is the most direct functional analogue to Come Alive Outside's NatureRx program and competes for the same healthcare-provider and grant-funder mindshare.
- Children & Nature Network: A nonprofit focused on connecting children and families with nature through research, policy, and practitioner networks. Highly comparable in mission and audience (kids + families), though it operates more at the research/policy layer while CAO delivers direct programs.
- National Park Trust: A nonprofit dedicated to preserving parks and engaging youth with the outdoors, including a Kids to Parks Day national school program. Comparable in mission (kids + parks + outdoor activity), donor-funded revenue model, and emphasis on measurable youth engagement.
Emerging players
- Outdoor Afro: A community-driven nonprofit that reconnects Black communities with nature through outdoor recreation and leadership. Comparable as a community-led, grant-funded nonprofit targeting underserved populations through outdoor activity, with overlapping program formats like group outings and wellness events.
- GreenSchoolyards America: A nonprofit advancing nature-rich schoolyards through advocacy, design support, and grant-making. Closely comparable to Come Alive Outside's Design Challenge program and shares a similar landscape-architecture-adjacent founding base and schoolyard-focused mission.
Broad incumbents
- American Hiking Society: A national nonprofit advocating for hiking trails, trails infrastructure, and getting people outdoors. Comparable as a larger, established outdoor-wellness nonprofit with similar advocacy and engagement goals, though more focused on trail infrastructure than community programs.
- Sierra Club Foundation: A large environmental nonprofit that funds outdoor engagement, climate advocacy, and community campaigns. Comparable in tax-exempt nonprofit structure and broad outdoor-mission scope, though operating at a materially larger scale and with different programmatic emphasis.
Regional players
- Appalachian Mountain Club: A regional outdoor-recreation nonprofit serving the Northeast U.S. with hiking, biking, and outdoor education programming. Comparable in programmatic mix (outdoor activities, education, gear libraries) and Northeastern geographic overlap, though larger and more infrastructure-heavy.
- Rails-to-Trails Conservancy: A nonprofit that converts unused rail corridors into community trails and advocates for active-transportation infrastructure. Comparable as a community-activation, outdoor-wellness nonprofit with a similar advocacy-and-events program mix, though with a stronger infrastructure/built-environment focus.
Others
- AllTrails: A consumer outdoor-recreation app with a large user base that competes for the same outdoor-activity engagement time as CAO's Passport and Mile-A-Day apps. Not a nonprofit and not a direct competitor, but represents the dominant private-sector benchmark for mobile outdoor engagement.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Come Alive Outside social profiles
Digital presenceCome Alive Outside financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Come Alive Outside leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
Come Alive Outside funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Come Alive Outside M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Come Alive Outside
What does Come Alive Outside do?
Come Alive Outside designs and delivers free, community-based programs that connect individuals, families, and healthcare-referred patients with outdoor activity, including gamified passports, walking challenges, nature prescriptions, gear lending, temporary street parks, and wellness coaching. Programs are delivered through mobile apps, healthcare partnerships, school collaborations, and community events, with all participation offered at no cost.
Is Come Alive Outside a public or private company?
Come Alive Outside is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Come Alive Outside founded?
Come Alive Outside was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Come Alive Outside based?
Come Alive Outside is headquartered in Rutland, United States, in the North America region.
How does Come Alive Outside make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Grants and Foundation Funding is the primary driver. The others are donations and program Sponsorships.
Who are Come Alive Outside's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Park Rx America, Children & Nature Network and National Park Trust. Emerging players are Outdoor Afro and GreenSchoolyards America. Broad incumbents are American Hiking Society and Sierra Club Foundation. Regional players are Appalachian Mountain Club and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. AllTrails is listed as an others.
Does Come Alive Outside have an API?
No public API is recorded for Come Alive Outside.
What industry is Come Alive Outside in?
Come Alive Outside's product category is Community Outdoor Wellness Programs. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAIAJAC, Health Promotion, Prevention & Community Health Programs, with a secondary code of EDALAIAG, Outdoor Recreation & Adventure Programs (Trips, Climbing, Rentals). Its NAICS code is 624 and its SIC code is 7900.