CATALYST FOR COLLECTIVE ACTION

On behalf of, and in partnership with, our members, OIA mobilizes advocacy networks at the intersection of equitable access, trade, climate, and conservation. Our goal is to garner incentives and funding at the federal and state levels to create jobs, invest in recreation, save money, expand outdoor access for all, and protect our environment. Together we are a force for collective action.

All Member Benefits

Information and Strategies

All OIA members benefit from support and perks like:

• Policy agenda and handbooks that educate on priority pieces of legislation and an advocacy action plan for your business.

• Direct access to lawmakers and NGOs that are collaborating to expand outdoor access, conservation, climate action, and trade at our annual flagship Capitol Summit in Washington, D.C. and other events.

• Collaboration and partnership opportunities with local leaders for on-the-ground state advocacy.

• Webinars: timely, relevant, and exclusive OIA virtual education sessions on the outdoor industry’s most pressing issues and programs.

• Opportunity to participate in OIA Advisory Councils on recreation policy, climate action, sustainability, trade policy, and more.

• Opt-in newsletters (by topic / campaigns of interest), including monthly Notes from the Hill for staying informed on government affairs and legislation that directly impacts your business and consumers.

• Member-only networking, education, and convening opportunities to help members understand and apply approaches to lobbying and advocacy in their growth strategies.

LEADERSHIP & SUPPORT + MEMBERS

OIA premium members get all the benefits of regular membership, plus:

Custom consultation and collaborations

• Direct 1:1 access to our OIA Government Affairs team, which includes policy and legislative experts at the federal and state levels.

• Special networking opportunities through direct access to lawmakers, industry experts, and stakeholders.

Policy Agenda

OIA’s policy agenda cuts across the intersectional issues of equitable access, trade, conservation, recreation and climate action.

Trade and Industry Growth

A stable and balanced federal trade policy is critical to helping outdoor businesses lower costs, create U.S. jobs, and fuel innovation. Outdoor companies produce some of the most innovative and technical products in the world, some of which already face high import tariffs. OIA leads and educates its members about the basics of international trade. We support the elimination of import tariffs on outdoor products where there is no viable domestic production for our Made in USA members and, we support policies to help them compete in a global economy.

State and Local

At the state level, leaders are aligning their economic growth to unprecedented interest in outdoor recreation by creating offices to cultivate economic development opportunities, improve public health benefits, connect people to the outdoors, and invest in their residents. OIA supports the development these Offices of State Recreation (OREC) with a goal of supporting the creation of 50 bipartisan state offices

Conservation & Recreation

OIA takes a bi-partisan approach to support legislation that works to conserve U.S. public lands and waterways, because the success of our industry relies on the health and availability of outdoor spaces.

We collaborate with public, private, and nonprofit sectors to promote conservation and stewardship of—as well as public access to—land, air, water, and wildlife. Our success will depend on our honoring tribal nations who have stewarded lands and waters since time immemorial and through our work with Offices of State Recreation (OREC), we promote partnerships with tribal members to serve as co-managers of our shared natural resources. Additionally, success looks like supporting private landowners committed to conservation on their property, collaborating with outdoor recreation interests and historically underserved communities, and on heeding scientists’ recommendations for climate action.

Climate

Climate change is already causing disruption to outdoor businesses and the communities that rely on outdoor recreation. Not only will solutions provide stability for our industry and the planet, but they’ll also promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. Outdoor businesses have committed to bold climate action, and we need policies that will help us meet ambitious goals that create a model for other sectors to follow. Through advocacy and programs like OIA’s Climate Action Corps, we are working towards a goal of being the first climate-positive industry by 2030. Please refer to the OIA 2023 Policy Handbook for details about our efforts to this end.

Equity

OIA believes a thriving outdoor industry depends on open access for those of all abilities, ages, and backgrounds. Informed by consumer research and our Outdoor Foundation’s Thrive Outside programs, we pursue federal and state policies to erode barriers to the outdoors and enable more diverse communities to have reliable and sustained connections to nature.

• Federal: The Outdoor F.U.T.U.R.E. initiative seeks to build momentum for the creation of a national equity fund that will ensure long-term investments in programs and activities to serve all youth with opportunities to explore the great outdoors.

• State: OIA works alongside state-based outdoor recreation directors to explore further programming and policy interventions to close the nature gap in their jurisdictions (such as reduced fees for parks passes, gear libraries, etc.)