About
The Outsiders, and Chico Outsiders, are a California Public Charity
501(c)(3). Our corporate filings are under the name Outside
Recreation Advocacy, Inc. The Outsiders initially organized in 2007
to build a childrens'
disc golf course in
partnership with the Chico Area Parks and Recreation District. The
facility was built with volunteer labor, and 50% of the funding came
from private donations. It took several months organize, fund raise,
and then build the course.
In late 2008 a City Council voted to remove disc golf from our local
park system. Members of the Outsiders organized a referendum drive
to challenge the decision, and were successful in changing the
Council's mind. The referendum effort gathered 8600 signatures in 4
weeks. Our volunteers wrote software to cross check the signatures
with the voter database. After removing erroneous signings we turned
in over 6000 signatures with a 97% validity rate. The County Clerk
described the effort as the most organized referendum she had ever
seen.
A byproduct of the referendum effort was a decision by the council
to require a formal non-profit to manage and maintain the disc golf
course in our park system. In 2009 we filed for non-profit status,
and received it in July of 2009. We are a member funded
organization, and are always looking for new people who want to be
Outsiders. Please contact us if you'd like to learn more.