Build
When something important is genuinely missing, we help build it responsibly.
Founded by Kirsten. Built by many.
Founded by Kirsten. Built by many.
Marquette Adaptive exists to make more adaptive outdoor recreation possible in Marquette County — by discovering what exists, connecting people to it, supporting what's working, and building only when needed.
Our mission
More adaptive adventure in Marquette County.
Success is not how many programs Marquette Adaptive owns. Success is what people in Marquette County can experience now that they could not access before.
We follow a simple operating loop: discover, verify, connect, listen, identify the gap, mobilize, support or build, and verify again. The central question is not how Marquette Adaptive can run a program. It is what needs to happen for the adventure to become possible.
How we work
Discover. Connect. Support. Build.
Support
When good work already exists, we help strengthen it instead of duplicating it.
Connect
We connect people, providers, knowledge, equipment, funding, and opportunities.
This framework protects Marquette Adaptive from becoming dependent on any one person or from assuming every adaptive recreation opportunity must carry our logo.
Our founder
Kirsten Alburg
Kirsten founded Marquette Adaptive to help make more adaptive outdoor recreation possible throughout Marquette County.
Her role is convener, builder, partner, and resource connector — not the permanent operator of every program. The adventure belongs to the participant, and the credit belongs to everyone who earned it.
How we grow
Add capacity without taking territory.
Marquette County already has people and organizations doing good adaptive and community recreation work. Our first choice is always to partner with an existing provider — not to build a parallel program. If a capable organization already offers sailing, cycling, paddling, or skiing, we start by asking what it would take for more people with disabilities to participate in what they already do, and we bring the adaptive equipment, training, funding, or connections to help make that possible. The program stays theirs. We don’t rebrand it, absorb it, or claim credit for it.
When we help, we say we helped — “made possible together” or “in partnership with.” When another organization provides the experience, the credit is theirs, including when we helped pay for the equipment or find the volunteers. Someone discovering an opportunity that already existed counts just as much as anything we run ourselves. Only when a real need remains unmet and partnership isn’t viable do we help build something new.
If we've got something wrong or stepped somewhere we shouldn't have, tell us privately. We'd rather fix it early.
How we're structured
Current status, plainly stated.
Marquette Adaptive is currently a locally owned, for-profit social enterprise working toward establishing an independent, community-centered nonprofit structure. It is not a nonprofit today, and payments made directly to Marquette Adaptive should not be assumed to be charitable or tax deductible.
No board exists yet. As leadership develops, Marquette Adaptive intends to meaningfully include people with disabilities, adaptive athletes, community knowledge, nonprofit governance experience, professional expertise, and local relationships.