outdoor dreams

The mission of Outdoor Dreams is to make deserving children’s time in the outdoors a form of therapy, all while being an experience they will never forget. We do this by granting once-in-a-lifetime hunting, fishing and backcountry experiences to deserving youth. On a larger scale, Outdoor Dreams seeks to strengthen the heritage of hunting and related outdoor communities with the fulfillment of our mission.

Our primary focus is children 21 years old or younger who have (or recovered from) a life-threatening illness, or come from financially under-privileged households in need of mentoring and positive influence. 

Founded in 2023, Outdoor Dreams is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Donors can deduct contributions they make under IRC Section 170. As a public charity we grant once-in-a-lifetime hunting, fishing and backcountry experiences to deserving youth. 

Our founder and President, Conlan McConnell has spent his lifetime in the outdoors in pursuit of wildlife and adventure. For the last decade, he has dreamt of giving back to the outdoor community by sharing his knowledge and skill to help deserving children find success in the field. ‘Success’ can mean many things, and our intent is to identify what that means for every child we help. It may mean harvesting their first big game animal, experiencing the remote backcountry on horseback, or fishing the Pacific Ocean for Salmon. Every dream is unique. 

In 2017, Conlan was part of a hunt that would change the course of his life and motivate him to help kids get into the outdoors. Jayda Harmon was a young woman that had late stage terminal bone cancer, and with the help of Vice President Tino Villaluz, Conlan had the opportunity to assist her in finding success on a trophy Roosevelt bull elk. That hunt made Conlan realize that he was destined to share his knowledge of the outdoors by helping deserving children find success in the field.