Climb Nittany is owned and operated by local community members and climbing enthusiasts who stepped up to preserve the gym, Happy Valley Partners in Climb.

They are one and the same! While real estate and business operations are often separated, we determined during business development that the single best path for long-term sustainability was to combine everything under one unified local organization. By owning both the physical building and operating the gym under one roof, we eliminate intermediate leasing markup, streamline management, and ensure Climb Nittany remains financially healthy and anchored to serve Centre County for decades to come.

Climb Nittany is legally structured as a Pennsylvania Benefit LLC. Under Pennsylvania law, a Benefit LLC is a specialized business entity that explicitly binds us to a dual bottom line: generating economic sustainability while legally requiring us to deliver a tangible, positive public benefit to our local community.

A for-profit Benefit LLC structure allows us to move swiftly, access traditional commercial financing, and maintain long-term financial agility, while legally binding our business decisions to our community-first mission rather than pure profit maximization.

Not officially yet, but we are built on those exact principles! To clear up a common point of confusion, there is a difference between being a legal Benefit LLC and a certified B Corp. A Benefit LLC is our official legal status under Pennsylvania law, which requires us to hold ourselves accountable by evaluating and publicly publishing our impact against an independent, published third-party standard each year. We chose the B Impact Assessment, the framework created by B Lab (the organization behind B Corp certification), as our chosen evaluation standard. We are actively holding our operations to the high bars set by that framework, and as our business matures, achieving official third-party B Corp certification is something we hope to pursue down the road.

Our mission is simple: 

• Building community through movement. 

• Expanding awareness of and access to the benefits of climbing.

• Promoting sustainability and environmental stewardship.

Practically speaking, building community through movement means Climb Nittany is much more than a gym with plastic holds, it’s a third space for Centre County. We bring this to life by hosting inclusive local events, open community roundtables, and creating space where climbers of every background, age, and skill level feel genuinely welcome to connect both on and off the wall.

Expanding awareness of and access to climbing means taking intentional steps to remove traditional barriers to the sport. We will put this into practice through youth developmental programming, local school and non-profit partnerships, and accessible intro-to-climbing clinics aimed at reaching folks who might otherwise never have tried climbing.

Finally, promoting sustainability and environmental stewardship honors the natural outdoor spaces we all share across Central Pennsylvania. We will hold ourselves to this standard by minimizing our facility’s environmental footprint, organizing local crag cleanup days, and partnering with outdoor conservation organizations to educate our community on responsible Leave No Trace ethics when climbing outdoors.

We will publish an annual Public Benefit Report highlighting key impact metrics. Potential metrics include youth programs, community event hosting, local partnership initiatives, and facility accessibility.

At this time, our initial capitalization and acquisition funding rounds are complete. While direct equity investment is closed, there will be opportunities in the future for community sponsorships and non-profit partner initiatives. If investment opportunities become available, the community will be the first to know well in advance of need.

Due to tight legal timelines, the initial fundraising push required working within rapid, pre-existing commitments to secure the property before it was lost to outside commercial buyers.