The season of week-long camping trips, lazy days at the lake and sweaty hikes through the woods is nearly upon us.
With less than a month before the official start of summer, I took a look at four outdoor companies well known in the sector for their environmental grantmaking: Patagonia, REI, Clif Bar, and the family of brands that includes The North Face and Timberland. The names emerged from conversations with multiple funders for a larger IP research project on conservation philanthropy we’ve got in the works, which will be released in coming months.
These companies and their foundations aren’t quite in the upper echelon of grantmaking, with none of them cracking the top 50 funders in conservation, agriculture or pollution, according to our analysis of Candid data. Corporate philanthropy can also prompt cynicism, sometimes warranted, as giving usually pales in comparison to a company’s broader impact, particularly in a retail sector that often thrives on excess consumption.
Yet within philanthropy, these giving programs can play important niche roles, and some are quite impressive in their own way. Those listed here, for example, largely provide microgrants of less than $10,000 to community grassroots groups that might struggle to get support from larger funders. Some also back underfunded areas, such as access to the outdoors for people with disabilities. REI and Patagonia are leading in that space, said Moira McDonald, director of the environment program at the Walton Family Foundation.
More broadly, some in this space, such as Patagonia, are modeling a more sustainable form of business that accords not just with environmental measures, but also social standards. Not that this group is without flaws, such as the reportedly poor working conditions that led REI workers to push for a union at a Manhattan store.
Admittedly, this is nowhere near a comprehensive list of outdoor companies making green grants. Several brands not mentioned in this article, like Arc’teryx, Keen and Kelty also have grant programs. And each of those businesses are also among the members of the Conservation Alliance, a network of more than 270 companies that fund efforts to protect rivers, remove dams, create marine reserves and other such projects. But whether due to their greater size or their more frequent collaborations with private philanthropies, the operations listed below are the ones that come up often in conversations with funders about corporate philanthropy in the sector.
Here are the details on these four companies’ philanthropic work, roughly in order of how much they have given to outdoor causes.
Patagonia
This Ventura, California-based clothing retailer is perhaps the most generous of all U.S. outdoor companies. Patagonia has donated 1% of its total sales each year for grantmaking since 1985, a program that has generated more than $140 million in cash and in-kind donations for environmental nonprofits. Our analysis of Candid data puts it among the top 70 foundations in conservation, agriculture and pollution grantmaking. It mostly gives $5,000 to $20,000 awards to grantees both in North America and in countries across Asia, Europe and South America.
The grants support some 800-plus small, grassroots groups doing direct action and public education on everything from soil to sea animals. We’ve covered Patagonia-funded research on how philanthropy can support regenerative agriculture and its participation in philanthropy’s nascent efforts to back the dirt-to-shirt movement. It also supports journalism and film projects related to the environment. It’s even sued the federal government over a decision to shrink several national monuments.
While corporate philanthropy deserves special scrutiny, we’re clearly in the bag for Patagonia here at Inside Philanthropy. Its 2016 decision to donate all Black Friday sales to green groups, leading to a $10 million windfall, pushed us to award it a 2016 IPPY as the “Most Inspiring Corporate Funder.” Two years later, its choice to devote its entire $10 million Trump tax cut to environmental nonprofits led to another IPPY.
REI
Last year, this Kent, Washington-based outdoor supplies giant announced plans to shake up its philanthropy. It intends to wind down the REI Foundation, which provided $7 million in grants last year, spread between more than 450 nonprofits. Instead, it will focus its efforts through the newly formed REI Cooperative Action Fund, which gave out $1.4 million in its inaugural round of grants.
The new fund aims to promote “justice, equity and belonging” in the outdoors. One emphasis will be supporting organizations that are led by and serve Black, Indigenous and people of color, as well as individuals who identify as LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, and women. It also aims to call on a bigger tent of backers. Unlike its prior philanthropy, it will gather donations not just from REI employees and members, but also from the public at large.
The North Face, Timberland, etc.
VF Corporation, the multibillion-dollar global apparel and footwear company that manages more than a dozen brands, channels its philanthropy through the VF Foundation. That arm granted more than $8 million during its most recent grantmaking period, with the company making another $16 million in corporate awards, according to its annual report. It’s a global operation, reaching 73 countries in that span.
Given the range of labels under the company’s umbrella, not all those dollars go to outdoor issues. Other priorities include career opportunities, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. For instance, it supported the Trust for Public Land’s Equitable Communities Fund, which aims to help the 100 million people in the U.S. who do not have a park within 10 minutes of their homes. Our past coverage has noted its support for the American Indian College Fund and a U.N. Foundation-backed resilience fund for women textile workers. The foundation also supports disaster relief, which accounted for more than $10 million in awards in the past year.
Clif Bar & Company
This Emeryville, California-based energy bar maker founded its charitable arm, the Clif Family Foundation, in 2006. Last year, the foundation gave slightly more than $3 million to environmental organizations across the U.S. and Canada. Distributed among 465 nonprofits, awards are essentially microgrants, with an average award of about $6,600. That said, they add up. An IP analysis of Candid data puts the foundation among the top 100 funders on conservation, agriculture and pollution.
The foundation supports three core areas: environment, food and health. Most grantees are medium-sized or hyperlocal, such as Bikemore, which works on cycling options in Baltimore, or 47 Daisies, an organic farm in Vassalboro, Maine. But the foundation also funds national groups like 350.org. It’s the primary public giving vehicle for the couple Kit Crawford and Gary Erickson, who own 80% of Clif Bar.