How We Fund
“In 1996, we pledged to give 1 percent of our sales, meaning that whether we made money or not, whether we had a great year or a bad one, we had to give. It became not so much charity as a self-imposed ‘earth tax’ for living on the planet, using up resources, and being part of the problem.” —Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia Founder, Let My People Go Surfing
At Patagonia, we believe the biggest environmental victories are driven by people-powered movements. Since 1985, we’ve given money to grassroots organizations defending, protecting and restoring the natural world. We expanded that commitment to activism in 1996, when we pledged to donate one percent of all sales, and in 2022, when we transferred ownership of the company to several nonprofits and named Earth our only shareholder.
Today, we continue to give one percent of sales as a founding member of 1% for the Planet® a network of thousands of businesses committed to doing the same. Our approach to funding at Patagonia is simple. We invest in small, frontline and community-led organizations because we believe those closest to the issues are the most effective at driving change. We center trust and transparency in our approach, and when mutually beneficial, grants can serve as an entry point into long-term partnerships. Our one percent of sales grants are invitation-based, though we are always looking to learn about new groups.
Our Environmental Priorities
To be eligible for a grant, organizations must be working to advance at least one of Patagonia’s environmental priorities:
Healthy Lands
- Stopping extractive industry projects on biodiversity hotspots and high carbon-sequestration landscapes.
- Defending and advancing land protection efforts resulting in durable conservation outcomes.
- Advancing solutions that promote biodiversity and aid in the sequestration of carbon in terrestrial ecosystems.
Healthy Waters
- Stopping extractive industry projects that threaten critical watersheds and biodiversity hotspots.
- Restoring and maintaining natural, free-flowing rivers.
- Advancing ocean and coastal protections that safeguard habitat and protect aquatic species.
Climate Solutions
- Stopping oil and gas infrastructure projects that drive greenhouse gas emissions.
- Holding the oil and gas industry accountable for cleaning up the pollution and climate impacts they have created.
- Developing and scaling renewable energy solutions that benefit communities.
Agricultural Transformation
- Halting the use of toxic, synthetic chemicals in agricultural production.
- Training up the next generation of regenerative agriculture practitioners.
- Scaling and sustaining the amount of land farmed through organic and regenerative practices.
Thriving Communities
- Building connection and belonging in nature with underrepresented communities.
- Increasing leadership capacity in underrepresented communities.
In addition to advancing the environmental priorities above, organizations must:
- Cultivate trust and reciprocal relationships with community members impacted by environmental harm, and incorporate these perspectives into their priorities, strategies and advocacy.
- Work collaboratively with other organizations, coalitions and movements.
- Demonstrate strong leadership and long-term vision, with the ability to make limited funds go a long way.
- Invest in frontline leadership.
- Be small enough to benefit from our grants. The majority of organizations we fund have small operating budgets and operate in under-resourced communities and regions.
- Be a 501(c)(3) public charity or have a comparable fiscal sponsor (for US applicants).
We Do Not Fund
We do not fund organizations that have 50% or more of their programming focused on:
- Bike advocacy
- Trail building
- Beach cleanups
- Service days
- Habitat restoration
- Tourism or eco-adventures
- Research or citizen science
- Conservation easements or land acquisition
- Fundraising or endowment campaigns
- K-12 environmental education
- General public environmental education that is not associated with a particular campaign or public action
We do not fund organizations for which a Patagonia grant accounts for more than 30% of their annual operating budget.
We do not fund organizations that perpetuate systemic biases and discrimination based on ethnicity, race, religion, color, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, veteran or disability status.
We do not fund organizations that promote or endorse dam renovations, human-assisted fish passage infrastructure, or hatchery programs.
International Funding Guidelines
In addition to funding grassroots organizations in the US and Canada, we provide grants to organizations based in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Learn more here.
