Patagonia
Organizational profile:
Patagonia, Inc. is an American retailer of outdoor clothing. It was founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973 and is based in Ventura, California. Patagonia supports innovative work that addresses the root causes of the environmental crisis and seeks to protect both the environment and affected communities. Patagonia focuses on places where it has built connections through outdoor recreation and through its network of retail stores, nationally and internationally. Patagonia believes local battles to protect a specific stand of forest, a stretch of river, an indigenous wild species or a community from a polluting refinery build public support and confront larger, more complex issues like climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental justice. Patagonia encourages work that brings underrepresented communities to the forefront of the environmental movement and defends communities whose health and livelihoods are threatened by environmental exploitation. Patagonia supports multipronged campaigns that push for greater environmental protections and force the government to abide by its own laws.
Patagonia finances 4 types of grants. The International Grant Program, the Corporate Grant Program and the Retail Grant Program support activist organizations that work on the root causes of environmental problems for long-term changes. Funds are given to campaigns that protect and restore local habitats and frontline communities through audacious and original actions, taking place outside U.S.A. and Canada (International Grant), within U.S.A. and Canada (Corporate Grant Program), or within the communities of Patagonia retail stores throughout USA and Canada (Retail Grant). The Media Grant Program supports activist groups that use media as a strategic tool for call-to-action campaigns which are in line with the objectives of the other 3 grants.
Financing Instruments: Grants
Project scale: Patagonia’s typical grant size also varies from program to program, but generally ranges between $5,000 and $20,000.
Recipient countries regions/country groups: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States
Recipient categories: organizations with 501(c)(3) status or a comparable fiscal sponsor
Eligibility Criteria:
Patagonia funds work that:
- builds an equitable, inclusive and diverse environmental movement
- confronts systemic bias, discrimination and injustice in environmental policy or outdoor spaces
- is action-oriented
- focuses on root causes
- has a clear strategy
- identifies specific goals and objectives that can be effectively measured to evaluate the success
- builds public involvement and civic engagement
- takes place within the countries specified (see recipient countries regions/ country groups)
Patagonia does 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 or veteran or disability status
- trail creation, maintenance or restoration
- any dam renovations, human-assisted fish passage infrastructure or hatchery programs
- conservation easements or land acquisition
- research, unless it is in direct support of a developed plan for specific action to alleviate an environmental problem
- projects that are solely focused on environmental education
- environmental conferences, event sponsorships or film festivals
- endowment funds
- political campaigns
- green building projects
- bike advocacy, unless the project is in direct support of a climate change solution
Application guidelines:
- Patagonia accepts one proposal per group in a given fiscal year (May 1–April 30), with deadlines varying from program to program. Please refer to each of Patagonia’s specific grants program guidelines available under the section “How We Fund” on Patagonia's website for the most relevant and updated information.
- Please reach out to Patagonia’s grants team at grants@patagonia.com for questions or inquiries.