On Black Friday, Patagonia kicked off its Action Works fundraising effort for 2019, dedicated to raising money for grassroots environmental organizations. Patagonia's pitch to those who would potentially support these organizations was simple: donate to support these environmental non-profits and we'll match every single dollar, up to $10 million. A mere 17 days later, Patagonia had hit that ceiling, effectively putting $20 million dollars in the hands of grassroots organizations that typically struggle with limited staff and budgets.

Speaking of the fundraising effort, Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario noted, "Our government ceded our world leadership to fight the climate crisis, our air quality has worsened, our public lands were reduced by millions of acres, access to clean water is being threatened, and green energy policies are on the back burner. On Black Friday, we asked our customers and friends to help our home planet and the grassroots environmental groups in their communities by donating through Patagonia Action Works. We pledged to match their donations dollar for dollar, up to $10 million."

That pledge proved to be a major motivating factor, prompting tens of thousands of individuals to donate to over one thousand different organizations through Patagonia's Action Works. In just over two weeks, over 10 million dollars were raised, which Patagonia will now match with an additional $10 million, doubling the amount each organization will receive.

“We’re energized by our community’s response,” said Lisa Pike Sheehy, who leads Patagonia’s environmental activism team. “Together we made history—in 17 days, our community raised $10 million for environmental nonprofits. This is extraordinary generosity to some of the most deserving and under-appreciated efforts to save the planet.”

Representatives from many of the organizations—which work tirelessly on issues such as climate change, public lands, biodiversity, clean air and water, habitat protection and much more—that have benefited from Patagonia's fundraising program have lauded the company's effort and generosity.

“The Patagonia match was a game changer for Native Fish Society. This was our largest year-end fundraiser—even before the match! Ending strong means we can start even stronger in our work in 2020 to revive abundant wild fish across the Pacific Northwest. Your support matters and wild fish matter," said Mark Sherwood, Executive Director of Native Fish Society.

Eloise Russo, the executive director of City Kids Wilderness Project, said, “The Patagonia Action Works match opportunity has been truly extraordinary for City Kids and has inspired our community to support our work in unprecedented ways. As a small organization, this additional support is truly transformational and will allow us to focus on what we do best: providing high-impact outdoor adventure and leadership development programming for DC youth.”

Todd Tanner, President of the climate change-focused group Conservation Hawks added, “It’s incredibly important for America’s 40 million sportsmen and women to learn about the existential threat they face from climate change.  When Patagonia steps up and matches individual donations to Conservation Hawks, it makes it far, far easier for us to engage anglers and hunters on such a vital issue.”