Since 2017, Patagonia has partnered with Catchafire as a part of Patagonia Action Works to provide grassroots activists and organizations with the capacity building resources and support they need. Patagonia wanted a more holistic way to support organizations; alongside the grant that they issue, they wanted to help organizations be more effective in their work in additional ways.
Catchafire was a way to provide scalable support and access to skills-based volunteers to a large number of organizations. With a nonprofit cohort in North America and in Europe, organizations receive access to skilled volunteers around the world, providing project support and maximizing the impact organizations can make on the communities they serve. Many grantees report that they found ongoing support from someone they met through Catchafire. Whether that person becomes an off-platform volunteer or board member, there are meaningful connections made and continued collaboration between grantees and volunteers.
Over the last six years, volunteers on Catchafire have created close to $15 million in impact to these causes in support of 560 grassroots organizations. To date, Patagonia has seen 6.5 times its return on investment (ROI)! We’re excited to continue to grow our collective impact in support of grassroots organizations.