This year has been one of awakening for America, and the outdoor industry alike. Overdue conversations on the need to increase representation, support BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ outdoorists and organizations, and encourage accountability are now taking place everywhere from inside corporate boardrooms to between friends at the trailhead. As winter takes hold though, many of our individual efforts are slowing. Newly launched donation subscription platform Pact is here to help sustain that momentum and ensure you continue to support grassroots organizations into 2021 and beyond.
Run by six multi-racial womxn between Brooklyn and Austin, Pact started in early 2020 to help their local neighborhoods in NYC that were disproportionately impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and shifted to a broader focus after the social justice movement grew national attention in the days following George Flyod’s murder by Minneapolis Police.
Now months later, this diverse team continues to be united by the same goal: to get more money into the hands of high impact nonprofits to maximize the impact of every donation. To do so, they’ve created an easy-to-use subscription model where as little as $3 a month can make a big difference.
It’s a problem many of us run into—you have money you want to give, but don’t know where to pledge it. Deciding where to donate can be overwhelming, especially if you don’t know what to look for in a nonprofit. This is where Pact comes in.
Pact introduces subscribers to progressive, grassroots orgs they may not otherwise be familiar with. Pact prioritizes organizations that are driving real, on-the-ground impact to support communities of color, LGBTQIA+ rights, gender equality, the environment, animal rights, humanitarian relief, and more.
Anyone can sign up to give a fixed amount on a monthly basis, with subscription options ranging from $3 to $10 or $25. (Interested in contributing more, that’s possible too.) Your small but mighty donation is combined each month with other small but mighty donations and are given to a new nonprofit each month, chosen by the founders of Pact. Each nonprofit partner is selected based on Pact's clearly stated values, extensive research, timeliness, and input from their respective communities.
For example, Pact’s pick for October was Seeding Sovereignty, an Indigenous-led collective working to empower BIPOC and the planet by dismantling colonial institutions and replacing them with Indigenous practices created in harmony with the land. Every month, Pact posts a Progress Report about their nonprofit pick with info on the organization and more.
If you share Pact’s values, then donating through Pact is an easy way to ensure your money is getting in the hands of the people you want it to—and not the pockets of some mega-nonprofit CEO.
We can all do better now and in 2021, and Pact is a great place to start.
Published 12-02-2020
