REI Fund Mission
What is the full name of the REI Fund?
REI Cooperative Action Fund
Are REI Fund donations tax deductible? How much of someone’s donation directly funds grants?
Yes! The REI Cooperative Action Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and a separate legal entity from REI Co-op, so all donations are tax deductible. 100%* of individual donations go directly toward grants. REI Co-op makes donations to cover all operating expenses.
*excluding credit card transaction fees
When was the REI Fund founded?
2021, though REI has been actively involved in community giving for over 50 years.
Name an REI Fund grant recipient (that has not been mentioned today) and what they do.
Many correct answers.
Aside from giving to the REI Fund, in what other ways does REI give to support life outdoors?
Community Gear Donation, Disaster Relief Funds, and Employee Investment. Though not part of any official giving, REI also encourages collaboration between stores and organization with like-minded missions through stewardship, tabling, and more.
What is the mission of the REI fund?
To create a more equitable outdoors.
This is based on the foundational belief that time outside and connection to nature is a human right as it is fundamental to the health and well-being of all people.
Can someone donate to a specific grantee?
Not through the REI Fund. All donations, including corporate donations, go into a single pool for all grants that the REI Fund gives out. However, it’s nice to think about the fact that our store, through POS donations alone, completely covers the grant for our nomination each year. Also, most (if not all) grantees are able to receive individual donations directly if someone feels passionately about supporting a particular organization.
How much funding do most grantees receive?
Most grants are for $10,000, though some are larger.
Which grantee(s) did we, at store 38, nominate for the 2025/26 grant cycle that was selected?
San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Foundation. Live in Peace was also one of our nominations and received a grant as well (though it got categorized under Sunnyvale).
Name one mechanism of REI giving through employee investment.
Challenge Grants: REI will donate up to $300 toward REI branded product for an employee pursuing a personal outdoor recreation challenge.
Memorial Donations: if an employee passes away, REI will donate $1000 to any non-profit of the family’s choosing in their honor.
Employee Donations: REI employees may use their REI pro-deal to purchase product for any 501(c)3 non-profit*.
*If you’d like to do this, please use the form.
What are the 3 initiatives/categories the REI Fund gives grants for?
Connecting People Outside, Creating Space Outside, and Centering Health Outside
Who donates to the REI Fund? How?
Many correct answers:
Who?
Individual customers.
Corporate Partners.
Outdoor Lovers.
Peer to Peer Fundraising Events.
How?
POS
Online
Mail a check
Donor Advised Fund
Public securities/stocks
ACH/wire transfer
In honor/memoriam
Qualified charitable distribution through a retirement account
Legacy giving (estate)
Employer matching gifts
How much money has the REI Fund raised since its founding?
As of the end of December 2024, the REI Fund had received $35.8M from 3.2M donations. This has supported 957 grants.
For how long is an organization funded through the local grants program?
Each local grant program cycle is 2 years. A single organization can receive funding (if re-nominated) for 2 consecutive cycles (4 years) before having to take a 1-cycle break.
Who manages REI Gear Donations?
Stores and local marketing chapters – in our case, local marketing. They have a budget of ~$1500 + $500/each additional store which can be used on co-op branded gear (except bikes) at ~50% of retail value.
Which REI Fund Grant Initiative is not represented in the local grants program? What is it about?
Centering Health Outside is not part of the local grants program since it is focused on furthering research and advocacy to understand and employ the connection between health and time outside. The REI Fund does support grants (from the same $ pool) for this initiative though for grantees such as the Nature and Health Alliance, which REI’s support helped to create. The Nature and Health Alliance is a collection of leading researchers and practitioners who are seeking solutions to recent trends toward increased depression, anxiety, obesity, addiction, etc. through nature. Their mission is to “enhance understanding of, foster evidence for, and communicate about the relationships between nature and health”
Name an REI Fund corporate partner
Many correct answers including:
REI Co-op
Capital One
Osprey
Victory Packaging
Sea to Summit
Palisades Tahoe
Sawyer
Verve Coffee Roasters
Hoka
Name a metric by which the REI Fund reports impact.
Donations (>$3M from POS)
Grant $ awarded ($8.6M)
Acres of land and miles of trails stewarded by grantees (2.7M and 33K)
Numbers of participants and outdoor outings/events reported by grantees (260K and 33K)
*All numbers from 2024
Name a grantee nominated by a Central CA or Northern CA store for the 2025/26 grant cycle (that has not been mentioned today) and what they do.
Many correct answers
Share an example plan of how you might use a challenge grant in the future.
Many correct answers.