Giving Tuesday
At KEEN, we feel a responsibility to protect and preserve the places where we play, live, and work. As a brand built for life outside, we want to make certain outside is intact, healthy, and preserved for future generations of earth citizens to marvel at and enjoy. That’s why we partner with the incredible organizations listed below.
Since 2003 we’ve donated more than $15 million in grants and product to nonprofit organizations and causes around the world… and we’re just getting started.
Please consider joining us in supporting their work because together we can make the world a better place than how we found it.
Across the Country
These three organizations are longtime partners, who ground us in land and water conservation and access across North America. We’ve worked with both of these incredible organizations for nearly our entire existence. These organizations are growing, but they still lead by example, and we couldn’t be more proud to support them. Read on to learn more about them and the good work they do.
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American Whitewater: Our friends at American Whitewater are the perfect fusion of protecting and preserving. They tirelessly work to keep America’s free flowing rivers healthy and uphold access to human powered recreation on them. They’re scientists and paddlers, advocates, and organizers, and it’s evident by the fact that AW members were instrumental in the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. We’ve had the distinct pleasure of witnessing many successes – like the Condit Dam removal in our backyard of White Salmon, WA – one of 12 this organization has been successful in removing.
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Leave No Trace: Leave No Trace has been making sure its 7 Principles (and 19 tech tips) are common language among all outdoor enthusiasts. We’ve been a proud supporter of LNT for over a decade, and are thankful for leadership and guidance on how to keep our wild places, wild. Oh yeah, and the seven principles are: plan ahead and prepare, travel and camp on durable surfaces, dispose of waste properly, leave what you find, minimize campfire impacts, respect wildlife, and be considerate of other visitors.
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The Conservation Alliance: Since the Conservation Alliance was born 28 years ago, the organization has protected an area the size of North Dakota (77k square miles) or 45 million acres, 2,972 river miles, removed or halted 28 dams, acquired 11 climbing areas, and designated 5 marine reserves. The Alliance has used the power of business – with its 200+ outdoor industry members – to make positive change, and we’ve been proud to support the Alliance as a Pinnacle Member for about 10 years.
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Friends of Nevada Wilderness: The fearless leaders behind the movement to Protect Gold Butte – an area 1.5 miles northeast of Las Vegas chock full of incredible petroglyphs, red rock formations, Joshua Trees, desert tortoise, and incredible desert fragrances. The Live Monumental tour has been back to this place more than any other… It’s world class, and Friends of Nevada Wilderness has been working for years to secure its protection.
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West Virginia Rivers Coalition: Birthplace of Rivers in West Virginia is lucky to have advocates like West Virginia Rivers Coalition. The group is a small-but-mighty team, working tirelessly to protect the headwaters of six of the most important rivers in the state: the Gauley, the Cranberry, the Cherry, the Elk, the Greenbrier, and the Williams. If you’re ever in Lewisburg, WV – just outside of the Birthplace of Rivers boundary, make sure to get your bike tuned up at Hill and Holler, see a flick at the Lewis Theatre, and pick up whatever outdoor adventure gear you need at Serenity Now Outfitters.
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Oregon Natural Desert Association: Oregon Natural Desert Association exists to protect Oregon’s high desert – which, believe it or not – makes up 50% percent of the entire state! For more than a decade, ONDA has been seeking permanent protection of one of the most remote, wild, and untouched landscapes in the lower 48 states – the Owyhee Canyonlands. Scientists believe that in the coming ten years, it may be one of the only places to view the Milky Way in the lower 48 states, free of light pollution. Speaking from experience, witnessing the Milky Way in the Owyhee while sitting in a hot spring with sage and juniper delighting your smell senses, is a one-of-a-kind experience.
In Our Backyard
These partners are located right here in our home state of Oregon. These are our neighbors, friends, and hiking buddies. Their offices are located just a short bike ride from KEEN HQ and we feel so fortunate to have outstanding partners in our neighborhood.
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The Forest Park Conservancy: Forest Park is one of the largest forests in an urban area, and it is literally outside our west facing windows. It’s where our employees and our fans run, bike, and hike. It’s 80+ miles of wooden trails, and 5,000+ acres of forest that we have to thank for our clean air. It’s of the utmost importance for us to preserve this special place, and the Forest Park Conservancy is the organization to do so. We’ve proudly supported FPC for nearly a decade.
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Oregon Wild: While our friends at ONDA work to protect our states high desert, Oregon Wild focuses its time on the other half of the state. Oregon Wild has been instrumental in keeping our state wild, including 1.7 million acres of wilderness, 95,000 acres of protected forests in Bull Run/Little Sandy watersheds, and almost 1,800 miles of Wild & Scenic Rivers. There are many reasons why we love Oregon Wild, but one of them is that they officially made the connection between clean watersheds and forests, and microbrews! The Brewshed Alliance is really quite something.
Our Roots
On December 24, 2004 the southeast Asian earthquake and corresponding tsunami happened – killing hundreds of thousands and displacing hundreds of thousands more. KEEN – a one-year-old company at the time, diverted its entire advertising budget to disaster relief. We immediately wrote a check for $500,000 to a nonprofit working on the ground to deliver basic humanitarian needs, the remaining $500,000 was set aside to start our philanthropy program, which since has grown to support all of the great groups listed above.◇
Mercy Corps: Our partnership with Mercy Corps is a continuation of this commitment we made so many years ago. Mercy Corps’ Disaster Response Corps is made up of a nimble team that responds within hours of natural disasters, activating teams already on the ground, setting up relief programs for sustainable recovery, and implementing localized projects to ensure communities emerge stronger than before.
