How exactly does Outpatch help me support the communities I care about?

Donations - A portion of our patch sales go to community led nonprofits supporting the place or cause each patch represents.

Awareness - We highlight the work of these nonprofits and other local changemakers in our newsletters and social media to drive awareness and funding to their work.

What does "proceeds" mean for Outpatch?

Short answer - “proceeds” to us means the sale price minus the direct cost to produce the patch

We adopt the commonly acceptable definition of “proceeds” as the sale price minus the direct cost to produce the product, also known as the cost of goods sold. The direct cost includes the materials and production of our patches.

Not factored into our calculation of proceeds are any indirect costs, including our own labor.

How much of your purchase actually gets donated to the nonprofits Outpatch supports?

*Short answer - ~$1 for online purchases, ~$0.03 for in-store purchases.

Rather than just referencing a % of profits we prefer to spell out exactly how much of your purchase is being donated. We calculate this donation amount for our online and retail sales based on being able to donate as much as possible while still remaining a sustainable business.

For online sales, after paying our artists & designers, purchasing materials, manufacturing our patches, and accounting for all of our other indirect expenses, we end up donating $1 per sale.

For retail sales, the majority of your purchase will be going to the awesome retailer you're buying your patch from. We sell them our patches wholesale at a discounted rate so they can re-sell them at an adequate margin to account for all their overhead. We end up donating 1% of our proceeds from wholesale orders which translates to $0.03 per patch.

Exact donation amount may vary slightly depending on variance in the cost of production

How does Outpatch select the nonprofits proceeds are donated to?

When selecting nonprofits to partner with our ultimate aim is to ensure funds end up with the people best positioned to positively impact their communities.

In essence, this means we look for partners that:

- Thoughtfully pursue a well developed, long-term strategy to positively impact their community.

- Possess a deep understanding of the contextual challenges their community faces.

- Have a long history and respected presence working within the communities they aim to serve.

We also verify 501(c)(3) status using the IRS’ search tool.

For our travel based donations - we work to identify nonprofits that meet our criteria operating in the most economically disadvantaged county within each state. "Economic disadvantage" is determined using federal and state income/poverty data.

For our humanitarian and custom order based donations - we identify nonprofits that meet our criteria operating in countries designated by the UN as "underfunded humanitarian crises". This generally means countries where the humanitarian need is dire but there is a significant funding shortfall due to the relative obscurity or protracted nature of the crisis.

How does Outpatch assess a nonprofit's potential for positive impact?

While exact evaluation criteria may change according to context, generally we assess the following:

- Will funding of less than $10,000 result in the accomplishment of a tangible goal that furthers the development of the project/organization’s mission?

- Has the project/organization been in operation within the community for a period of at least one year?

- Does the project/organization have the buy-in of the community it aims to support as evidenced by donations, volunteers, or documented letters of support? This also serves as a proxy for identifying whether the project/organization’s mission aligns with the community’s needs.

- What are the qualifications of the individual(s) leading the project/organization? Have they demonstrated commitment to their community, passion for their mission, and a track record of success?

- Do the individual(s) leading the project/organization plan to remain in the community they aim to serve for the foreseeable future?

- Is the project/organization’s mission a sustainable, long term, and financially viable endeavor?

Do I need to buy a patch to support the nonprofits Outpatch supports?

Nope. You can visit our Impact page to find a specific community you want to support and make a donation directly to one of the listed nonprofits supporting it. These nonprofits have been fully vetted and your donation will truly catalyze positive change!