Founding Letter

Founding Letter

Wild, thriving, protected land and wildlife are an incredible gift for current and future generations.

They provide the opportunity for hiking, mountain biking, trail running, birding, camping, hunting, and just being alone in nature. The natural world is a source of inspiration, beauty, and physical challenge we think are part of a life well lived. Especially as more and more of our lives are disconnected from nature and wildlife.

In 2017, we made the decision to establish Wildside with a gift of $100,000 to establish a perpetual endowment. And we made the commitment to donate 5% of Arcade's net profit each year to Wildside. Taken together, these commitments will allow us to give an ever-increasing amount to nature and wildlife focused causes indefinitely.

Our model for giving is unique. We've decided to take a 360-degree approach to maximize our impact. That includes giving grants, making loans, and investing in early-stage companies.

Each year we give grants to incredible organizations like NatureBridge, NOLS, Wild Bear Nature Center, Farm Aid, and Wildlife Conservation Network.

We also give loans, primarily to support farmers working to transition from traditional, chemical-heavy farming to organic, sustainable farming through organizations like Mad Capital, Farm.vc, FarmTogether, and Farmland LP.

And we invest in early-stage technology companies who work furthers our mission. To date, these investments have included farm-to-table grocery service Good Eggs, carbon auditing platform Carbonfact, and the agriculture accounting software company Ambrook.

By taking a holistic approach we believe that we can have the greatest possible impact and do more long-term good. And with our unique funding and investment model, we think we can make an increasingly large impact each year and compound that impact for decades to come.

Daniel Scrivner

DECEMBER 12, 2017