MeatEater Gives
We are committed to protecting the rights of hunters and anglers while enhancing wildlife resources and public access to America's woods, waters, and mountains. We strive to encourage a strong conservation ethic among future generations of hunters and anglers; we support our veterans and first responders, and we help our local communities through the support of initiatives that align with our mission.
A RECAP OF 2021
THE CREW IN ACTION
Montana Master Hunter Program
FHF made a generous monetary donation plus twenty-five blaze orange bino harnesses to the Montana Master Hunter Program. FHF's founder completed the program two years ago and FHF's customer service rep offers his firearm expertise and participates as a firearms instructor for the program as well. This is a program supported by many including RMEF. More info on the Montana Master Hunter Program can be found here.
Warriors and Quiet Waters
Members from MeatEater volunteered at Warriors & Quiet Waters to cook for the Sayonara Dinner. This is the last dinner for the Veterans after a week-long getaway of fishing, relaxing and enjoying the outdoors where everyone can enjoy each other and talk about their experiences they had while there. MeatEater volunteers cooked for 32 people including Veterans, their companions, the "moms" who cook all the meals, fishing guides and WQW staff.
River Clean Up
The East Gallatin River Cleanup brought together more than 50 volunteers from MeatEater, Simms, FHF Gear, and Trout Unlimited to pick up trash in four public areas and three stretches of river in the urban area north of Bozeman. We filled up five canoes and countless garbage bags, removing what was estimated to be several thousands pounds of garbage.
Brush For Bucks
On April 2nd, First Lite expanded their Brush for Bucks Initiative. In partnership with their long-time partners, Hushin, Idaho Fish and Game, and 50 customer-volunteers, they planted 10,000 sagebrush and bitterbrush seedlings on degraded range in southern Idaho that winters upwards of 16,000 mule deer, elk, and pronghorn. They also raised $8,000 dollars which will be leveraged with larger state grants to triple the scope of the project next spring. This event represents a tangible conservation win for Idaho.
Watch this video to learn more
Watch this video to learn more
Auction House Of Oddities
We raised funds for MeatEater's Land Access Initiative through a donation-based online auction that curated a truly odd mix of items. Donations from our fans and friends flooded in. Such as artwork, hand forged knives, a guided fishing trip, bear and racoon baculums, and even a signed guitar from country artist Luke Combs. We cannot thank our amazing fans and friends enough for participating in our Auction House of Oddities. It was an incredible success and a mammoth-sized step towards increasing public land access for all.
Fence Removal
Old fences can hinder big game movement and cause sage grouse mortality. Over two evenings, First Lite employees pulled several miles of barbed wire fence that's no longer needed for ranching at Rinker Rock Creek Ranch, a research property owned jointly by the Wood River Land Trust and U of I. The crew spent an additional evening pulling fence on BLM ground just outside of Hailey. Staff from the WRLT and UI collaborated with First Lite to organize these volunteer events.
In-House Hunter Education Class
First Lite's Idaho Hunter Education Instructors wanted to help tackle the decline in hunting participation and pass on their passion for the outdoors. They hosted 6-day Idaho Fish and Game hunter education class at First Lite Headquarters in August of 2021 and graduated 8 new hunters.
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
On April 23rd, MeatEater and FHF employees attended the RMEF Gallatin Chapter Banquet as both attendees and volunteers. We donated a raffle basket and chest rig for the auction to help raise funds during the RMEF event. Our volunteers assisted with raffle games including the mystery cooler and beer glass raffle, helped organize the live auction portion of the event, volunteered as runners during the auction, and helped ensure attendees had a great time while raising money for elk and conservation in the Gallatin valley.
Click here to learn about RMEF
Click here to learn about RMEF
2022 INITIATIVES
Current issues we are working to fight against are; landlocked properties that would otherwise be accessible to the public, creating accessible opportunities for the next generation of hunters and anglers, supporting our veterans, and giving back to our local communities. We are working to make additional impact this year by launching several new charitable opportunities for our workforce and audience to participate in through the MeatEater family of brands.
Land Access Initiative
MeatEater’s Land Access Initiative is exactly what it sounds like, an initiative designed to raise money so we can find properties that will provide more access for regular folks to hunt and fish.
In 2020, the Rinella-Putelis 2020 Campaign and other Land Access Initiative fundraising efforts successfully raised enough money for us to help keep Shiloh Pond open to the public forever--see that story below.
In 2021, we opened the MeatEater Auction House of Oddities to further our fundraising goals. We auctioned off some gems from the MeatEater crew, our friends, and even some from our fans. We ended the 2021-2022 Auctions on a high note with hundreds of bids and a bunch of money raised for the Land Access Fund.
MeatEater Trivia
"Game On, Suckers!" is MeatEater's Trivia show in which employees and podcast guests alike compete in the name of conservation. The winner of each round donates their $500 prize to a conservation organization of their choosing.
2022 Donation Recipients:
- National Wild Turkey Federation
- Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
- Western Bear Foundation
- MeatEater's Land Access Fund
- National Deer Association
- Vail Bighown Sheep Initiative
- Howl for Wildlife
- Backcountry Hunters & Anglers
- Wild Sheep Foundation
- Ruffed Grouse Society
- Backcountry Horsemen of America
- Student Wildlands Adventure Program (SWAP)
- The Mountaineers
- Public Water Access Association
- Catch-a-Dream
- Mountaineers Books
Internal Match Program
We donate up to $250 per employee! All employees are eligible for up to a $250 employer charitable match in 2022 for the select ten organizations below. We believe that it is important for our employees to be able to support multiple causes that align with our company's ethics and goals.
- MeatEater's Land Access Initiative
- Backcountry Hunters & Anglers
- Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
- Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
- Concern of Police Survivors
- Delta Waterfowl
- National Wild Turkey Federation
- Mule Deer Foundation
- National Deer Association
- Pheasants Forever
- National Wildlife Federation
DONATE TO OUR PARTNERS
Join us in our commitment to a stronger future by making a donation to any of the organizations below that MeatEater proudly supports.
You can learn more about each organization by clicking the Donate button.
