The Tree Equity Catalyst Fund is part of American Forests’ larger Catalyst Initiative, which provides frontline communities with both technical knowledge and funding to help them advocate for, plant and steward trees where they are needed most.
The Catalyst Fund prioritizes support for those organizations with the greatest opportunity for social impact but face the highest barriers to participation. This includes faith-based organizations and congregations, community-based organizations, and cities and towns, each grappling with financial constraints that have been not historically well represented in the field of urban forestry. We support projects that center and serve underinvested communities and consider a range of approaches to advancing Tree Equity, rooted in community needs and vision.
Funding for this project is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. The Forest Service and American Forests are equal opportunity providers.
American Forests has awarded $42M in grants to 33 municipalities, 10 faith-based organizations and 12 community-based organizations across the nation to help establish and implement Tree Equity programs including equitable tree planning and planting, nursery development, community engagement, workforce development and more.
The recipients of our first round of funding include:
- City of Kewanee, IL
- City of Springfield, IL
- Village of Rantoul, IL
- City of Elkhart, IN
- City of Bloomington, IN
- City of Huntington, IN
- City of Goshen, IN
- City of Kalamazoo, MI
- City of Sterling Heights, MI
- City of Ann Arbor, MI
- City of Jackson, MI
- City of Pontiac, MI
- City of Richfield, MN
- City of Shoreview, MN
- Onondaga Earth Corps (located in Syracuse, NY)
- Village of Lancaster, NY
- Olmsted City (located in Utica, NY)
- City of Yonkers, NY
- Town of Smithtown, NY
- City of Albany, NY
- Village of Hastings-on-Hudson, NY
- City of Kingston, NY
- City of Long Beach, NY
- City of Glens Falls, NY
- City of Coshocton, OH
- City of Fostoria, OH
- City of Obetz, OH
- City of Port Clinton, OH
- City of Bowling Green, OH
- City of Xenia, OH
- City of Lancaster, PA
- Borough of Mechanicsburg, PA
- City of Allentown, PA
- City of Easton, PA
- Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, Inc (located in Johnstown, PA)
The recipients of our second round of funding include:
- A Rocha USA – Wheaton, IL
- Arkansas Interfaith Power & Light- Little Rock, AR
- California Interfaith Power & Light – Oakland, CA
- Centro de Apoyo Familiar – Aguada, PR
- City Parks Foundation, Inc. – New York, NY
- Dream.Org – Pittsburgh, PA
- Friends of the Urban Forest – San Francisco, CA
- Fruit Tree Planting Foundation – Pittsburgh, PA
- Georgia Interfaith Power & Light – Decatur, GA
- Green The Church – Oakland, CA
- Kansas City Community Gardens -Kansas City, MO
- Louisiana Green Corps – New Orleans, LA
- National Religious Partnership for the Environment – Washington, DC
- Native American Advancement Corp – Bridgeton, NJ
- Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light-Lancaster, PA
- Trevecca Nazarene University – Nashville, TN
- Unlimited Potential – Phoenix, AZ
- Virginia Community Voice-Richmond, VA
*USDA and American Forests are equal opportunity providers and employers.*
