Urban Tree Canopy Fund
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Funds tree planting in lower-income urban neighborhoods that have measurably less tree cover — and measurably higher summer temperatures — than wealthier parts of the same cities.
Why this matters in the United States
Maps of urban heat line up closely with maps of income and race. Many neighborhoods with the fewest trees were shaped by redlining and highway building in the twentieth century, and they remain dominated by asphalt, rooftops and parking lots that soak up sun all day and release heat through the night. On a summer afternoon, a block like that can be several degrees hotter than a leafy district a few miles away. Heat is the leading weather-related cause of death nationally, and older residents, outdoor workers and people without air conditioning face the greatest risk.
Trees cool streets through shade and evaporation, reduce stormwater runoff and cut energy bills, but they are expensive to establish where they are most needed. Planting along sidewalks may mean cutting concrete, and young trees need regular watering for their first few years. City forestry budgets are tight, and canopy tends to grow where homeowners plant and maintain trees in their own yards, something renters and low-income owners are less able to do.
What your gift pays for
- Street and yard trees of species suited to the local climate, chosen with residents
- Sidewalk cutting and soil preparation where trees must go into paved areas
- Watering and care during the first years after planting, when young trees are most vulnerable
- Paid training for neighborhood residents who join local urban forestry crews
Organization
American Forests · United States
IRS EIN · No. 53-0196544
Founded 1875 · Headquarters: Washington, D.C.
US NGO behind the Tree Equity Score, directing tree planting to low-canopy, lower-income neighborhoods.
How they work: American Forests uses its Tree Equity Score, which combines canopy data with income, race, health and temperature data at neighborhood level, to show where trees are most needed and to guide city planning. It works with city governments, utilities and local nonprofits that carry out planting and care, and helps cities write and fund long-term urban forestry plans. Its Career Pathways work trains people from low-canopy neighborhoods for urban forestry jobs.
Track record: Conducts more than a dozen plantings annually in US cities; from 2012 it worked with The Greening of Detroit to plant more than 170 trees in Detroit's Osborn neighbourhood.
✓ Verified by our team on 20 July 2024
Giving in the United States
Where public systems leave gaps, the American causes on this site step in: rural towns that have lost their only hospital or cannot afford to fix aging water lines, cities where rents have outrun shelter capacity, and counties hit hardest by opioid overdoses. Other funds back veterans, survivors of domestic violence, foster youth aging out of care and Hispanic college students, many of them first-generation. Partners range from national nonprofits such as Meals on Wheels America and the American Red Cross to a federal rural health office and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
24 causes are listed in the United States, each with its own verified organization. $2,628,640 has been distributed to causes in the United States since 2021.
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How your gift reaches this cause
- You send crypto to DonateCrypto’s verified wallet for the coin you choose. No platform fee is taken; blockchain network fees still apply.
- Your transaction ID ties the gift to this cause. Our team checks it on the blockchain and emails your official receipt once it’s confirmed.
- We then convert the funds for this cause and send them to American Forests, the organization named above, by bank transfer to its registered bank account, within 24 hours of confirming your donation.
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