Friends of the Urban Forest

What Friends of the Urban Forest does

Friends of the Urban Forest is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1981 and headquartered in the Presidio of San Francisco. The organization plants and cares for street trees and sidewalk gardens, operating a community-driven urban forestry program that has produced roughly 60,000 street trees since inception, representing approximately half of San Francisco's street tree canopy. Service delivery is structured around free community plantings prioritized in neighborhoods with the lowest tree coverage to address tree inequity, supported by a three-year post-planting care commitment and ongoing watering of 750-1,000 trees weekly.

The core service portfolio comprises Street Tree Planting, Tree Care and Watering, Sidewalk Gardens, and the Adopt-A-Yard-Tree residential extension, complemented by workforce development programs (Green Teens, New Roots, Green Crew) and community education offerings including guided walks. Underlying technology is operational rather than software-driven: tree species selection, planting logistics, and maintenance scheduling supported by a public-facing Tree Species Directory and standard web/social channels. The organization also sells proprietary merchandise through a 'Trees as Cityscape Art' collection.

The business model is philanthropic rather than commercial. Revenue is generated from City and State grants, foundation grants, and contributions from corporations and individuals; services are provided at no cost to community participants. The organization employs 11-50 staff and maintains a network of service-provider partners (e.g., ArboristNow Inc., Treekeeper SF, The Urban Arborist) who are also donors at the $500-plus gift threshold. It has earned a Candid Platinum Seal and Charity Navigator Four-Star Rating in 2023, supporting continued grant eligibility.

Name

Friends of the Urban Forest

Legal name

Friends of the Urban Forest

Website

https://friendsoftheurbanforest.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Friends of the Urban Forest is a San Francisco-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1981 that plants and cares for street trees and sidewalk gardens through community-driven programs. It has planted roughly 60,000 trees, about half of the city's street tree canopy, and offers workforce development and education alongside its greening services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental and Urban Forestry Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Forestry (11531), Landscaping Services (56173)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Urban & Community Reforestation / Street Tree Planting (AFAMACAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Forestry & Reforestation (BPAGAGAD)

Keywords

• Urban forestry services
• Community tree planting
• Nonprofit environmental programs
• Workforce development training
• Sidewalk garden installation

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grants and Donations: Funded by City and State grants, foundation grants, and generous contributions from corporations and individuals. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, revenue comes primarily from philanthropic sources rather than product sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Friends of the Urban Forest is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that plants and cares for San Francisco's street trees and sidewalk gardens, providing free community tree plantings prioritized in neighborhoods with the least tree coverage to address tree inequity. The organization also operates ongoing tree care and watering services, residential yard tree adoptions, and sidewalk garden installations that replace concrete with drought-tolerant native gardens. Supporting programs include workforce development initiatives (Green Teens, New Roots, Green Crew) that train participants in urban forestry and landscape stewardship skills.

Product overview

Friends of the Urban Forest is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that offers a unified portfolio of urban greening services focused on planting and caring for San Francisco's street trees and sidewalk gardens. The core service offering consists of Street Tree Planting (increasing the city's tree canopy by planting in public spaces with 3-year care), Tree Care and Watering (ongoing maintenance including weekly watering of 750-1,000 trees), Sidewalk Gardens (community-based beautification projects replacing concrete with drought-tolerant gardens), and Adopt-A-Yard-Tree (residential tree planting extension). Supporting these core services are Workforce Development Programs (Green Teens, New Roots, and Green Crew) that build job skills through environmental stewardship, and Community Education programs including guided walks and workshops. Additional offerings include a Tree Species Directory resource and proprietary merchandise featuring the Trees as Cityscape art collection. Since 1981, the organization has planted nearly 60,000 trees—approximately half of San Francisco's street tree canopy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Street Tree Planting Community-based street tree planting program that increases San Francisco's urban tree canopy by planting trees in public spaces and providing care for 3 years, prioritized in neighborhoods with the lowest tree coverage.
• Tree Care and Watering Ongoing maintenance service that waters 750 to 1,000 trees weekly and handles pruning and other tree maintenance requests from the community.
• Sidewalk Gardens Community-based sidewalk garden projects that beautify neighborhoods by replacing concrete with drought-tolerant and native gardens.
• Adopt-A-Yard-Tree Program that extends tree planting beyond street trees to residential yards, expanding urban tree coverage in San Francisco.
• Green Teens Youth workforce development program that trains teenagers in urban forestry skills and job readiness through hands-on environmental stewardship.
• New Roots Workforce development initiative providing job and leadership skills through urban landscape stewardship.
• Green Crew Workforce development program offering participants the opportunity to develop job and leadership skills by stewarding the urban landscape.

Quantifiable outcome

• Planted nearly 60,000 street trees since 1981
• +4 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• ArboristNow Inc.minorOthersListed as a tree and landscape service provider. Services include tree planting, maintenance including pruning, stump removal and grinding, landscape gardens and design. Contact: [email protected], Phone: 415-310-7781. Note: Everyone on the list has made a monetary or in-kind gift of $500 or more to support the organization's work.
• Treekeeper SFminorOthersListed as a tree and landscape service provider. Services include tree trimming and pruning, tree maintenance, tree sourcing and planting, consultations, pruning lessons, soil testing, tree preservation for construction projects, holiday light installation. Contact: [email protected], Phone: 415-735-6202.
• The Urban ArboristminorOthersListed as a tree and landscape service provider. Services include arboreal visits, tree planting, tree trimming and pruning, tree removal, stump removal and grinding, tree consultations, emergency tree work. Contact: [email protected], Phone: 415-676-1949.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• TreePeople: Los Angeles-based nonprofit that plants and cares for urban trees and works on climate resilience. Directly comparable to FUF as a community-driven urban forestry nonprofit focused on expanding city tree canopy and volunteer engagement.
• Million Trees NYC: New York City initiative and partner nonprofits focused on planting and maintaining one million street trees. Directly comparable mission, urban street-tree focus, and citywide canopy goal structure.
• Casey Trees: Washington, D.C. nonprofit dedicated to planting, caring for, and advocating for the city's tree canopy. Operates the same planting + 3-year care model as FUF and serves as a near-direct functional equivalent in another major U.S. city.
• Park Pride: Atlanta-based nonprofit that engages communities to improve parks and green spaces through volunteer programs. Comparable community-driven, volunteer-powered greening model focused on equity and underserved neighborhoods.
• Sacramento Tree Foundation: Sacramento-based urban forestry nonprofit planting and caring for street trees with strong volunteer engagement. Closely comparable as a California-based peer with the same street tree planting and stewardship model.

Broad incumbents

• Trust for Public Land: National nonprofit that creates parks and protects land for public use, including urban greening and tree canopy programs. Operates at a wider geographic and programmatic scale but overlaps meaningfully on urban tree and green-space expansion.
• US Forest Service: Federal agency managing national forests and providing urban and community forestry grants and technical assistance. Comparable as a broad incumbent setting standards and funding urban forestry initiatives including the kind FUF runs.
• American Forests: National nonprofit focused on forest conservation and urban canopy initiatives at a national policy and advocacy level. Comparable as a broader incumbent operating in the same urban forestry space with overlapping mission and constituency.

Emerging players

• Plant-for-the-Planet: Global youth-led reforestation initiative with growing urban tree-planting programs. Comparable mission of planting trees for climate impact, though operates at a global scale with a more diffuse volunteer model.

Regional players

• Texas Tree Foundation: Texas-focused urban forestry nonprofit planting trees and supporting urban canopy in North Texas. Comparable in mission and street-tree focus, but operates in a different regional geography than FUF.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sfurbanforester
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/FriendsUrbanForest
• Facebookfacebook.com/FriendsOfTheUrbanForest
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/friends-of-the-urban-forest
• Instagraminstagram.com/friendsoftheurbanforest

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Friends of the Urban Forest