Center for Environmental Transformation

What Center for Environmental Transformation does

The Center for Environmental Transformation (CFET) is a non-profit environmental justice organization founded in 2007 by parishioners of Sacred Heart Church in Camden, New Jersey, dedicated to environmental transformation of Camden neighborhoods through urban farming, youth development, environmental justice advocacy, and climate resilience planning. The organization serves Camden residents with a particular focus on youth ages 14-19 through its Eco Intern Program (incorporating urban gardening, cooking, and entrepreneurship), grades 1-8 through the Eco Explorers outdoor education program, and broader community residents through advocacy and gardening access. CFET manages approximately half an acre of urban gardens across three Camden sites—a main Emerald Street garden with greenhouse and hoop house, a Liney Ditch Park site being rebuilt with raised beds, and a 412 Jasper St. seedling distribution location—supported by an orchard producing "Midas Touch" honey and soil tested for heavy metals.

CFET's commercial offering spans youth-created consumer products including Kapow! Hot Sauce (a Louisiana-style hot sauce made from garden peppers by program participants), seasonal vegetable seedlings, books by co-founder Father Michael Doyle, and a documentary narrated by Martin Sheen. Revenue is generated through a hybrid mix of individual and corporate donations (via Zeffy and Amazon Smile), tiered youth program sponsorships ($150/week for Eco Interns up to $3,121/year for Senior Farmers), the Buy a Bed raised-garden-bed fundraising program, event-driven campaigns (Thomas Berry Lecture, #GivingTuesday, Earth Day), and grants including a National Coastal Resilience Fund Community Capacity-Building Grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. In 2025, CFET published the Camden Coastal Resilience Plan—an 18-month planning effort developed with PennPraxis, eDesign Dynamics, and the Water Center at Penn—marking a strategic expansion from neighborhood-scale urban farming into municipal climate adaptation work. The organization operates with a small staff of four (Executive Director Jon Compton, Project Manager AJ Riggs, Garden Education Coordinator Leslie Canales, Community Outreach Coordinator Tawanda Jones) and a 12-member Board of Trustees including representation from Subaru of America, the Academy of Natural Sciences, and Macquarie Group.

Name

Center for Environmental Transformation

Legal name

Center for Environmental Transformation

Website

https://cfet.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Center for Environmental Transformation (CFET) is a Camden, New Jersey non-profit that operates urban farms, runs youth environmental education programs (Eco Explorers, Eco Interns), advocates for environmental justice, and delivered the 2025 Camden Coastal Resilience Plan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental & Community Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Learning & Training Content Development (EDAGAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Impact / Climate & Sustainability CVC (FSANAHAJ), Results-Based Financing (RBF) & Performance-Based Grants (BPADAOAF)

Keywords

• Urban farming
• Environmental justice
• Community gardening
• Youth education
• Climate resilience

Headquarters

HQ city

Camden

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Investments: Tax-deductible donations from individuals and corporations supporting programs and general operations. All donations are tax deductible per EIN 26-0781172.
2. Amazon Smile: 0.5% of Amazon purchases directed to CFET through Amazon Smile program at smile.amazon.com.
3. Product Sales: Sale of value-added products including Kapow! Hot Sauce (made by youth program participants), vegetable seedlings (seasonal), books, and films/DVDs.
4. Youth Program Sponsorships: Corporate and individual sponsorship of youth programs at various levels (weekly, monthly, summer, yearly) for Eco Interns, Assistant Farmers, and Senior Farmers.
5. Grants: National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF) Community Capacity-Building Grant from National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) supporting 2025 Camden Coastal Resilience Plan.
6. Buy a Bed Program: Donations for raised garden beds at Liney Ditch Park with plaques recognizing donors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CFET is a Camden, NJ-based non-profit operating an urban farm (~1/2 acre across three sites) combined with youth education programs (Eco Explorers grades 1-8, Eco Interns ages 14-19, Youth Leadership), environmental justice advocacy, and an NFWF-funded coastal resilience planning project. It sells value-added products (Kapow! Hot Sauce, seedlings, books, films) made or grown through its programs and funded primarily by donations, grants, and sponsorships.

Product overview

The Center for Environmental Transformation (CFET) is a non-profit environmental justice organization that offers a portfolio of programs and products focused on Camden, New Jersey. Core programs include urban farming across approximately 1/2 acre of gardens with a greenhouse and hoop house; youth development through the Eco Intern Program (ages 14-19) and Youth Leadership Program; environmental justice advocacy with a community resource HUB; and the NFWF-funded coastal resilience project. Consumer products include Kapow! Hot Sauce (made by youth program participants from garden-grown peppers), vegetable seedlings, books, and films. The 2025 Camden Coastal Resilience Plan represents their planning initiative for flood mitigation. All products and programs directly support the organization's mission of mobilizing Camden residents for a healthier environment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kapow! Hot Sauce: A medium heat, Louisiana-style hot sauce made from peppers grown in CFET's own garden, vinegar, and salt. Made by participants of the youth program.

Products and services

• Kapow! Hot Sauce A medium heat, Louisiana-style hot sauce made from garden-grown peppers, vinegar, and salt; produced by participants of CFET's youth program and sold to consumers/supporters with proceeds supporting the youth program.
• Vegetable Seedlings Seasonal vegetable seedlings propagated in CFET's greenhouse and sold or distributed to local gardeners and residents.
• Book - It's a Terrible Day: Thanks be to God A book by Father Michael Doyle containing monthly letters written as prose and poetry about life in Camden, sold for $23.50 within the US (shipping included).
• Film - Poet of Poverty (DVD) A 52-minute documentary narrated by Martin Sheen, exploring hope, injustice, dedication, and faith in Camden, sold as a DVD for $22 within the US (shipping included).
• Urban Farm Program Approximately 1/2 acre of urban gardens across three Camden sites (Emerald Street, Liney Ditch Park, 412 Jasper St.) including a greenhouse for seedling propagation and a hoop house for season extension; soil is tested for heavy metals to ensure food safety.
• Eco Intern Program Youth development program for Camden residents ages 14-19 using urban gardening, cooking, and entrepreneurship to build leadership, collaboration, and critical thinking skills.
• Youth Leadership Program Mentorship and leadership program for youth who have completed the Eco Internship, developing self-confidence, public speaking, and supervisory responsibility.
• Eco Explorers Program Science-based outdoor education program that brings first through eighth grade students into the garden for hands-on learning about food and the natural world.
• Environmental Justice Advocacy Community organizing and advocacy for clean air and livable communities in Camden, including a community resource HUB and Environmental Justice Leadership Cohort.
• 2025 Camden Coastal Resilience Plan A shared set of strategies and priorities for action and investment to reduce flooding impacts and increase coastal resilience in Camden, produced by CFET with PennPraxis, eDesign Dynamics, and the Water Center at Penn under an NFWF grant.

Quantifiable outcome

• Goal to grow 2400 pounds of produce (20% increase)
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• PennPraxiscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPublic interest consulting team providing project management, landscape architecture, community engagement, and communications for Camden Coastal Resilience Plan. Part of Weitzman School of Design at University of Pennsylvania.
• eDesign DynamicscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEnvironmental engineering firm specializing in hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, low-impact development, water resources design, natural disaster risk assessment, and ecosystem restoration.
• Water Center at PenncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerApplied research center at University of Pennsylvania focused on water systems analysis, planning and implementation, policy and partnership design for urban water challenges.
• Amazon SmileminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAmazon Smile program directs 0.5% of qualifying purchases to CFET. EIN 26-0781172 used for registration.
• Technical Advisory Panel (Camden Coastal Resilience Plan)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIncludes Dr. Edward Williams (City of Camden), Keith Walker, Scott Schreiber (CCMUA), Oleg Zotis, Lisa Auermuller (Rutgers/MACH), Carol Collier, Joe Myers (Camden Community Partnership), Thomas Herrington (Urban Coast Institute, Monmouth University), Jon Miller (NJDEP), Tim Feeney, Bob Kopp, Martha Maxwell Doyle (Partnership for Delaware Estuary), Lu Bivona, Andy Kricun (Moonshot Missions), and Laura Kerr (Stevens Institute).
• Community AmbassadorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity ambassadors for East Camden flooding survey including Kevin Barfield, Maritza Gordy, Shellie Mason, Frank Santos, Norma Sellers, and Carla Villegas.
• Steering Committee (Camden Coastal Resilience Plan)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIncludes Kevin Barfield (Resident), Vince Caliguire (NJDEP), Jessica Franzini (Heart of Camden), Saraly Gonzalez (Urban Promise), Frank McLaughlin, Mike Morgan (Heart of Camden/Resident), Felix Moulier (SJCS/Resident), Loan Nguyen, Josie Ocasio (Parents Invincible/Resident), Lisa Pierce, and Carla Villegas.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• The Food Trust: Philadelphia-based, larger-scale non-profit focused on food access, nutrition education, and healthy food retail — overlaps with CFET on food justice and youth/community education, but operates at significantly broader regional scale.

Direct peers

• Capital Roots: Troy, NY-based non-profit operating urban farms, community gardens, and youth food/environmental education programs — comparable mid-size regional food-systems and youth-development mission.
• Groundwork USA: National network of local Trusts running urban environmental projects combining green infrastructure, youth environmental education, and community-led revitalization — directly comparable operating model to CFET.
• Bartram's Garden: Philadelphia community garden and environmental education center combining urban agriculture with youth programs and environmental justice work, directly comparable in mission stack and regional context.
• Massachusetts Avenue Project: Buffalo, NY-based non-profit combining urban agriculture, youth development, and food justice in a post-industrial city — strong operational parallel to CFET's integrated farming + youth + justice model.
• Urban Farming Institute: Boston-based non-profit running urban farm sites, youth workforce training, and food justice programming — directly comparable mission stack and youth-farmer pipeline model.
• Soil Generation: Philadelphia coalition of urban farms and gardeners focused on food sovereignty and land access for Black and Brown growers — analogous grassroots urban-agriculture + environmental justice model serving a similar demographic in Camden.
• Isles Inc. Trenton, NJ-based community development non-profit combining urban gardening/farming, youth training, and environmental health programs in a post-industrial New Jersey city — comparable scale, geography, and integrated mission.
• Greensgrow Philadelphia: Philadelphia-based urban farm and education non-profit running a working farm, community garden programs, and youth/farmer training — closely mirrors CFET's urban-farming-plus-youth-education model in a nearby Mid-Atlantic city.

Regional players

• Center for Aquatic Resource Research and Management (CARMM) / South Camden Theatre / Hopeworks: Hopeworks is a Camden-based youth workforce development non-profit; while not focused on environmental work, it serves the same Camden youth population and competes for the same local philanthropic and volunteer pools as CFET.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php?id=61573978704996
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/center-for-environmental-transformation-cfet-
• Instagraminstagram.com/cfet_

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Center for Environmental Transformation