Common Vision

Community Environmental and Food Recovery Servicescommonvision.org

Common Vision is a 1999-founded Oakland nonprofit that plants and maintains fruit tree orchards and food gardens on low-income school campuses, integrating urban forestry, food recovery, and K-12 education programs for Oakland students and families.

Company typePrivate
Founded1999
HeadquartersSan Leandro, United States
Headcount11–50
GTM typeB2B and B2C
OfferingServices

What Common Vision does

Common Vision is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1999 and headquartered in Oakland, California. The organization designs, plants, and maintains fruit tree orchards and food gardens on the grounds of low-income public schools, integrating three programmatic pillars: urban forestry and land stewardship, food recovery and distribution, and K-12 education. The urban forestry program has expanded across more than 20 acres with reported engagement of 100,000+ students and approximately 200 tons of greenhouse gas sequestered. The food recovery operation runs four distribution points that redirect surplus produce from commercial partners such as Good Eggs and Sprouts Market to community members facing food insecurity. Education programming is delivered in coordination with Oakland Unified School District across five school gardens.

The organization's revenue model is donation- and grant-driven rather than commercial. Named funding and partnership sources include the City of Oakland, CalRecycle, CalFire, the California Department of Parks and Recreation, and corporate donors. A formal four-year commitment with the City of Oakland covers the planting of 1,000 trees. The most recent visible fundraising appeal shows $1,315 raised toward a $100,000 goal, which indicates the organization operates at a small scale relative to typical urban-agriculture nonprofits and likely relies on a mix of foundation grants, government contracts, and individual donations rather than recurring commercial revenue. Headcount is reported in the 11-50 range, with eight named staff across executive, programs, operations, and development functions, consistent with a community-embedded nonprofit rather than a scaled platform.

Common Vision firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Common Vision
Legal name: Common Vision
Website: https://commonvision.org
Company type: Private
Founded year: 1999
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 11–50 employees
Short description: Common Vision is a 1999-founded Oakland nonprofit that plants and maintains fruit tree orchards and food gardens on low-income school campuses, integrating urban forestry, food recovery, and K-12 education programs for Oakland students and families.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Common Vision industry classification

Industry

Product category: Community Environmental and Food Recovery Services
NAICS: Fruit and Tree Nut Farming (1113), Other Noncitrus Fruit Farming (111339), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)
SIC: Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Agricultural Services (700)
akta.pro primary industry: Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (Fair Trade, Food Access, Regenerative) (BPAGALAD)
akta.pro secondary industries: Environmental Science & Sustainability Programs (Ecology, Climate, Conservation) (EDAMABAD), Parks, Recreation & Protected Areas Administration (BPAIAMAH)

Keywords

Urban forestry programs
Food recovery services
Schoolyard orchard planting
Environmental education
Community food distribution

Where Common Vision is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: San Leandro
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

Common Vision business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B and B2C
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

Donations and Fundraising: The organization raises funds through individual donations and fundraising campaigns. A recent campaign had a goal of $100,000.
Government Grants: Common Vision receives grant funding from government sources including CalRecycle (Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery) and California Department of Parks & Recreation.
Volunteer Contributions: The organization relies on volunteer labor for operations including tree planting, garden maintenance, and food distribution.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Other	Monthly	Donation-based contribution

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Common Vision product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Common Vision plants and stewards fruit-bearing orchards and edible gardens on the campuses of low-income public schools in Oakland, while running a Food Recovery and Distribution Program that collects surplus produce and distributes it through recurring community distributions. The organization also operates Education Programs that bring environmental, nutrition, and food-systems learning to students and supports young adult employment through Youth Programs Coordinators.

Product overview

Common Vision is a nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of community-focused programs centered on urban sustainability at the intersection of education, food systems, and environmental stewardship. The core offerings include the Urban Forestry and Land Stewardship Program (tree planting initiative targeting 1,000 trees over 4 years), Food Recovery and Distribution Program (partners with Good Eggs and Sprouts to recover and distribute free groceries), and Education Programs (garden education, culinary education, after-school programs, and field trips operating in 5 school gardens). These programs are complemented by food distribution events at multiple Oakland locations and community engagement through Adopt a Tree and Third Saturday volunteer workdays.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Urban Forestry and Land Stewardship Program School- and community-site planting and stewardship of fruit-bearing orchards, native plants, and edible landscapes, designed for low-income Oakland public schools and the surrounding neighborhoods.
Food Recovery and Distribution Program Recovers surplus produce from food system partners and aggregates it for redistribution through recurring community Food Distributions for low-income Oakland residents.
Education Programs Environmental, nutrition, and food-systems curriculum delivered to students at Common Vision's partner school sites, integrating classroom learning with on-campus orchards and gardens.
Food Distributions Recurring community distribution events at which recovered surplus produce is provided to low-income Oakland residents at no cost.
Third Saturday Garden Workdays Monthly volunteer workday events held on the third Saturday of each month at Common Vision school sites, inviting the public to participate in orchard and garden maintenance.
Adopt-a-Tree Donor-funded program in which contributors fund the planting of a named fruit tree at a Common Vision school site, supporting the organization's urban forestry work.
Fruit Tree Care Workshop Free public workshop on fruit tree pruning and care for community members, delivered at a Common Vision partner school site.

Quantifiable outcome

Expanded urban green space by 20+ acres
+4 more outcomes

Companies that use Common Vision

Customer profile

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Common Vision technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Common Vision partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

City of OaklandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormal partnership with City of Oakland for urban forestry and land stewardship. Working together to plant 1,000 trees over 4 years. The organization also collaborates with Oakland Urban Forestry Forum and Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation.
Good EggscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal food business that generates food waste. Good Eggs partners with Common Vision to recover high quality organic groceries which are then shared with the community through food distributions.
Sprouts MarketcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal grocery chain that generates food waste. Partner in the food recovery program to recover high quality organic groceries for community food distributions.
Oakland Unified School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMain educational partner providing access to 5 school gardens for garden education, culinary education, after-school programs, and field trips. Schools include Prescott Elementary, West Oakland Middle School, and MLK Elementary.
StopWaste, Inc.secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental organization focused on waste reduction that collaborates on food recovery and sustainability initiatives.
Alameda County Community Food BanksecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood bank partner supporting food security initiatives in Alameda County, collaborating on food distribution efforts.
Prescott Elementary SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary school partner hosting weekly food distributions, community garden workdays, and school garden education programs.
UC DavissecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner providing academic support and research collaboration for agricultural and environmental programs.
Student Conservation AssociationsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational nonprofit providing conservation crews and resources for environmental restoration projects.
West Oakland Environmental Indicators ProjectsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal environmental justice organization focused on West Oakland air quality and environmental health.
Hyphae Design LabssecondaryTechnology or IntegrationDesign firm providing technical expertise for urban forestry and landscape design projects.
The Fruit GuyssecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerFruit delivery business supporting food recovery programs and sustainable food systems initiatives.
Green Schoolyards AmericasecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization focused on transforming school grounds into green spaces, supporting garden education programs.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Common Vision competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

ReTreeUS: Portland-based nonprofit planting trees in urban neighborhoods with volunteer engagement and food forest emphasis. Comparable urban forestry/land stewardship model with volunteer workdays.
Big Green: National nonprofit that builds learning gardens in public schools with integrated curriculum. Most direct peer given shared school-anchor model, food/education mission, and urban low-income school focus.
Food Recovery Network: Largest student-led food recovery nonprofit in the US, redirecting surplus food to communities. Comparable food recovery program and free distribution model, though primarily campus-based.
City Fruit: Seattle-based nonprofit focused on urban fruit tree care, harvest, and food access. Closely comparable urban orchard model with food recovery angle.
Green Schoolyards America: National nonprofit transforming school grounds into green spaces; explicit existing partner of Common Vision. Shared focus on greening school campuses and integrating outdoor learning environments.
Edible Schoolyard Project: Alice Waters-founded nonprofit advancing garden and kitchen classroom education in schools. Highly comparable mission combining food systems, environmental education, and school-based delivery.
Fruit Tree Planting Foundation: National nonprofit planting fruit trees in underserved communities, schools, and urban areas. Directly comparable core activity of urban fruit tree planting for food access.

Emerging players

StopWaste: Alameda County waste reduction authority and existing Common Vision partner. Comparable on food recovery and waste reduction focus, but operates as a public agency rather than direct program operator.
Alameda County Community Food Bank: Regional food bank partner of Common Vision. Indirectly comparable through food distribution mission and food insecurity focus, though operates at much larger regional scale.
Captain Planet Foundation: Environmental education funder/operator supporting hands-on environmental projects in schools. Comparable education + environmental stewardship intersection, though operates more as a grantmaker than direct program operator.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Common Vision financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Common Vision leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Common Vision funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

Common Vision M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Common Vision

What does Common Vision do?

Is Common Vision a public or private company?

Common Vision is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was Common Vision founded?

Common Vision was founded in 1999. It employs 11 to 50 people.

Where is Common Vision based?

Common Vision is headquartered in San Leandro, United States, in the North America region.

How does Common Vision make money?

Three revenue lines are on record. Donations and Fundraising is the primary driver. The others are government Grants and volunteer Contributions.

Who are Common Vision's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are ReTreeUS, Big Green, Food Recovery Network, City Fruit, Green Schoolyards America, Edible Schoolyard Project and Fruit Tree Planting Foundation. Emerging players are StopWaste, Alameda County Community Food Bank and Captain Planet Foundation.

Does Common Vision have an API?

No public API is recorded for Common Vision.

What industry is Common Vision in?

Common Vision's product category is Community Environmental and Food Recovery Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGALAD, Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (Fair Trade, Food Access, Regenerative), with a secondary code of EDAMABAD, Environmental Science & Sustainability Programs (Ecology, Climate, Conservation). Its NAICS code is 1113 and its SIC code is 100.