What Community Forest Trust does

Community Forest Trust (CFT) is a non-profit company limited by guarantee and registered charity (Charity No. 1072706, Company No. 3598556) founded in 1998 in Manchester, England. CFT operates as the national champion for England's Community Forests, coordinating a network of 15 Community Forest organisations that collectively reach more than 50% of England's population. Its core activities centre on woodland creation programme delivery, free impartial advisory services to landowners within Community Forest areas, and educational outreach through programmes such as Trees for Learning. The organisation also co-conceived the Northern Forest, a 25-year initiative with the Woodland Trust targeting 50 million trees from Liverpool to Hull.

CFT's core programmes include Trees for Climate (a multi-million-pound woodland creation grant programme funded by DEFRA's Nature for Climate Fund), the Northern Forest, and Trees for Learning (a schools engagement programme). Subsidiary bodies include the Community Forest Land Trust (for land acquisition and holding), The Mersey Forest Foundation (for fundraising capacity), and regional subsidiaries Cumbria Coastal Community Forest and Tees Community Forest. The organisation also specialises in natural flood management techniques and urban greening solutions, exemplified by its delivery of a 65-metre living green wall at St Johns Shopping Centre in Liverpool under the EU Horizon 2020 Urban GreenUP project.

CFT's revenue model is grant-dominated and non-commercial. Primary income derives from central government grants — including £12.1 million from DEFRA in December 2020 and over £25 million in 2021 for the Trees for Climate programme, plus £5.7 million in 2018 to launch the Northern Forest and £1.3 million from the Green Recovery Challenge Fund via the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Secondary revenue streams comprise individual donations, corporate partnerships (notably Stonewater's £50-per-home donation model, Interlock Adhesives, and Candide), and community fundraising campaigns. With approximately 17 core staff, CFT operates a lean central team that leverages the broader Community Forest network, local authority partnerships, and over 100-delegate annual conferences to deliver national-scale environmental regeneration programmes.

Name

Community Forest Trust

Legal name

Community Forest Trust

Website

https://communityforest-trust.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Community Forest Trust (CFT) is a registered charity that serves as the national champion for England's 15 Community Forests, coordinating woodland creation programmes, landowner advisory services, and government-funded environmental regeneration initiatives reaching over 50% of England's population.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Forestry and Environmental Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Forestry (11531), Forestry and Logging (113)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Forestry & Reforestation (BPAGAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC), Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), Urban & Community Reforestation / Street Tree Planting (AFAMACAL), Timberland & Forest Asset Management (IMAMAJAA)

Keywords

• Community forestry
• Woodland creation
• Tree planting
• Environmental regeneration
• Carbon sequestration

Headquarters

HQ city

Not specified

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Giving: CFT accepts donations from individuals and organizations to support tree planting and community forestry projects. Donors can make general donations or dedicate trees to loved ones.
2. Government Grants - Trees for Climate: Multi-million pound woodland creation programme part of the national Government-led Nature for Climate fund. £12.1 million secured in December 2020 to plant over 500 hectares of trees.
3. Government Funding - Nature for Climate Fund: £640 million Nature for Climate Fund supporting woodland creation and peatland restoration announced in the 2020 Budget.
4. Green Recovery Challenge Fund: Government's £80 million Green Recovery Challenge Fund supporting nature recovery projects. The Mersey Forest received £1,326,700 through CFT.
5. Corporate Partnerships: Partnerships with businesses such as Stonewater (£50 donation per house built), Interlock Adhesives (environmental partnership), and Candide (Tree Inspired campaign).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Community Forest Trust coordinates and supports a national network of 15 Community Forests across England that deliver woodland creation programmes, natural flood management, urban greening, and tree planting initiatives. The organisation administers multi-million-pound government grant programmes (Trees for Climate), provides free impartial advisory services to landowners, and facilitates corporate partnerships that fund tree planting as part of sustainability commitments. It operates four subsidiary bodies handling land acquisition, fundraising, and regional community forest development.

Product overview

Community Forest Trust (CFT) is a non-profit charitable organization (Company Limited by Guarantee, Charity No. 1072706) that serves as the national champion for community forests in England. Rather than offering a technology product or software platform, CFT coordinates and supports a network of 15 Community Forest organizations through programs including Trees for Climate (a woodland creation funding programme), The Northern Forest initiative (a 50-million-tree planting partnership), and Trees for Learning (school engagement programme). CFT supports four subsidiary bodies: Community Forest Land Trust (CFLT) for land acquisition, The Mersey Forest Foundation (MFF) for fundraising, and regional community forests including Cumbria Coastal Community Forest and Tees Community Forest. The organization facilitates funding, provides expert advisory services to landowners, and champions community forestry across England.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Trees for Climate A multi-million pound woodland creation programme funded by the Government's Nature for Climate Fund and delivered through England's Community Forests network. Provides competitive grants for landowners to plan, deliver, and manage woodland creation schemes across ten Community Forests.
• The Northern Forest A 25-year initiative to plant 50 million trees from Liverpool to Hull along the M62 corridor, delivered as a partnership between the Woodland Trust and Community Forests including City of Trees, Mersey Forest, Humber Forest, and White Rose Forest. Designed to accelerate woodland creation and support sustainable management of existing woods.
• Trees for Learning A school tree planting programme delivered in partnership with the Woodland Trust and Defra, encouraging primary schools to plant trees within school grounds and local green spaces. Includes expert design advice, planting days with children, and follow-up curriculum-linked education sessions. Approximately 11,000 children from 350 schools planted 65,000 trees.
• England's Community Forests Network A national network of 15 Community Forest organisations operating in and around England's largest towns and cities. Collectively forms England's largest environmental regeneration initiative, delivering urban, economic, and social regeneration through green infrastructure, reaching over 50% of England's population.

Quantifiable outcome

• Planting 2.4 million trees in a record year
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Interlock AdhesivesminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 25 March 2021Interlock Adhesives chose CFT as their environmental partner, supporting CFT's tree planting projects. The partnership was launched alongside Interlock's new 'Green' adhesive range designed to support sustainability objectives in consumer packaging.
• CandidecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 November 2020Candide, a gardening platform, partnered with CFT for the 'Tree Inspired' campaign during National Tree Week (Nov 21 - Dec 8, 2020). The campaign aimed to raise £10,000 to plant 1,000 trees, educate over 500,000 Candide users on tree benefits, and included sustainable gift options on Candide Marketplace. Candide's team of 60 employees committed to a mass planting day with CFT.
• St Johns Shopping Centre (Liverpool)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 May 2020CFT supported The Mersey Forest in delivering a 65-metre 'living green wall' at St Johns Shopping Centre in Liverpool as part of the EU Horizon 2020 Urban GreenUP project. The wall contains over 14,000 evergreen plants and is one of the longest in the UK.
• StonewatercoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 27 March 2019Leading national housing association Stonewater partnered with CFT to plant trees as it builds affordable homes. Stonewater donates £50 to CFT for every house built (planting 6 trees per home) and was the first registered provider in the UK to demonstrate environmental commitment in this way. Partnership also included volunteer tree planting events.
• Woodland TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 January 2018The Woodland Trust and CFT co-conceived the Northern Forest - an ambitious plan to plant 50 million trees over 25 years from Liverpool to Hull. Government pledged £5.7 million to launch the £500m project. The Northern Forest is a groundbreaking landscape-scale initiative connecting four Community Forests with green infrastructure.
• Cheshire West and Chester CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCheshire West and Chester Council serves as the accountable body for the Trees for Climate programme. This is a critical governance relationship enabling the delivery of the multi-million pound woodland creation programme.
• North East Local AuthoritiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSix local authorities (Newcastle City Council, Durham County Council, Gateshead Council, North Tyneside Council, South Tyneside Council, and Sunderland City Council) joined with environmental organizations to create the North East Community Forest. Authorities committed £75,000 per year towards forest team costs.
• University of Leeds and University of YorkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term research collaboration with universities for monitoring woodland development and water quality at Snaizeholme project site in Yorkshire Dales. White Rose Forest and Trees for Climate programme initiative.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• The Wildlife Trusts: The Wildlife Trusts is a network of 46 local trusts managing nature reserves across the UK. It competes with CFT for the same DEFRA and National Lottery climate/nature funding pools and is a peer in environmental grant-funded land stewardship and conservation delivery.
• Woodland Trust: The Woodland Trust is the UK's largest woodland conservation charity. It co-conceived the Northern Forest with CFT, plants millions of trees annually, and partners with CFT on Trees for Learning. Directly comparable as a UK non-profit forestry and tree-planting organization with overlapping programmes and funding sources.
• Heart of England Forest: Heart of England Forest is a UK charity creating and restoring native broadleaf woodland in the Midlands. It is a more focused reforestation peer with similar scale, donor-funded model, and woodland-creation mission to CFT's community forest programmes.
• Trees for Cities: Trees for Cities is a UK charity focused on urban tree planting and greening, with a comparable mission of community-led tree planting in urban areas. It delivers school planting programmes and corporate partnerships in a similar model to CFT's Trees for Learning and Community Forest network.
• The Tree Council: The Tree Council is a UK charity championing trees and woodland through National Tree Week (a campaign CFT also leverages). It is directly comparable as a small-to-mid-sized UK non-profit focused on tree planting advocacy and education.

Broad incumbents

• Natural England: Natural England is a government body that administers conservation programmes and co-delivers funding such as the Green Recovery Challenge Fund alongside CFT. It is a broader public-sector incumbent in the same environmental delivery space.
• Forestry England: Forestry England is the government's forestry body managing the public forest estate. It is a broader incumbent in the same space: it oversees forestry policy and large-scale woodland management that CFT's community forestry model complements and partly overlaps with.
• RSPB: RSPB is the UK's largest nature conservation charity with over a million members. While focused on birds and broader biodiversity, it is a broader incumbent that competes for the same corporate, donor, and government funding as CFT.

Emerging players

• TCV (The Conservation Volunteers): TCV is a UK charity mobilizing volunteers for environmental conservation work, including tree planting and green space management. It is comparable as a community-engagement-driven environmental charity with overlapping volunteer and tree-planting programmes.
• Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust: Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust delivers landscape-scale conservation, woodland creation (including the Snaizeholme project CFT monitors), and community engagement in northern England. Comparable as a regional reforestation and conservation charity with similar programme models.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/communityforesttrust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries4 records

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 Community Forest Trust