International Tree Foundation
International Tree Foundation is a UK-registered charity founded in 1922 that funds community-led reforestation and tree planting across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, the UK, and Ireland, supporting threatened species conservation through local partnerships.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1922
- HeadquartersOxford, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What International Tree Foundation does
International Tree Foundation (ITF) is a UK-registered charity founded in 1922, recognized as the world's oldest tree planting charity. The organization funds and coordinates community-led reforestation and tree planting across multiple African countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Ghana, with additional programs in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its flagship initiative, the 20 Million Trees Campaign launched in 2016, has supported the planting of approximately 6.8 million trees over a 12-year period, alongside threatened species conservation efforts.
ITF's operating model is partnership-driven rather than directly executional. It works with local NGOs such as Eden Reforestation Projects and Trees for the Future, and collaborates with governmental bodies including the Kenya Forest Service, to deliver planting projects, training, and nursery development. The organization maintains a registered subsidiary in Kenya to support its African operations. Strategic leadership includes CEO James Whitehead (appointed 2021) and Chair Tom Lupton (appointed 2024), with institutional credibility reinforced by royal patronage from King Charles III.
As a registered charity, ITF is funded through individual donations, corporate partnerships, and grants rather than commercial revenue. It does not disclose financials, headcount, or technology stack in the input data. While over a century of operational history and a multi-country footprint suggest a stable institution, the absence of disclosed funding scale, AI or digital capabilities, and growth metrics means this analysis is constrained by significant data gaps.
International Tree Foundation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- International Tree Foundation
- Legal name
- International Tree Foundation
- Website
- https://internationaltreefoundation.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1922
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- International Tree Foundation is a UK-registered charity founded in 1922 that funds community-led reforestation and tree planting across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, the UK, and Ireland, supporting threatened species conservation through local partnerships.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
International Tree Foundation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Environmental Conservation and Reforestation Services
- NAICS
- Support Activities for Forestry (1153), Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Forest Nurseries and Gathering of Forest Products (1132)
- SIC
- Forestry (800)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Tree Planting & Establishment Services (Manual/Mechanized) (AFAMACAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), Community Forestry & Indigenous Land Stewardship Services (IMAMAJAM), Forest Carbon Projects & Ecosystem Services (Carbon Credits, Biodiversity) (IMAMAAAJ)
Keywords
Where International Tree Foundation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oxford
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
International Tree Foundation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: One-time and recurring donations from individual supporters, including monthly giving programmes with matching for the first year
- Corporate Partnerships: Business partnerships including corporate tree planting days, Company Forests, and bespoke partnerships for CSR and ESG purposes
- Legacies and Bequests: Leave a legacy programme allowing supporters to include ITF in their wills
- Community Grants: UK and Ireland community tree planting grants providing financial support, physical trees, and expert consultation to community organisations
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Entry-level monthly giving |
| Subscription | Monthly | Mid-level monthly giving for food security |
| Subscription | Monthly | Premium monthly giving for endangered species |
| Other | Multi-year contract | UK Community Tree Planting Grants |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
International Tree Foundation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
International Tree Foundation (ITF) is a UK-registered charity that delivers community-led tree planting and forest restoration programmes in Africa (primarily Kenya and Uganda) and the UK/Ireland. It funds this work through individual donations, corporate partnerships, legacies, and grants, providing financial support, physical trees, and expert consultation to community groups while running its own reforestation projects with local partners.
Product overview
International Tree Foundation operates as a unified charitable offering centred on community-led tree planting and forest restoration. The core portfolio consists of the Africa Programme and UK Programme for direct tree planting support, complemented by the Garden Tree Giveaway for public engagement and Trees Journal for advocacy. Revenue-generating products include Corporate Tree Planting Days and Company Forests for business partnerships, alongside Community Planting Guides and Tree Calendar as educational tools. The UK and Ireland Community Tree Planting Grants provide financial assistance to grassroots organisations. All offerings share the common thread of empowering local communities to restore nature through trees.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Africa Programme Holistic reforestation programme working with local community groups across Africa (primarily Kenya and Uganda) to plant trees and restore forests, transforming landscapes and lives through training, workshops, and sustainable employment.
- UK and Ireland Programme
Quantifiable outcome
- 6,853,353 trees planted in 12 years
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use International Tree Foundation
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
International Tree Foundation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
International Tree Foundation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- METGEcoreLocal partner in Mount Elgon region working on restoration projects including on lower slopes of Mount Elgon.
- Kitui Development Centre (KDC)coreWomen-led Community Based Organisation partnering on agroforestry and climate change adaptation projects in Kitui County, Kenya.
- Perur Ray of HopecorePartner organisation in West Pokot, Kenya working on reforestation and environmental stewardship with local communities.
- Mount Kenya TrustcorePartner for tree planting in Northern Mount Kenya region, working on restoration of native forest with over 240,000 trees targeted.
- Community Empowerment Initiative Network (CEIN)corePartner for sustainable community agroforestry projects in Kakamega, Kenya.
- Globe Gone GreencoreYouth-led partner organisation working with schools across Kenya (particularly Nakuru County) on tree planting projects including My 20 Trees and Me programme.
- Botanic Gardens Conservation InternationalcoreSpecialists providing training to community members on identifying and monitoring threatened tree species ('mother trees') in Kenya's forests.
- National Museums of KenyacorePartner providing training support for community members on tree species identification and conservation in Kenya.
- Kenya Forest Service (KFS)coreGovernment body collaborating with ITF on forest restoration, fire management, and community forest protection in Kenya.
- Alpha Women (Uganda)coreUgandan partner organisation focused on women's empowerment through restoration projects, working with Batwa Indigenous community.
- Tree SistersminorUK charity partnering with Alpha Women Uganda to boost benefits to women through climate action projects.
- One Tree PlantedminorPartner supporting dryland restoration projects in Kenya, particularly in Kitui and West Pokot counties.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
International Tree Foundation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- One Tree Planted: US-headquartered nonprofit that runs community-led reforestation projects globally; operates a near-identical donation-per-tree model with corporate partnerships. ITF already partners with One Tree Planted on dryland restoration in Kenya, evidencing direct overlap in both mission and field delivery.
- Trillion Trees: Joint venture of BirdLife International, Wildlife Conservation Society and WWF focused on forest restoration globally. Competes for the same high-impact donor and corporate ESG funding as ITF in community-led forest restoration.
- Plant-for-the-Planet: Global youth-led tree-planting initiative founded in Germany with operations across multiple continents. Direct peer in community-led reforestation, donor-funded model and global brand-building through tree counts.
- Treesisters: UK-registered charity funding tropical reforestation with a focus on women and community. Already a partner of ITF (funds Alpha Women Uganda projects), making it a closely aligned peer in mission, geography and audience overlap.
- Trees for Life: Scottish conservation charity focused on restoring the Caledonian Forest through community volunteering and donations. Closely aligned community-led reforestation model and competes for UK individual and corporate environmental donors.
- Eden Reforestation Projects: International NGO focused on large-scale reforestation employing local community members in planting and forest protection. Highly comparable model to ITF: community-led, multi-country, livelihoods-linked, donation-funded — direct competitor for ESG and donor dollars.
- Woodland Trust: UK's largest woodland conservation charity focused on native tree planting, woodland protection and restoration. Most direct UK-based peer; competes for the same UK donor base, corporate partnerships, and government grant programmes.
- Arbor Day Foundation: Long-established US tree-planting nonprofit running community forestry programmes globally. Comparable century-plus heritage, multi-country execution, and corporate partnership offerings — direct competitor in the international community-tree-planting segment.
Others
- Forest Stewardship Council (FSC): Global non-profit certification system for sustainable forestry. Adjacent rather than directly competitive: ITF's projects can feed FSC-certified supply chains and the certification body influences the donor/corporate audience ITF also targets.
Broad incumbents
- WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature): Largest global conservation NGO with forest programmes across Africa and corporate sustainability offerings. Overlaps with ITF in forest restoration, corporate ESG partnerships and Kenya field presence, but operates at vastly greater scale and broader scope.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
International Tree Foundation social profiles
Digital presenceInternational Tree Foundation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
International Tree Foundation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
International Tree Foundation subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
International Tree Foundation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
International Tree Foundation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about International Tree Foundation
What does International Tree Foundation do?
International Tree Foundation (ITF) is a UK-registered charity that delivers community-led tree planting and forest restoration programmes in Africa (primarily Kenya and Uganda) and the UK/Ireland. It funds this work through individual donations, corporate partnerships, legacies, and grants, providing financial support, physical trees, and expert consultation to community groups while running its own reforestation projects with local partners.
Is International Tree Foundation a public or private company?
International Tree Foundation is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was International Tree Foundation founded?
International Tree Foundation was founded in 1922. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is International Tree Foundation based?
International Tree Foundation is headquartered in Oxford, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does International Tree Foundation make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are corporate Partnerships, legacies and Bequests and community Grants.
Who are International Tree Foundation's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are One Tree Planted, Trillion Trees, Plant-for-the-Planet, Treesisters, Trees for Life, Eden Reforestation Projects, Woodland Trust and Arbor Day Foundation. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is listed as an others. WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does International Tree Foundation have an API?
No public API is recorded for International Tree Foundation.
What industry is International Tree Foundation in?
International Tree Foundation's product category is Environmental Conservation and Reforestation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAMACAE, Tree Planting & Establishment Services (Manual/Mechanized), with a secondary code of BPAGAKAM, Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations. Its NAICS code is 1153 and its SIC code is 800.