Ma Earth
Ma Earth is a Swiss non-profit collective funding platform that runs biannual crowdfunding rounds with a $500,000 USD matching pool, connecting individual donors to grassroots land stewards running nature regeneration projects worldwide using quadratic funding and AT Protocol-based identity.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersZug, Switzerland
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Ma Earth does
Ma Earth is a Swiss-registered collective funding platform that connects individual donors with grassroots land stewards running nature regeneration projects worldwide. Operating as a non-profit ecosystem composed of Ma Earth Foundation (a tax-exempt Swiss Stiftung) and its wholly owned operating entity Ma Earth Labs AG, both registered in the Canton of Zug, the company runs biannual community-powered funding rounds featuring a $500,000 USD matching pool that amplifies small donations via a quadratic funding mechanism. Prior to its third round, Ma Earth had distributed over $400,000 USD to more than 50 projects through two pilot rounds hosted on Gitcoin; Round 3 is targeting 200 grassroots projects across categories including restoration, conservation, agriculture, water, energy, education, and disaster relief, spanning countries such as Brazil, New Zealand, France, Costa Rica, Ukraine, Mozambique, the United States, Venezuela, Thailand, Colombia, Switzerland, and Portugal.
The platform's technical stack is built on the AT Protocol decentralized network via Certified (a service of the Hypercerts Foundation), which provides Personal Data Servers for portable identity, profile, and verified impact records. Payments are processed through Stripe Connect directly into organizations' or host partners' connected accounts, supporting multiple currencies (USD, MXN, BRL). Supporting infrastructure includes Resend for email, Mixpanel for session-replay product analytics, and Zapier for workflow automation. AI is used only in assistive roles: Anthropic's Claude supports application screening/scoring and fraud detection, with funding decisions made by staff and selection panels under meaningful human review.
Ma Earth's business model is non-commercial by design. The platform charges no fee on donations; revenue is limited to voluntary donor tips (default 12.5%, adjustable 0-30%) that flow to Ma Earth Labs AG, with any operational surplus routed to Ma Earth Foundation, and host partner administration fees where fiscal sponsorship is required. Stripe processing fees are passed through. Go-to-market is community-led across four user roles (land stewards, donors, trusted evaluators, and host partners), supported by a selection-partner network (Restor, GainForest, Commonweal, Biome Trust, Naia Trust, One Earth, Earth Repair Fund, Regenerosity) and content channels including a newsletter, Ma Earth Studio educational programming, and the Regeneration Will Be Funded podcast.
Ma Earth firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ma Earth
- Legal name
- Ma Earth Labs AG
- Website
- https://maearth.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Ma Earth is a Swiss non-profit collective funding platform that runs biannual crowdfunding rounds with a $500,000 USD matching pool, connecting individual donors to grassroots land stewards running nature regeneration projects worldwide using quadratic funding and AT Protocol-based identity.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ma Earth industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Collective Crowdfunding Platform
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Grants, Funding & Budget Allocation Platforms (FSAPAHAE), Forestry & Reforestation (BPAGAGAD)
Keywords
Where Ma Earth is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Zug
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Ma Earth business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Optional Platform Tips: Donors may voluntarily add tips (defaulting to 12.5%, adjustable up to 30%) during checkout to support Ma Earth platform operations, land steward support, and new features. Tips are voluntary, irrevocable, and non-refundable donations to Ma Earth Labs AG. Any operational surplus flows to Ma Earth Foundation, a Swiss charitable foundation.
- Host Partner Administration Fees: Where organizations require a host partner to receive funds, the host partner may retain an administration fee from donations. This is in addition to Stripe processing fees and results in the organization potentially receiving less than the donation amount.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Minimum donation of $1 USD |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Maximum donation of $5,000 USD per transaction |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Stripe processing fees (passed to Stripe, not Ma Earth) |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Optional tip to Ma Earth (0-30%, default 12.5%) |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Ma Earth product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ma Earth operates a collective crowdfunding platform for community-led nature regeneration projects worldwide. Twice a year, it runs transparent funding rounds that distribute a $500,000 USD matching pool using quadratic funding mechanics, where grassroots organizations (land stewards) apply, get selected, and run campaigns that are amplified by community-driven matching of many small donations over few large ones. The platform connects individual donors with vetted land stewards across restoration, conservation, agriculture, water, energy, education, technology, and disaster relief categories, processing donations via Stripe Connect and publishing verified impact records through the Certified/Hypercerts decentralized identity layer.
Product overview
Ma Earth is a collective funding platform for community-led regeneration consisting of multiple interconnected products. The core Ma Earth Funding Platform connects donors with nature projects worldwide through transparent crowdfunding rounds featuring a $500,000 USD matching pool. This platform integrates with Certified (a decentralized identity layer built on the AT Protocol by Hypercerts Foundation) for profile management and data portability. Supporting the platform are Ma Earth Studio, an educational offering providing workshops and resources for the regeneration community, and the Ma Earth Help Center, a GitBook-powered documentation system. The platform uses Stripe Connect for payment processing and supports multiple user roles including donors, land stewards, host partners, and trusted evaluators.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Ma Earth Studio: Educational platform providing resources for land stewards, funders, and regenerators. Offerings include workshops on traditional knowledge practices, conversations with leading voices across philanthropy and open source technology.
- Certified
Products and services
- Ma Earth Funding Platform Collective crowdfunding platform for community-led regeneration that connects individual donors with grassroots nature projects (restoration, conservation, agriculture, water, energy, education, technology, disaster relief) worldwide through biannual transparent funding rounds with a $500,000 USD matching pool and quadratic funding mechanics. Processes donations via Stripe Connect and publishes verified impact records through the Certified/Hypercerts identity layer.
- Ma Earth Studio Educational programming platform providing workshops, conversations, and the Regeneration Will Be Funded podcast for land stewards, funders, and regenerators, covering traditional knowledge practices and leading voices across philanthropy and open-source technology.
- Ma Earth Help Center Documentation platform providing guides and support resources for the four user roles on Ma Earth: land stewards, donors, host partners, and trusted evaluators.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over $400,000 USD distributed to more than 50 projects through two pilot rounds
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Ma Earth
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Ma Earth technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
AI capability3 records
Feature4 records
Ma Earth partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
18 partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting, selection partner, foundational and prior platform.
- Hypercerts FoundationcoreStrategic technology partner for decentralized identity and impact verification infrastructure. The platform is developed in partnership with Hypercerts Foundation and open digital infrastructure. Ma Earth uses Hypercerts for verifiable impact records that travel with users across platforms.
- Certified (Hypercerts Foundation)coreCertified is a service of Hypercerts Foundation that provides identity layer infrastructure. It hosts Personal Data Servers (PDS) for users and organizations, manages AT Protocol identity, and publishes profile and project records to the decentralized network.
- Biome TrustcorePhilanthropic foundation that is both a founding partner and inspiration for Ma Earth. The founders sat on the funding side with Biome Trust and experienced challenges in resource allocation built on trust and verification. Biome Trust is also a selection partner for funding rounds.
- StripecorePayment processing partner via Stripe Connect. Handles all donation transactions between donors and organizations/host partners. Stripe creates dedicated accounts for Ma Earth transactions and processes payouts to organizations.
- Anthropic (Claude)supportingAI service provider used for application review, scoring, and fraud-detection support. Processes organizational and project application content to assist with eligibility assessment.
- Restorselection partnerSelection partner for funding rounds. Part of the ecosystem of partners helping to identify and amplify high-impact nature restoration projects.
- GainForestselection partnerSelection partner for funding rounds. Collaborates with Ma Earth to identify quality nature projects for the matching pool.
- Commonwealselection partnerSelection partner and nonprofit collaborator. Supports the Ma Earth ecosystem as part of the selection committee for funding rounds.
- Naia Trustselection partnerSelection partner and founding supporter. Part of the network of foundations and trusts supporting community-led regeneration.
- One Earthselection partnerSelection partner for funding rounds. Environmental organization collaborating to identify impactful nature projects.
- Earth Repair Fundselection partnerSelection partner supporting the identification of grassroots land stewardship projects for funding.
- Regenerosityselection partnerSelection partner in the ecosystem of organizations supporting community-led regeneration and nature funding.
- Mangaroa FarmsfoundationalLiving laboratory for regenerative agriculture and community resilience that inspired Ma Earth's approach. The platform grew out of direct experience with land at Mangaroa Farms.
- Gitcoinprior platformPrevious platform for pilot funding rounds. Ma Earth distributed over $400,000 to more than 50 projects through two pilot rounds on Gitcoin before launching on its own platform.
- PST LegalsupportingLegal consulting partner providing legal counsel for Ma Earth's Swiss operations and platform governance.
- Walder WysssupportingLegal partner providing legal services for Ma Earth's operations in Switzerland.
- Royster ProductionssupportingProduction partner supporting Ma Earth's content and marketing efforts.
- TonicsupportingMarketing and communications partner supporting Ma Earth's outreach and engagement efforts.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Ma Earth competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- The Giving Block: The Giving Block enables crypto and stock donations to nonprofits. Comparable at the intersection of alternative-asset donations and nonprofit funding, though focused on crypto philanthropy broadly rather than nature projects specifically.
- KlimaDAO: KlimaDAO uses decentralized governance and token incentives to finance climate projects including nature-based solutions. Comparable as a Web3-native climate-finance platform, though focused on carbon-credit markets rather than community grants.
- Restor: Restor is a nature-restoration project discovery and data platform that serves as a Ma Earth selection partner. Comparable as a foundational layer for discovering and vetting land-restoration projects, but focused on data/network rather than funding distribution.
- Regen Network: Regen Network is a blockchain platform for ecological asset tracking and regenerative agriculture credits. Comparable through shared use of decentralized infrastructure to fund and verify nature-positive outcomes, though focused on credit issuance rather than donations.
- GainForest: GainForest uses Web3 and remote sensing to fund rainforest conservation. Comparable as a selection partner for Ma Earth rounds and as a technology-forward conservation funder using decentralized incentives.
Direct peers
- Gitcoin: Gitcoin pioneered quadratic funding rounds for public-goods and open-source projects and is the platform on which Ma Earth ran its first two pilot rounds. Directly comparable as a quadratic-funding infrastructure provider serving developer and community ecosystems.
- Giveth: Giveth is a decentralized donation platform using quadratic funding and on-chain identity to fund public goods. Directly comparable to Ma Earth in its use of Web3 mechanisms for grassroots fundraising, though focused more broadly than nature projects.
- Hypercerts Foundation: Hypercerts Foundation builds the underlying impact-attestation and identity infrastructure (Certified, AT Protocol integration) that Ma Earth's platform is built on. Highly comparable as a closely aligned ecosystem peer, and a strategic technology partner.
Broad incumbents
- Earth Regenerators / Earth Regeneration Fund: Earth Regeneration Fund is a broader philanthropic vehicle supporting landscape regeneration globally. Comparable as a higher-touch philanthropic grantmaker for nature projects, but without Ma Earth's quadratic funding or decentralized identity components.
Others
- Wakelet Earth / Open Collective: Open Collective is a transparent fundraising and fiscal-sponsorship platform for collectives and open-source communities. Comparable through shared infrastructure for transparent, community-driven funding flows and fiscal sponsorship (Ma Earth's 'Host Partner' model mirrors Open Collective's fiscal-host concept).
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Ma Earth social profiles
Digital presenceMa Earth compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Ma Earth financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ma Earth leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Ma Earth funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ma Earth 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 Ma Earth
What does Ma Earth do?
Ma Earth operates a collective crowdfunding platform for community-led nature regeneration projects worldwide. Twice a year, it runs transparent funding rounds that distribute a $500,000 USD matching pool using quadratic funding mechanics, where grassroots organizations (land stewards) apply, get selected, and run campaigns that are amplified by community-driven matching of many small donations over few large ones. The platform connects individual donors with vetted land stewards across restoration, conservation, agriculture, water, energy, education, technology, and disaster relief categories, processing donations via Stripe Connect and publishing verified impact records through the Certified/Hypercerts decentralized identity layer.
Is Ma Earth a public or private company?
Ma Earth is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Ma Earth founded?
Ma Earth was founded in -1. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Ma Earth based?
Ma Earth is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does Ma Earth make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Optional Platform Tips are the primary driver. The others are host Partner Administration Fees.
Who are Ma Earth's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are The Giving Block, KlimaDAO, Restor, Regen Network and GainForest. Direct peers are Gitcoin, Giveth and Hypercerts Foundation. Earth Regenerators / Earth Regeneration Fund is listed as a broad incumbent. Wakelet Earth / Open Collective is listed as an others.
Does Ma Earth have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ma Earth.
What industry is Ma Earth in?
Ma Earth's product category is Collective Crowdfunding Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAM, Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations, with a secondary code of FSAPAHAE, Grants, Funding & Budget Allocation Platforms. Its NAICS code is 813211.