Amazon Rainforest Foundation

What Amazon Rainforest Foundation does

Rainforest Foundation US (RFUS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1988 and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, that supports Indigenous communities across the Amazon basin and Central America to secure land rights, monitor and protect rainforests, and strengthen local institutions. Its core programmatic offering is organized around three pillars: a Land Rights Program that advances legal recognition of ancestral territories through participatory mapping and legal advocacy; the Rainforest Alert monitoring system, which combines satellite imagery (via Global Forest Watch) with on-the-ground Indigenous forest patrollers equipped with smartphones and GPS, with peer-reviewed evidence showing a 52% reduction in forest loss in the program's first year; and an Institutional Strengthening Program that provides direct financing, training, and capacity-building to Indigenous partner organizations.

RFUS's customer base comprises 200+ Indigenous and local communities across Brazil, Peru, Guyana, Ecuador, Panama, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico, served through long-term partnerships with regional federations including COIAB, APIB, AIDESEP, CIR, APA, COONAPIP, and AMPB. Its financial model is donation-based and diversified across individual giving (including the Treehouse monthly giving program at approximately $50/month), institutional grants from foundations and bilateral agencies (Norad 2021-2025, DANIDA, UK International Development, Nia Tero, Earth Rising, Rainforest Trust, Rainforest Fund, Stockel Family Foundation, Sol de Janeiro Foundation, Project Wren), corporate partnerships including 1% For The Planet membership, donor-advised funds, cryptocurrency donations, and legacy giving. In FY2025, total revenue reached $11.25M, with 83% allocated to programs, 7% to fundraising, and 10% to administration. RFUS is the US member of the Rainforest Foundation Family (with sister organizations in Norway and the UK) and serves as fiscal sponsor for the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, a 24-country platform covering 958 million hectares of tropical forests.

Name

Amazon Rainforest Foundation

Legal name

Rainforest Foundation US

Website

https://rainforestfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Rainforest Foundation US is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1988 that partners with 200+ Indigenous communities across the Amazon and Central America to secure land rights, monitor rainforests via satellite and ground patrols, and build local institutional capacity.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Conservation & Indigenous Rights Nonprofit

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Forestry & Indigenous Land Stewardship Services (IMAMAJAM), Forestry & Reforestation (BPAGAGAD), Conservation Easements & Land Trust Services (AFAMAMAH)

Keywords

• Rainforest conservation
• Indigenous land rights
• Forest monitoring technology
• Nonprofit environmental grants
• Deforestation prevention programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: One-time and recurring donations from individual supporters via the Treehouse monthly giving program, one-time gifts, cryptocurrency, IRA charitable distributions, and legacy giving through wills and beneficiary designations.
2. Institutional Grants: Funding from institutional supporters including foundations (DANIDA, Earth Rising Foundation, Nia Tero, Project Wren, Rainforest Fund, Rainforest Trust, Sol de Janeiro Foundation, Stockel Family Foundation) and government agencies (UK International Development). Also includes a Grant Agreement between the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and Rainforest Foundation US for 2021-2025.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Cause marketing partnerships, corporate sponsorships, and donations. Membership in 1% For The Planet with RFUS as a beneficiary. Corporate matching gift programs.
4. Donor-Advised Funds: Recurring donations through DAFs where donors recommend grants to RFUS from their charitable accounts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Rainforest Foundation US supports Indigenous communities across the Amazon basin and Central America to secure legal land rights, monitor and protect rainforests from deforestation, and strengthen the institutional capacity of Indigenous organizations. It does so through three core programs—Land Rights, Rainforest Alert (satellite plus ground-patrol monitoring), and Institutional Strengthening—and is funded entirely by charitable donations and grants.

Product overview

Rainforest Foundation US operates as a non-profit foundation focused on protecting rainforests in partnership with Indigenous peoples. The organization offers three interconnected core programs: the Land Rights Program, which helps secure legal recognition of Indigenous lands; the Rainforest Alert monitoring program that combines satellite technology with community forest patrollers; and the Institutional Strengthening Program that builds organizational capacity of Indigenous partners. These programs work together to provide Indigenous communities with the tools, training, legal support, and resources needed to defend their territories and forests.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Treehouse: Monthly giving program where donors join as recurring supporters to protect rainforests.

Products and services

• Land Rights Program Program supporting Indigenous communities in securing legal recognition of their ancestral lands through participatory mapping, legal support, advocacy, and strategic alliances to advance land titling and demarcation. Since 1988, RFUS has helped secure recognition of more than 43 million acres of Indigenous land.
• Rainforest Alert Technology-based territorial monitoring program that combines satellite imagery with on-the-ground investigation by Indigenous forest patrollers to detect, document, and respond to deforestation threats in real time. Field data is collected offline and transported back from off-grid communities via memory cards.
• Institutional Strengthening Program Program enhancing governance, communications, administrative, and financial capacities of Indigenous partner organizations through direct financing, training, and organizational development support. Includes $10.5 million in direct financing delivered to Indigenous-led organizations in 2025.

Quantifiable outcome

• 43 million acres of Indigenous land secured since 1988
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1988RFUS serves as fiscal sponsor for the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, a political platform of Indigenous and local communities from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Together they represent forest peoples in 24 countries and protect more than 958 million hectares of tropical forests. The alliance includes COICA, APIB, AMPB, AMAN, and REPALEAC.
• Coordinadora de las Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca Amazónica (COICA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Coordination of Indigenous Peoples Organizations of the Amazon Basin is made up of elected national Indigenous peoples' federations in all nine Amazon nations. RFUS has worked with COICA for years, collaborating with national federations such as AIDESEP in Peru and APA in Guyana, as well as regional initiatives like the Amazon Emergency Fund launched in 2020 to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (APIB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Coalition of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil is the country's largest Indigenous peoples' federation, representing all RFUS's local and regional partners in Brazil. APIB is a leading member of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities.
• Alianza Mesoamericana de Pueblos y Bosques (AMPB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA Central American regional organization promoting the rights of forest-dwelling Indigenous peoples and local communities. RFUS has worked with AMPB to train community-based territorial monitors and mappers and to support regional and international advocacy.
• Conselho Indígena de Roraima (CIR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe main representative Indigenous organization in the northern Brazilian Amazon state of Roraima. RFUS has partnered with CIR for 20 years providing legal, financial, and strategic support for the demarcation of Raposa Serra do Sol, and ongoing human rights advocacy and initiatives.
• Amerindian Peoples Association (APA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe leading Indigenous organization in Guyana with active members in over 60 Indigenous villages. RFUS partners with APA on land rights advocacy, expanded titling, national policy change, and strengthening local and regional Indigenous governance institutions.
• Asociación Interétnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana (AIDESEP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe spokesperson organization for Indigenous peoples of the Amazon in Peru, working for the defense and respect of their collective rights. AIDESEP has 109 federations representing 1,809 communities where more than 650,000 Indigenous people live.
• Congreso General de Tierras Colectivas Embera y Wounaan de Panamá (CGTCEWP)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe representative body for the Embera and some Wounaan communities outside of the Embera Wounaan Comarca, at the forefront of the struggle for land rights for many years.
• Coordinadora Nacional de Pueblos Indígenas de Panamá (COONAPIP)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe national umbrella representative organization of Panama's Indigenous peoples' organizations founded in 1999 to lead the fight for Indigenous land rights and respect for Indigenous culture.
• SarayakumajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndigenous community organization in Ecuador working for the defense and respect of their collective rights and Amazon protection.
• Organización Regional de los Pueblos Indígenas del Oriente (ORPIO)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndigenous peoples' representative organization in the Amazonian department Loreto, Peru, representing 430 communities. Engages in protecting territories, promoting human development, and defending rights and Indigenous governance.
• Organización Regional Aidesep Ucayali (ORAU)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional organization representing 15 Indigenous peoples and 13 subnational federations in Ucayali, Peru. Engages in promoting economic, social, political, and cultural development.
• South Rupununi District Council (SRDC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRepresentative body of elected Chiefs of 21 Wapichan communities in southern Guyana. RFUS supports SRDC to acquire title to collective Wapichan area, protecting headwaters of major rivers and addressing mining threats.
• North Pakaraimas District Council (NPDC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRepresentative body of Patamona and Macushi Indigenous peoples. Holds title to roughly 333,284 hectares of village land. RFUS supports mapping of lands outside village boundaries and conservation efforts.
• Coordenação das Organizações Indígenas da Amazônia Brasileira (COIAB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded in 1989, the largest regional Indigenous organization in Brazil. Mission to defend Indigenous peoples' rights to land, health, education, culture, and sustainability.
• Hutukara Associação Yanomami (HAY)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished in 2004 to represent the Yanomami people of the northern Brazilian states of Roraima and Amazonas. RFUS worked closely in early days providing capacity strengthening.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Amazon Watch: Oakland-based nonprofit focused on protecting the Amazon and Indigenous rights, partnering with many of the same Indigenous federations (e.g., COICA, AIDESEP). Highly comparable mission, advocacy approach, and geographic focus.
• Rainforest Action Network: US-based nonprofit using campaigning, corporate accountability, and Indigenous partnerships to protect forests. Comparable as a US-headquartered rainforest-focused NGO with both advocacy and on-the-ground programs.
• Rainforest Foundation Norway: Sister organization within the Rainforest Foundation family, sharing mission and approach but operating independently in Norway. Directly comparable as an Indigenous-rights-focused rainforest NGO with overlapping partners (e.g., COICA) and grantmaking role.
• Forest Peoples Programme: UK-based NGO supporting forest peoples' rights globally, including in the Amazon and Central America. Directly comparable in mission, partner network, and rights-based conservation approach.
• Rainforest Foundation UK: Third sister organization in the Rainforest Foundation family, focused on UK-based advocacy and fundraising. Same mission, similar programmatic model, and shared Rainforest Alert methodology.

Broad incumbents

• Conservation International: Large multinational conservation organization with broad portfolio including Indigenous-led and rainforest programs. Overlaps in geography and approach but operates at far greater scale across many ecosystems.
• World Wildlife Fund (WWF): One of the world's largest conservation organizations with active Amazon and Indigenous-community programs. Overlaps in geography and partner network but with a much broader species-and-habitat mandate.
• The Nature Conservancy: Large US-based conservation organization working on forest protection including in Latin America. Overlaps in forest conservation outcomes and land-secured metrics, though its portfolio spans many biomes beyond rainforests.

Emerging players

• Global Witness: International NGO investigating and campaigning against environmental and human rights abuses, including deforestation linked to land defenders. Comparable in advocacy focus and overlap on Indigenous rights issues.
• Nia Tero: Foundation supporting Indigenous stewardship of critical ecosystems globally, including the Amazon. Comparable as a funder/partner of Indigenous-led conservation and overlapping RFUS's geographic and programmatic focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RainforestUS
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC9rUHT4FkKXfNSeVmpr2zYw
• Facebookfacebook.com/RainforestUS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rainforest-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/rainforestus

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Amazon Rainforest Foundation