ReTreeUS

What ReTreeUS does

ReTreeUS is a 501c3 nonprofit program, founded in 2012 and operating under United Charitable, that plants and maintains educational orchards and gardens at K-12 schools and community centers in the Northeast United States, primarily across Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, with a developing presence in Vermont. Its core products are School and Community Orchards (115 orchards and 4,205 trees planted cumulatively, impacting 42,713 students and producing an estimated 143,146 pounds of fruit), the Back to School Garden Program (providing seedling trays to schools aligned with the academic calendar), and a proprietary 10-Module School Orchard Lesson Guide aligned to K-6 Next Generation Science Standards, co-developed with KidsGardening and supported by USDA and the Onion Foundation. The model also includes seasonal maintenance resources and an interactive orchard map for participating schools.\n\nReTreeUS monetizes entirely through charitable revenue streams: individual donations, foundation grants (Onion Foundation, Quimby Family Foundation, Maine Community Foundation, Sewall Foundation, Mark Baumer Sustainability Fund), and a three-tiered corporate sponsorship structure with an explicit pricing ladder — Adopt an Orchard at $2,000 per year for a 2-year minimum, Plant an Orchard at $5,000 one-time, and Give an Orchard, Receive an Orchard at $10,000+. Corporate sponsors include First National Bank (which adopted Indian Township School in May 2024), TD Bank, Bangor Savings Bank, Enterprise Mobility, and Coast of Maine. Outreach is delivered through direct school applications, community engagement, and digital channels (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, email newsletter, and earned regional media coverage).\n\nThe organization is small, with a publicly named team of approximately four people led by Richard (Founder and Program Manager), and is growing its Advisory Committee. Its distribution is anchored by direct school relationships and a national partner ecosystem (Giving Grove, KidsGardening, Arbor Day Foundation, National Agriculture in the Classroom). There are no apps, no AI/ML capabilities, no patents, and no formal institutional funding rounds disclosed. The 501c3 structure under United Charitable provides administrative infrastructure and tax-deductible giving options that support donor acquisition.

Name

ReTreeUS

Legal name

ReTreeUS

Website

https://retree.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ReTreeUS is a 501c3 nonprofit founded in 2012 that plants educational orchards and gardens at K-12 schools across the Northeast, serving Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts with curriculum-aligned programming and corporate sponsorship funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Education Services

NAICS

Soil Preparation, Planting, and Cultivating (115112), Support Activities for Crop Production (1151), Fruit and Tree Nut Farming (1113)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Orchard Establishment & Replanting (New Plantings, Rootstock Selection, Trellising Systems) (AFAGACAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Orchard Management & Field Operations (Pruning/Training, Thinning, Irrigation/Fertigation) (AFAGACAL), Plant Replacement, Transplanting & Garden Refresh Services (HSAIAFAG), Horticulture, Nursery & Greenhouse Operations (EDAOAOAB)

Keywords

• Educational orchard programs
• K-12 environmental education
• School garden services
• Fruit tree planting
• Corporate sponsorship programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Auburn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Individual and corporate donations support the planting and maintenance of educational orchards and food forests in schools and communities, particularly in areas with food insecurity and environmental disadvantage.
2. Corporate Sponsorship Programs: Three-tiered corporate sponsorship structure: Adopt an Orchard ($2,000/year for 2 years), Plant an Orchard ($5,000 one-time), and Give an Orchard/Receive an Orchard ($10,000+). Includes benefits like signage, publicity, volunteer opportunities, and logo placement.
3. Orchard Adoption: Businesses adopt a school orchard for $2,000 per year with a minimum 2-year commitment, supporting ongoing care and educational programming while receiving visibility benefits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ReTreeUS plants and maintains educational orchards and gardens at K-12 schools and community centers across the Northeast United States, providing hands-on learning in horticulture, botany, and biology. Programs include the physical planting of 12+ organically cultivated fruit trees per school, an NGSS-aligned 10-module K-6 curriculum, the Back to School Garden Program that distributes seedling trays from local farms, and three tiers of corporate sponsorship funding ongoing orchard care.

Product overview

ReTreeUS is an educational nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of programs centered on planting and maintaining educational orchards and gardens in schools and communities across the Northeast. The core offerings include School and Community Orchards (planted and maintained since 2012), the Back to School Garden Program (providing seedlings to schools), and the School Orchard Lesson Guide (a 10-module K-6 curriculum). These programs are complemented by the Adopt an Orchard Program and Corporate Sponsorship packages, which provide funding mechanisms for ongoing orchard care and educational programming. ReTreeUS also provides seasonal maintenance resources and curriculum support for K-12 educators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• School and Community Orchards ReTreeUS plants and maintains educational orchards at K-12 schools and community centers across Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, providing hands-on learning in horticulture, botany, and biology. Each orchard includes 12 or more organically cultivated fruit trees.
• Back to School Garden Program School garden program aligned with the academic calendar that provides seedling trays from local farms to support thriving gardens when students return in fall, addressing summer maintenance challenges school gardens typically face.
• School Orchard Lesson Guide A 10-module curriculum created for K-6 educators aligned with Next Generation Science Standards, including background information, lesson activities, student worksheets, and companion slide presentations, with cross-curricular connections to English, Math, and Social Studies. Created in collaboration with KidsGardening with support from USDA and Onion Foundation.
• Adopt an Orchard Program A sponsorship program where businesses fund the ongoing care of a specific school orchard for $2,000 per year with a minimum 2-year commitment, receiving signage with the company logo at the orchard entrance, publicity through regional media and social media, team volunteer opportunities and workshops, and tiered logo placement on the ReTreeUS website.
• Corporate Sponsorship Packages Three-tiered corporate sponsorship packages: Adopt an Orchard ($2,000/year for 2-year minimum), Plant an Orchard ($5,000 one-time, funding establishment of a new school or community orchard with 12+ organically cultivated fruit trees), and Give an Orchard, Receive an Orchard ($10,000+, including 12 trees planted at the sponsor's property as well as a school, ability to name an orchard, commemorative metal plaque, linked logo on website, and an enhanced Sponsor Marketing Kit).

Quantifiable outcome

• 42,713 students impacted by educational orchards
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 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

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Giving GrovecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational partner providing educational curriculum focused on nutritional, environmental, and biological aspects of trees. ReTreeUS links to their primary and secondary classroom activity resources aligned with orchard education programs.
• KidsGardeningcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner for the 10-Module School Orchard Lesson Guide created specifically for educators. Partnered with support from USDA and Onion Foundation for curriculum development.
• Arbor Day FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational partner supporting tree planting initiatives and educational orchard programs.
• National Agriculture in the ClassroomcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner providing curriculum resources including Tree-Mendous Fruits lessons, Apple Genetics, A is for Apple, and Exploring Food Forests classroom activities aligned with agricultural education.
• United CharitablecoreOthersReTreeUS is a program of United Charitable, a 501c3 nonprofit organization providing administrative infrastructure, privacy policy, nondiscrimination policy, and disclosure statement compliance.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• FoodCorps: National nonprofit that places service members in schools to build garden-based food education. Highly comparable in target customer (K-12 schools), experiential curriculum model, and funding mix of donations plus corporate sponsors.
• Big Green: Nonprofit building 'Learning Gardens' in schools across multiple US cities. Directly comparable as a school-garden-and-curriculum nonprofit with corporate partnerships and measurable student impact claims.
• Life Lab: Nonprofit providing garden-based science curriculum and educator training for schools. Comparable in producing NGSS-aligned school-garden curriculum for K-12, with a narrower geographic base.
• Edible Schoolyard Project: Alice Waters-founded nonprofit supporting garden-based education in schools. Comparable in audience (K-12), mission (food systems + experiential learning), and curriculum-publishing model.
• KidsGardening: National nonprofit that co-developed ReTreeUS's curriculum and supplies garden-education resources to educators. Comparable as a curriculum-and-resource provider for school garden/orchard programs.
• Giving Grove: National nonprofit partnering with ReTreeUS on educational orchard curriculum. Operates an almost identical model — community orchards and food forests in schools and underserved neighborhoods — making it the closest direct comparable in mission and structure.

Broad incumbents

• Arbor Day Foundation: Massive national tree-planting and education nonprofit and listed ReTreeUS partner. Operates broadly in tree planting/education; overlaps with ReTreeUS on mission but not on niche (school-orchard specialization).

Others

• National Farm to School Network: Information and advocacy network supporting farm-to-school programs, including school gardens, across the US. Comparable as an ecosystem participant in the same school-garden/food-education space, though not a direct delivery competitor.
• Captain Planet Foundation: Environmental-education nonprofit that funds school and community garden projects nationally. Comparable as a funder/ecosystem participant supporting the same school-garden and outdoor-education use cases ReTreeUS serves.

Emerging players

• Green Bronx Machine: Urban-agriculture and education nonprofit building school gardens in underserved neighborhoods. Comparable mission (food security + K-12 experiential learning) but focused on a single high-density geography rather than a multi-state orchard model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC6CfBUwtVRfQ40aIPPBcvSA
• Facebookfacebook.com/retreeusinschools
• Instagraminstagram.com/retreeus
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/retreeus

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 ReTreeUS