North American Forest Foundation

What North American Forest Foundation does

North American Forest Foundation (NAFF) is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit founded in 1989 as the Hardwood Forest Foundation and rebranded in 2019 to broaden its scope to both hardwood and softwood industries. The foundation operates from Orange, California (mailing) with a listed Collierville, Tennessee contact address and a headcount of 1–10 employees. Its mission is to educate children and the public about sustainable forestry and wood as a renewable resource, with an explicit goal to reach one million students by 2030 to close the forest products industry's skills gap.

NAFF's core product portfolio comprises three educational assets: (1) the Truth About Trees Teaching Kit — a free, science-based curriculum kit for K–6 classrooms containing lesson plans, videos, storybooks, wood pencils and rulers, flashcards, and a scavenger hunt whiteboard, each kit serving 25 students with an estimated 250+ lifetime student reach and a $100–150 production cost; (2) the Forever Forest Traveling Exhibit — a museum-quality interactive exhibit co-developed with Omaha Children's Museum featuring a Tree Top Climber, kid-friendly grapple skidders, a Wood Works customization house, a Union Pacific train challenge, a miniature sawmill, and a tree-transport play table; and (3) a free 20-minute Career Day Presentation PowerPoint aimed at recruiting students into forest-products careers. Supporting resources include career videos, an industry careers portal, a Back-to-School Kit Drive, and a Holiday Gift Guide.

NAFF's business model is a contribution-based nonprofit structure with three revenue streams: individual donations (including the $12/month Canopy Club recurring program), corporate sponsorships (Hammermill and Pennsylvania Lumbermen's Mutual Insurance triple-match the kit drive; Missouri Forest Products Association contributed $20,000 for 200 Missouri kits in 2025), and foundation grants (a $6,000 Weyerhaeuser Giving Fund grant is funding app development). Distribution is direct-to-educator via online kit requests, with kits shipped free within roughly a week, while the traveling exhibit is rotated through partner museums and science centers. The donor base exceeds 600 individuals, businesses, and organizations, and the board comprises senior executives from across the lumber, kiln, and wood-products value chain.

Name

North American Forest Foundation

Legal name

North American Forest Foundation

Website

https://northamericanforestfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

North American Forest Foundation is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit that provides free K–6 teaching kits, a traveling museum exhibit, and career-day materials to teach North American children about sustainable forestry and wood products, supported by industry sponsorships and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Forestry and Wood Products Education Services

NAICS

All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Support Activities for Forestry (1153)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Hands-on Science Exploration & Experiments (Lab Kits, Science Clubs) (EDAMABAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Open Lab Manuals & Practical Guides (STEM/CTE) (EDAGAJAG)

Keywords

• Forest education programs
• Sustainable forestry curriculum
• Wood products awareness
• Teaching kits distribution
• Forest industry careers

Headquarters

HQ city

Collierville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals passionate about forest education. Monthly giving program (Canopy Club) at $12/month provides predictable recurring support. One-time donations accepted through website.
2. Corporate Sponsorship: Companies sponsor Truth About Trees kits ($150 per kit reaches 250 students) or provide matching funds for fundraising campaigns. Major sponsors include Hammermill and Pennsylvania Lumbermen's Mutual Insurance who triple the impact of donations.
3. Foundation Grants: Grants from corporate giving funds such as the $6,000 Weyerhaeuser Giving Fund grant for Truth About Trees App development targeting jr. high students.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

NAFF provides free educational programs, science-based teaching kits, museum exhibits, and online resources to teach elementary school children, educators, and the public about sustainable forestry, wood products, and career opportunities in the forest products industry. Its flagship offerings are the Truth About Trees Teaching Kit (free to teachers, $100–$150 production cost, reaching ~250 students per kit) and the Forever Forest Traveling Exhibit, supported by career awareness tools.

Product overview

North American Forest Foundation operates as an educational non-profit offering a portfolio of programs focused on teaching science-based facts about sustainable forestry and wood products. The core offerings include the Truth About Trees Teaching Kit (free educational materials for elementary students including lesson plans, videos, storybooks, and hands-on items), the Forever Forest Traveling Exhibit (interactive museum exhibit created with Omaha Children's Museum), and Career Day Presentation (free 20-minute PowerPoint for classrooms). Supporting programs include Career Videos, Industry Careers Resources, Canopy Club monthly donor program, and the annual Back to School Kit Drive. The organization aims to educate one million students by 2030 to close the skills gap in the forest products industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Truth About Trees Teaching Kit

Quantifiable outcome

• Goal to educate 1 million students by 2030
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• HammermillmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Major sponsor that triples the impact of Back-to-School Kit Drive donations. Provides Hammermill poster set included in Truth About Trees kits. Partnership enables $150 sponsorship to reach 3X as many students.
• Pennsylvania Lumbermen's Mutual InsurancemajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Major sponsor that triples the impact of Back-to-School Kit Drive donations. Combined with Hammermill, this partnership enables 3X student reach for each dollar donated.
• Missouri Forest Products AssociationcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Donated $20,000 to purchase 200 Truth About Trees kits for Missouri schools. MFPA Executive Director Brian Brookshire emphasizes educating youth that 'using wood is good and cutting trees is not bad.' Also conducts Marvelous Magical Tree Show and Forestry Speaking Contest for FFA students.
• Real American Hardwood CoalitioncoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Missouri Forest Products Association works closely with this coalition to promote wood products and their use, creating outreach materials for architects and designers who specify wood products in construction.
• Los Angeles Hardwood Lumberman's ClubmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019Donated $12,000 raised through 17th Annual Alan Bohnhoff Memorial Golf Tournament. Club President Dan Bohannon: 'We want to get the word out to people that wood is a renewable resource.' The LAHLC has about 250 local members and hosts industry professionals from around the nation.
• Omaha Children's MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Created the Forever Forest traveling exhibit through collaboration. The museum hosts the exhibit and it has become their headlining exhibit. Over 61,000 visitors engaged with the exhibit during February-April 2022 showing. The museum refurbished the exhibit with Nebraska Environmental Trust funding.
• Union Pacific RailroadmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019Collaborated on Forever Forest exhibit design. Union Pacific train model included in the exhibit to teach kids how lumber and other goods are transported by rail.
• DMSi SoftwareminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019Collaborated on Forever Forest exhibit creation and is a Canopy Club sponsor. Company provides eLIMBS software for lumber and building materials industry.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Project Learning Tree: Environmental education program of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative delivering PreK-12 curriculum and teacher training. Most direct comparable on curriculum-based forestry education for schools.
• Arbor Day Foundation: Largest tree-focused nonprofit in the U.S., running tree-planting programs, education initiatives, and the Arbor Day celebration in schools. Comparable mission around trees, education, and youth engagement.
• National Forest Foundation: 501c3 chartered by Congress to conserve the National Forest System, with educational and youth engagement programs. Comparable as a forest-focused nonprofit with education programming.
• American Forest Foundation: 501c3 nonprofit focused on sustaining America's family forests through conservation, education, and Tree City USA programs. Highly comparable as a forestry-focused educational foundation serving K-12 and the general public.

Broad incumbents

• Hardwood Federation: National hardwood industry trade association representing manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers. Comparable as the broader hardwood-industry umbrella that NAFF's original Hardwood Forest Foundation emerged from.
• Sustainable Forestry Initiative: Industry-backed sustainability certification organization that runs Project Learning Tree and broader forest education. Comparable on forestry education, but operates at a much larger scale with broader industry scope.

Emerging players

• Keep America Beautiful: National nonprofit focused on litter prevention, recycling, and beautification, with K-12 educational programming. Comparable as an environmental education nonprofit delivering free curricula to schools.

Others

• Forest Products Society: International professional society for the forest products industry. Comparable on industry-aligned education and technical knowledge dissemination, though primarily technical rather than K-12 focused.

Regional players

• Mississippi Lumber Manufacturers Association: Trade association supporting lumber manufacturers in Mississippi and across the U.S./Canada. Comparable on industry-aligned promotion and education, with MLMA's Executive Director (Ellery Jones) sitting on NAFF's board.
• Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Inc. Trade association promoting Appalachian hardwoods through education and promotion. Comparable as an industry-funded hardwood promotion and education body, but regionally focused on Appalachia.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ForestAmerican
• Facebookfacebook.com/North-American-Forest-Foundation-278674695525414
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/north-american-forest-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/northamericanforestfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 North American Forest Foundation