Leaders across turn to Forests Plus for clarity, connection, and support. Here you’ll find straightforward answers to help you understand our mission, our work, and how we support partners.
Forests Plus is a platform for forest action. Forests Plus unites leaders from business, government, philanthropy, and civil society to accelerate forest restoration, conservation, and resilience. Our mission is to connect the people, policies, and capital that make large-scale forest restoration possible. Through storytelling, collaboration, and systems change, we advance smart policy, mobilize investment, and strengthen the forest-climate movement across the United States.
We grew up on The Lorax, and never really outgrew it. But really, forests filter over half of the nation’s drinking water, absorb millions of tons of air pollution, and store vast amounts of carbon in their soils. They also provide jobs, recreation opportunities, and sustainable wood products. These essential ecosystems are under mounting threat from wildfires, invasive pests, and development. The systems we rely on to restore forests, from seed banks to skilled labor, can’t keep up. No single organization, government, or company can do this alone. We need collaborative solutions urgently.
We track systems change, not just tree counts. We focus on the systems that make restoration work: policy alignment, finance innovation, and partnership building. By creating the conditions for collaboration, we help every organization’s effort add up to measurable, national impact. Our impact is measured by how well we shift narratives, mobilize finance, influence policy, and strengthen implementation capacity nationwide.
Five years of growth, one bold evolution. Launched in August 2020 as the U.S. Chapter of the World Economic Forum’s 1t.org initiative, the now Forests Plus team built a nation-wide community of more than 500 organizations and 1,500 professionals advancing forest restoration. After five years of learning and listening, we recognized that partners wanted deeper collaboration and clearer pathways from ambition to action. This strategic evolution enables us to unite all stakeholders scaling forest action through innovation, policy, and partnerships.
Leading, just as they have for 150 years. Founded in 1875, American Forests is the oldest national nonprofit conservation organization in the United States and a long standing leader in advancing forest health. As the convener of Forests Plus, American Forests provides an institutional home and strategic guidance. With deep expertise in forest science, policy, and collaboration, American Forests leads beyond itself. Because restoring forests is an “all lands, all hands” endeavor, American Forests convenes Forests Plus to empower others, strengthen alignment, and build a shared movement for resilient U.S. forests. Strategic direction for the initiative comes from staff leadership with input from partners, funders, and a national group of advisors.
Because it’s about more than trees. It’s about people, partnerships, and progress. The name reflects the ecosystem of ideas and action that drive forest solutions. Even our logo, a plus mark formed by the shapes of broad deciduous leaves and conifer needles, embodies the diversity and unity of the forest itself.
Yes, we’re evolving within it. Forests Plus remains the official U.S. Chapter of 1t.org and part of the global trillion trees movement. Our commitment to conserving, restoring, and growing one trillion trees by 2030 remains strong. What’s new is our approach: expanding beyond tree counts and beyond the private sector. We’re building the enabling systems that make large-scale forest restoration possible. All current pledges are part of the journey. Existing 1t.org U.S. pledges remain fully recognized within the Forests Plus platform, however, we are no longer tracking tree counts toward a pledge goal. Current pledges will automatically transition to ‘partners’ and will continue to receive the same benefits, along with new opportunities for visibility, collaboration, and engagement.
Through collective investment in a shared mission. Funding comes from a mix of philanthropic grants, corporate partnerships, and event sponsorships that support our convenings, communications, and capacity-building work. Flagship Partners play a major role powering the platform by supporting research, campaigns, and collaboration that move our work from ambition to action.
Anyone advancing forest solutions can be part of the network. Partners include nonprofits, companies, cities, states, tribes, and philanthropies committed to conserving, restoring, or sustainably managing forests. Joining is simple: sign on as a Network Partner, collaborate as a Flagship Partner or lend your voice as part of the Leadership Council.
Bringing forest solutions to every stage. The next phase centers on our Forest Hub Series — a national roadshow connecting innovation, storytelling, and policy at major events like SXSW, San Francisco Climate Week, and Climate Week NYC. Our Forest Hubs keep forests at the center of climate, biodiversity, and economic conversations while building year-round momentum for forest solutions.
