US Endowment for Forestry and Communities
10 South Academy St Suite 101, Greenville, SC, 29601, United States
Overview
The United States Endowment for Forestry and Communities collaborates with public and private sector partners to create systemic, transformative, and long-term change for the health and vibrancy of the nation's working forests and forest-dependent communities.
- Total investments
- 2
- Lead investments
- 1
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 0
Sector focus
- Communities
- Forestry
- Government
Investment portfolio
- Whole Trees
Led · Equity · Oct 2024
WholeTrees Structures is a woman-owned B Corp that engineers unmilled round timber into Solid Structural Timber (SST) for commercial construction. The company pioneered commercialization of round timber after its founding in 2007, developing intellectual property around sourcing, grading, and fabrication. Over the past 17 years it has used grant funding to refine processes and bring its products to market. The $1 million mission-related investment from the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities will fund growth of its sales force and expansion of nationwide production capabilities, including reopening a forest products facility in Northern Maine. That reopened Maine facility, in partnership with Seven Islands Land Company, the State of Maine, and other stakeholders, is projected to produce three times the volume of its original Wisconsin facility by 2028 to meet East Coast demand. WholeTrees aims to build market confidence in SST, attract additional investors, and continue its mission to bolster rural forest economies and create a restorative model for commercial construction.
- Applied Carbon
Participated · Series A · Jul 2024
Applied Carbon makes a tractor‑pulled farm implement that converts crop residue into biochar on‑site using a pyrolyzer that produces biochar and syngas to power the machine. The implement is fed by a harvester, chops and dries residue, pyrolyzes it, quenches the biochar, and spreads and mixes it into the soil. The current design is optimized for corn but can handle rice, wheat, straw, sorghum, and sugarcane; it covers roughly an acre per hour and requires a heavy tractor. The company has produced five prototypes over four years and raised $21.5 million in a recent Series A to move from prototype to early production of its pyrolyzer. Applied Carbon is building machines in Houston and plans deployments in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana, and has already sold carbon offsets created by its process to companies including Microsoft. In the longer term it plans to lease or sell equipment to farmers and help them monetize carbon credits rather than operate a fleet.
Team
No current team members are available.