Recent shifts in federal funding policy have caused widespread confusion and disruption for many nonprofits, including TreePeople. 

Our projects rely in part on federal grants. And while the government’s original “funding freeze” is no longer in effect, distributions from some public agencies remain paused, which has forced us to halt some of our crucial environmental projects. 

Because of these pauses, we’ve stopped work on federal grant projects totaling about $14,000,000. This most severely impacts our Community Forestry projects, which plant and care  for trees across 10 Southern California communities. 

This funding helps to support 35 full-time jobs and planting and distributing 19,000 trees in the San Gabriel Valley, San Fernando Valley, Southeast Los Angeles County, and the Inland Empire.

The trees we plant are essential infrastructure, offering a wealth of environmental and health benefits to hundreds of thousands of community members and businesses. The projects also provide economic opportunities to at least 20 local non-profit organizations and small businesses across SoCal with whom we partner. 

These opportunities will be lost if the promised funding does not flow to community forestry efforts such as ours. We sincerely hope that these vital funds will be reinstated as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, we remain committed to working in community to make a greener, healthier, and more resilient California.