PLATINUM2022

TREES THAT FEED FOUNDATION

Planting fruit trees to feed people, create jobs and benefit the environment

Winnetka, IL   |  https://treesthatfeed.org

Mission

We plant fruit trees to feed people, create jobs and benefit the environment. We supply individuals and groups with the best varieties of fruit trees, suitable to the environment. We provide trees for planting in small farms, field margins, agroforests, urban backyards and some commercial orchards for large scale planting. We've planted over 180,000 fruit trees in Haiti, Jamaica and 16 other countries. We also provide equipment and training to individuals and groups for production of post-harvest food products. TTFF is proud of the successful young entrepreneurs we have helped to launch. We purchase and distribute tasty breadfruit porridge and other foods to schools, orphanages and hospitals. And we provide education to children about the advantages of planting trees.

Notes from the nonprofit

In 10 short years we have created a proven model for sustainable agroforestry and community development. We have planted nearly 200,000 trees of substantial size, fruit are bearing, entrepreneurs are creating food products with our donated equipment, and we are feeding hundreds of hungry schoolchildren daily. We also feed the schoolchildren's minds with an educational coloring book "Plant a Tree and Good Things Happen." We've expanded from Jamaica and Haiti into 16 other countries. With additional support we will scale up our proven model and expand into other countries, on a carefully managed basis.

Ruling year info

2009

Chair

Ms. Mary L McLaughlin

Secretary-Treasurer

Mr. Mike McLaughlin

Main address

1200 Hill Rd Mary McLaughlin

Winnetka, IL 60093 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

26-2780427

NTEE code info

Agricultural Programs (K20)

Food Service, Free Food Distribution Programs (K30)

Management & Technical Assistance (K02)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

We address several inter-related problems. First, hunger. In developing countries access to food is expensive and uncertain, due in part to the decline in agriculture. We donate fruit trees to smallholder farmers and community groups to alleviate hunger. Second, the environment is suffering from deforestation. Our nealry 200,000 fruit trees in countries like Haiti and the Bahamas help to address the problem. Third is the poor economy. Excess fruit can be sold as a cash crop by smallholder farmers. We also assist small business startups which helps to create jobs. Fourth, we believe we are also reducing forced migration by creating self-sufficient community groups.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Fruit Trees

Working in cooperation with the Government's Rural Agricultural Development Agency in Jamaica, Three Angels Childrens Relief in Haiti, and other partners in eighteen other countries. TTFF plants fruit trees, facilitates economic growth in developing nations, combats climate change, and facilitates educations in school systems. This accomplishes our mission to solve global problems of climate
change, hunger, poverty and lack of education.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Children and youth
Economically disadvantaged people
Farmers

We supply basic equipment to set up a food processing facility; we call it the "Factory in a Box." It comprises a shredder, drying equipment, grinder, scale, packaging materials and various accessories.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Farmers
Economically disadvantaged people
Children and youth

TTFF donates trees and equipment to entrepreneurs and community groups to produce food products locally; this is preferred to sending imported food from abroad. Then we purchase the food products and redistribute to schools, orphanages and hospitals. We do this for 2 years to allow the groups to streamline their processes and build a customer base.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Farmers
Economically disadvantaged people
Children and youth

We provide educational coloring books in four languages as well as trainings for farmers and schoolchildren

Population(s) Served
Adults
Children and youth
Economically disadvantaged people
Farmers

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of trees planted

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adults, Children and youth

Related Program

Fruit Trees

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Through December 2020, over 200,000 fruit trees of various types, mainly breadfruit, supplied to recipients in Haiti, Jamaica and 16 other countries. Cumulative totals.

Number of meals served or provided

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Children and youth

Related Program

Feeding People

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

We provide breadfruit flour, porridge mix, fritay mix, konparets and other nutritious foods to schools and orphanages in Haiti and Jamaica. Annual totals.

Number of books distributed

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Children and youth

Related Program

Education

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

A new program to supply educational coloring books to young schoolchildren. Through December 2019, over 6,000 supplied. Now in English, Spanish, French, Haitian Creole, Indonesian, and Swahili.

Number of farmers given information about key markets

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adults

Related Program

Feeding People

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

We hold educational seminars and cooking schools for farmers, chefs, processors, distributors, and community leaders. Somewhat less activity in 2020 due to the pandemic. Numbers are approximate.

Number of groups/individuals benefiting from tools/resources/education materials provided

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adults

Related Program

Equipment

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

We donate "Factory in a Box" kits (complete or partial) to community groups or entrepreneurs to process fruit into post-harvest products. Ultimately they will become self-sufficient businesses.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

We aim to plant 1,000,000 trees within 10 years. A million trees will feed 4 million people sustainably. We intend to increase food production from trees by an order of magnitude and in the process feed hungry people, help to create jobs, and benefit the environment. We are not just delivering food, we are creating food independence, we provide people in developing countries with the ability to feed themselves and create businesses.

Our operating model is extremely simple and easy to understand. We raise funding mainly in the US and Canada; we purchase fruit producing trees in the US, Germany, Jamaica, Haiti, Costa Rica and now Kenya. We deliver those trees through partnering organizations to individual farmers, co-operatives and a small number of commercial organizations. We work with approximately 50 partner organizations to leverage our already extensive network of contacts at senior levels of government, churches, service clubs and other NGOs.
In addition to planting trees we run other programs specifically intended to keep the trees alive and to increase their value. So for example we run training seminars in local countries, teaching how to propagate, plant and care for fruit trees. We help entrepreneurs to start small businesses by supplying them with food processing equipment. And we buy their processed food product to get them established. And we distribute the food to schools and orphanages. We also provide the schools and orphanages with educational coloring books that teach the value of fruit trees.
We are running two research programs, one into the productivity (abundance and timing) of breadfruit bearing, and a second one, locating farms and breadfruit orchards. We are mapping those locations to facilitate sale and purchase of breadfruit in commercially viable quantities.
These programs are separate but highly integrated, all with the strategy of keeping the trees alive and productive.

Currently we're a volunteer organization with four part time paid staff. We rely on a group of volunteers in the US and also Haiti and Jamaica. We draw great strength from our partners, including the Government of Jamaica, National Tropical Botanic Garden and Three Angels Children's Relief, to name just a few. They provide funding or support in kind that allows us to continue our work at extremely low overhead cost. The founders together work approximately 1.5 FTEs in our office location. We use part time staff in the US, Jamaica, Haiti and Kenya. We use 400 sq.ft. of office space, provided to us at nominal cost by a generous landlord, Karl Lohre Painting Company. We have technology support provided by the founders. Our real strength is our passion and our partner organizations.

To date we have planted over 240,000 trees, mainly breadfruit but also cashew, mango and other food producing fruit trees. We've also delivered 24 kits to produce post-harvest products such as breadfruit flour. We've held numerous in person and online seminars to bring together agronomy experts, academics, farmers, private business, and political leaders in Haiti and Jamaica. We've received dozens of thank you letters, everyone from Government organizations to individual farmers, acknowledging the help we're giving them. We are delighted to report that our successes are scalable from the individual farmer level up to commercial sized food processing business.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    We serve developing nations in the Caribbean, Africa, and South America. We donate trees to those who request trees to start businesses or supply schools and families with food.

  • How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

    Suggestion box/email,

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    We do not typically do emergency relief, but in response to the Haiti earthquake, we shifted our efforts to supplying temporary aid relief

  • With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

    We don’t share the feedback we collect,

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.),

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback,

Financials

TREES THAT FEED FOUNDATION
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

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TREES THAT FEED FOUNDATION

Board of directors
as of 03/21/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Mary McLaughlin

S Michael McLaughlin

Secretary-Treasurer

Nyree Zerega

Northwestern University

Michael Renetkzy

Locke Lord LLP

Mary L McLaughlin

Chair

Gabriel Osson

Ken Banks

Joseph Matara

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 9/8/2021

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

The organization's co-leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data