Partner With Us | Keeping Forests

A MEASURED NETWORK WITH REACH

Keeping Forests focuses on the U.S. South, but our network reaches well beyond it: nearly half of our partners work at a national scale, and more than a quarter internationally. Since 2016, 42% of partners connected with organizations that they had never worked with before. The network also exceeds the independent benchmark for a healthy network across every measure of trust, including reliability, mission alignment, and openness.

Source: Visible Network Labs Social Network Analysis, 2023

Advance the Branching Out Innovation Challenge

Keeping Forests is working with partners to identify and advance solutions that create stronger markets for underused and low-value Southern wood and fiber. We're launching the "Branching Out Innovation Challenge" to bring together innovators, industry partners, researchers, and investors to develop and test promising new market solutions. Phase 1 will focus on submissions from young professional and university teams.

WhAT we are looking for

We are looking for partner universities, forestry and forest product experts to serve as mentors and judges, event sponsors, and outreach partners who can help attract strong applicants and expand the challenge's reach.

EXPLORE THE INNOVATION CHALLENGE

Help Shape a Watershed Resilience Pilot

Keeping Forests is preparing to test a new investment model that connects business investment in operational continuity and risk with the forests that provide the natural infrastructure that ensure both.

WhAT we are looking for

2 - 3 implementing partners working in a targeted watershed area. Implementing partners should have strong trust and relationships within the surrounding landowner community, a willingness to work with Keeping Forests on testing the investment model, and the ability to identify a potential investor whose business operational risks or needs depend on healthy working forests.

LEARN MORE ABOUT PILOT OPPORTUNITIES

Help Tell the Next Forests of the Future Story

Keeping Forests is seeking compelling, filmable stories that connect Southern forests to recognizable products, markets, investments, supply chains, or economic opportunities. Selected concepts receive production support from Keeping Forests.

WhAT we are looking for

We're looking for 5 stories that showcase a compelling, filmable story that connects Southern forests to a recognizable product, market, investment, or supply chain. Though conservation may be part of the messaging, it should be secondary to the market outcome. We want to highlight the products, the land, and the partnership that Southern forests make possible. SEASON 1 DEADLINE: JULY 24, 2026.

DOWNLOAD THE RFP

How to Engage

Ways to Partner

No matter your place in the forest economy, there is always an opportunity to partner

Fund the Work

Funding partners provide the capital support that ensures that this work can be scaled across a 13-state geography. Funders support our role as convener and the systems-level strategies that focus on conditions none of our partner organizations could take on alone.

Build With Us

Bring your expertise to co-develop the frameworks, tools, and pilots that create visible and verifiable proof points that will make the Southern forest economy more competitive.

Put the Work Into Practice

Implementation partners leverage our learning and resources to improve their outcomes. In return, we are able to refine our approaches to determine the most effective, replicable solution across the region.

Open Doors

Amplifying partners promote our work and provide introductions to the organizations, instiutions, and decision-makers with the influence to turn our proof points into clear market signals.