What is More Important?
Question: What is more important, to plant as many trees as possible or to ensure that the greatest number of planted trees survive?
Here at Trees for Life, we believe the answer is obvious. We support the planting of as many trees as possible where Canadians live, work, and play, AND the partners we support are required to provide aftercare for the trees to ensure a minimum 80% survival rate. A tree with a future is the only useful tree. Most of the trees are three to four-foot pre-adolescent trees grown in one or two-gallon pots. These are not reforestation trees, (typically seedlings), just a few inches tall. Our trees are ready to put down a root and grow big faster.
Big News
This month we received extraordinary news from The Veritas Foundation, a third-party Canadian charity rating review agency: we received a 5-star rating.
That is 5 out of a possible 5 stars.
You might understand why we are pleased.
As a supporter, (volunteer or donor) of Trees for Life this is important as it underlines good reasons to continue your support: a tax-deductible donation is a smart investment.
Looking at charitable giving as an investment with your own hard-earned cash is a worthwhile exercise. Here’s why:
$1 = $3.87
Veritas confirms that when a donor gives to Trees For Life the value of the gift is multiplied 3.87 times. One dollar = almost four dollars. This is due to matching gifts from major private donors and a renewed commitment from Natural Resources Canada (the federal government), 2 Billion Trees Program. Exceptional given on average, Canadian charities return $2 to $2.25 per dollar donated.
The “return” at Trees For Life is the result of well-managed administration costs and that we are a volunteer-driven organization. Without our volunteer Directors, advisors, and in-kind supporters including many members of Landscape Ontario, we could not plant trees as efficiently as we do.
Without our in-kind supporters in the advertising world, including SJC, publishers of magazines such as Canadian Living, Maclean’s, Hello! and Toronto Life to name a few; Harrowsmith magazine; and Pattison Outdoor, a leading out-of-home company, we could not communicate as effectively as we do.
Our planting partners also bring various resources to the table. Municipalities, school boards, conservation groups, and individuals provide access to land, labour, and supplies.
Earning 5 stars means that Trees For Life performed well in four critical categories:
Strategy/mission: we plan ahead
Financial position: responsible use of donations
Governance: we have guardrails in place to keep all aspects of our organization transparent and productive
Impact: our work benefits the environment, reduces the negative effects of climate change, and improves human health (we could write a book on that subject), and we celebrate and acknowledge the outstanding work of our healthcare professionals and front-line workers (among others), by planting Hero Forests.
Can I give you any more reasons to continue to support our work?
Perhaps. So let me add the most important part: our values.
We live and breathe our values, as stated in our Strategic Plan:
Trustworthy. We are authentic, dependable, and value integrity.
Collaborative. We focus on teamwork and cooperation to build value.
Responsibility. We reflect purpose-driven leadership.
You can count on Trees For Life to evolve, just as we shifted after completing our first campaign to reforest the Highway of Heroes over 10 years ago, into a Canada-wide charity focused on supporting urban community-led tree planting.
But what will not change is our commitment to the three principles listed above.
And our commitment to you.
I hope to see you at one of our public planting events. Have a great tree-planting October!
Sincerely,
Mark
Chair, Trees for Life
