Business Philanthropy and Nashville's Urban Forest
A company’s philanthropic strategy often begins with choosing causes that the leaders believe in, and for some, that’s the well-being of the local environment. In this article, we’ll go over the importance of business philanthropy for environmental management, looking at how companies benefit from giving to and partnering with organizations like Nashville Tree Conservation Corps and what those relationships can look like.
After sharing a few examples of impacts made through partnerships with members of Nashville’s business community, we’ll look at how companies can work with us to support the present and future care of our city’s tree canopy.
Business Philanthropy and Nashville’s Urban Forest
Philanthropy provides companies with a way to make meaningful contributions to their communities. While environmental management carries costs, its benefits are broadly shared through:
Area-wide ecosystem services that support community health, productivity, and quality of life.
Local standards-setting by maintaining healthy environmental conditions across an area.
Risk sharing that directs resources, expertise, and manpower across networks, allowing individual stakeholders to address challenges they could not effectively manage alone.
A collaborative canopy management strategy is especially important in densely populated urban areas, where environmental quality is increasingly a priority across industries and sectors, both public and private. Shared environmental risks (such as air pollution, urban heat, stormwater and flooding, and biodiversity loss) affect both publicly and privately held land and require shared solutions.
Trees are essential infrastructure in Nashville. They create the canopy ecosystem on which the city depends for various environmental, social, and economic benefits. One potent leverage point in Nashville's urban forestry system is the relationship between local companies and nonprofits: business philanthropy helps enable nonprofits such as NTCC to undertake impactful, specialized work while partnering with property owners, public agencies, and other stakeholders around shared environmental values and goals.
In this way, business philanthropy is more than charitable giving. It’s an opportunity to invest in the environmental infrastructure, partnerships, and collective capacity that help create a healthier, more resilient Nashville.
How Companies Benefit as Sponsors and Partners
Companies can benefit in several ways by supporting local environmental organizations like Nashville Tree Conservation Corps:
Community and values alignment: Supporting good environmental management connects a company’s values to the health, livability, and long-term sustainability of the communities where it operates. Investing in the environment can also demonstrate that a company values the people and places it serves.
Employee engagement: Environmental partnerships create meaningful opportunities for employees to work together outside of their usual roles. Activities such as tree planting, tree care, and employee volunteer days can support team building, morale, and a sense of shared purpose and contribution. Learn more about NTCC’s upcoming volunteer days, and how to join or become a sponsor, towards the end of this post!
Measurable impact: Supporting urban forestry produces tangible environmental outcomes, which companies can show that their contributions helped accomplish, from trees planted and maintained to improvements in the health and resilience of the urban forest.
Brand and business alignment: Trees are essential green infrastructure for healthy, attractive, and well-designed communities. Supporting urban forestry can reinforce business values and demonstrate a commitment to the quality of the places where they work.
Potential tax benefits: Companies can receive tax deductions for charitable contributions (NTCC is a 501c3 nonprofit organization), while some sponsorship payments may qualify as ordinary business expenses, depending on how the commitment is structured; a business tax professional will be able to help you with these distinctions.
How Environmental Organizations Benefit from Business Donations, Sponsorships, and Partnerships
Environmental nonprofits benefit from business donations, sponsorships, and partnerships by:
Financial support: Business donations and sponsorships provide funding for conservation projects, tree planting, habitat restoration, environmental studies for advocacy, education, and legislation development, as well as organizational operations.
Employee volunteerism: Company-organized volunteer events supply skilled and general volunteers for environmental initiatives.
Greater public awareness: Partnerships help nonprofits reach larger audiences through joint marketing campaigns, social media, and community events.
In-kind donations: Companies may contribute equipment, technology, supplies, professional services, or event space, reducing operating costs for the beneficiary nonprofit.
Long-term sustainability: Ongoing partnerships create reliable resources that help nonprofits plan and grow their environmental programs over time.
Learn more about how nonprofits like Nashville Tree Conservation Corps work diligently to fulfill their missions and obligations faithfully in our article, “How Environmental Nonprofits Bridge the Gap in Urban Forestry: The Role of NTCC in Local Environmental Stewardship.”
Businesses Giving Back to Nashville’s Environment
Partnerships with and donations from companies in Nashville have been integral to NTCC’s success in various ways over the years!
Nashville Tree Conservation Corps’ annual tree sale has been underpinned by our partnership with tree vendor Tennessee Tree and Shrub, which allows us to access high-quality trees from local nurseries to be sold to Nashvillians at discounted prices by cutting out retail markup.
Metro Water Services partners with NTCC to offer their employees healthy trees to plant at home through our Tree Sale as a tangible employee benefit! Learn how your group can offer this employee benefit as well in our one-page brochure.
After a major tornado hit Nashville in March of 2020, Hale & Hines Nursery donated a total of 1,500 trees to replace those lost by homeowners and in city parks. This generous gift has had a lasting impact on Nashville’s tree canopy.
In 2025, NTCC was awarded a $15,000 unrestricted grant from Patagonia to expand our conservation efforts, which went toward sustaining the Shelby Arboretum, supporting our community outreach efforts, and contributing to ongoing operations.
After the impact of Winter Storm Fern, several companies, groups, and government agencies stepped in to support our coordinated response, Operation Overstory, to offer arborist services to in-need neighbors. Key partners included Dendro Tree Care, Hella Tree Experts, ISA Southern, and HandsOn Nashville. Our efforts were sponsored by United Way and TN Dept of Agriculture Urban and Community Forestry Grant.
This year's Shelby Volunteer Day (September 26, 2026) is supported by Living Earth, Bartlett Tree Experts, The Wood Farm at Post Oaks, and Maddox Foundation. Learn more about company sponsorship for NTCC volunteer days below.
NTCC’s October 2026 Happy Hour is sponsored by Pinnacle Financial Partners, PMC Cares, Bartlett Tree Experts, and Steadfast Mortgage. Details for this event can be found below!
As essential partners in our work to promote, preserve, protect, and plant the urban forest, we deeply value our relationships with Nashville’s businesses, residents, nonprofits, governing agencies, and all the stakeholders we work with to give a voice to the canopy and a hand to the stewards of our city’s trees.
Business Sponsorships, Giving, and Partnerships with Nashville Tree Conservation Corps
Business collaborations with NTCC can take many forms:
Sponsored events and maintenance: Companies can sponsor tree planting, recurring maintenance, or larger planting events or restoration projects. (We’re looking for sponsors for our upcoming Shelby Ave Maintenance events on September 26, 2026, and in April 2027; more on that below!)
Company plantings: Business parks, commercial properties, sidewalks, and other business-adjacent sites can provide opportunities for companies to plant and care for trees on or near company property. Ask us how we can support your planting goals!
Collaborative projects: Sometimes, a group has an idea rather than a predefined donation. We can help determine how to translate that idea into a workable project, drawing on our expertise, relationships, and resources. Reach out to start a conversation with us!
Become a sponsor for our Shelby Avenue Arboretum Volunteer Day on September 26th, 2026! Read more about our sponsorship packages and learn how contributions fund this tree maintenance event. We’ll also be holding a springtime volunteer day in April 2027!
Join us on October 17th for An Evening Among the Trees, an intimate gathering with NTCC that provides us with an opportunity to connect with you, our supporters, and celebrate Nashville’s tree canopy. RSVP by October 16th. Get details and buy tickets on our events page.
NTCC’s tree sale returns in September! As we mentioned, businesses with property can plant and care for trees as easily as residents can in their yards; it just takes a little planning. If you have open space in Nashville, consider planting some trees, and browse our tree sale for locally grown, below-retail-price specimens.
If you don’t have space to plant a tree, individuals and groups can donate a tree for us to plant, or donate a dollar amount to contribute to funding our mission to promote, preserve, protect, and plant Nashville’s tree canopy.
Sign up for our email newsletter for regular tree care guidance and canopy news, and check out our Linktree for more ways to connect!