July 29, 2005 - Tree Trust, a St. Paul nonprofit organization, invites cities, neighborhood organizations, nonprofits, housing organizations and churches to apply for community tree planting grants. The grant program, sponsored by The Home Depot Foundation, was created to improve the urban environment through tree planting, community education and volunteerism.

Maximum grants of $3,500 will be available to applicants from Minneapolis, St. Paul and suburban cities in the Twin Cities metro area.

To qualify for a grant, applicants must develop a planting project that utilizes volunteers and has a long-term maintenance plan. Applicants are also required to provide a one to one match comprised of volunteer labor, cash or in-kind support.

Tree Trust will provide up to $100 per tree and will support grantees by ordering and delivering trees and providing hands on tree planting demonstrations.

Tree Trust's mission, to improve the community environment by investing in people, complements the objectives of its project partner, The Home Depot Foundation. The Foundation invests in nonprofit organizations that are in the business of building strong, healthy communities and focuses its efforts in the area tree planting to restore urban forests.

For more information and an application, Download the Guidelines and Application Packet or contact Kirsten Andenas at 651-644-5800 x 114 or kirstena@treetrust.org.

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