IFNF Infographic

Program Summary

The Innovative Finance for National Forests (IFNF) grant program supports the development and implementation of innovative finance models that leverage private and public capital other than US Forest Service (USFS) annual appropriations to enhance the resilience of the National Forest System (NFS) and deliver commensurate returns to stakeholders.

The IFNF grant program seeks to:

  • Leverage private and public capital other than USFS annual appropriations to support agency priorities;
  • Deliver measurable social, ecological, and financial outcomes to multiple stakeholders;
  • Demonstrate solutions that promise improved financial sustainability for land management;
  • Chart a path to scale in addressing landscape-level challenges on and near National Forests;
  • Generate lessons learned to incorporate in agency management and decision making.

IFNF grants could, but are not limited to, support of innovative finance models that:

  • Enable debt or equity financing from public or private sources to pay for the upfront costs of a project that will be paid back over time by project beneficiaries (payors);
  • Access new or existing markets for environmental goods or services;
  • Access user-based fees or contributions;
  • Increase pace and scale of implementation by blending multiple sources of funding or finance;
  • Employ any combination of the approaches listed above.

Program Update

UPDATE March 2026

There is not currently an IFNF Request for Proposals. Check this site for updates or subscribe to the Endowment’s newsletter to receive information on new RFPs.

Review the press release for more information on projects funded in IFNF round 4 and 5.

Archive

Project Lessons Learned

The following Briefs and Blogs were researched and authored by Gordian Knot Strategies (GKS), a strategic advisory firm specializing in conservation finance and innovative funding mechanisms for natural resources. GKS served as a core strategic partner to the National Partnership Office of the USDA Forest Service and the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities throughout the design, implementation, and evaluation of the IFNF grant program.

GKS brought deep expertise in blended finance, public-private partnerships, and impact investment to help shape the program’s architecture and build practitioner capacity across the field. In addition to developing the conceptual and analytical frameworks that informed the program, GKS conducted a rigorous independent program evaluation, generating actionable lessons learned that advance both practice and policy in forest finance.

The insights, analyses, and reflections contained in these materials represent a significant contribution to the growing field of innovative finance for public lands and natural resources. They will serve as an enduring resource for investors seeking to deploy capital into nature-positive outcomes, as well as practitioners designing and managing conservation finance programs at scale.

Briefs

The first brief, From Concept to Capital: Bridging the Readiness Gap in Conservation Finance, establishes the core challenge observed across the portfolio. Many IFNF projects were investment worthy in principle but not investment ready in practice. This brief introduces that distinction and highlights early success drivers such as verified payors, blended capital strategies, and governance clarity, creating a foundation for the more detailed analysis that follows.

Blogs

The seven-part IFNF Insights Blog Series addresses each element of the TRARO readiness framework:

  1. The “Solution in Search of a Problem” Trap – Why clearly defining and quantifying the problem is the first and hardest step in conservation finance.

Program Contacts

The IFNF grant program is funded by the USDA Forest Service (USFS) National Partnership Office (NPO) and U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (Endowment). Interested parties are encouraged to contact the following IFNF team members from the USFS National Partnership Office to discuss ideas or opportunities.

  • Sophie Beavin, Conservation Finance Partnership Coordinator, sophie.beavin@usda.gov

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