U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities administers $5 million in Wood Innovation Grants
October 14, 2025
As National Forest Products Week is observed each October, the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) is highlighting one of its partner programs that supports and advances U.S.-based manufacturing. The Endowment is administering $5 million of the USDA Forest Service’s $80 million Wood Innovation Grants program, overseeing 18 individual projects across the country. Each project includes matching funds from subaward recipients, resulting in a total impact of approximately $10 million. Together, these investments will advance wood product manufacturing, strengthen forest management and foster energy innovation for timber-producing communities.
The Wood Innovation Grants are part of a broader USDA strategy to expand timber markets, support rural economies and enhance forest productivity and resilience. The program promotes wood as a construction material, develops new energy markets and helps reduce risks such as wildfire while fostering environmentally conscious practices.
Active forest management is essential to reducing wildfire risk, improving forest health and supporting rural economies. The wood products sector provides the infrastructure and markets that make this work possible, turning forest products into valuable resources. These facilities lower treatment costs, support restoration and enable disaster recovery. Healthy forests depend on a strong forest products industry, and a strong industry depends on viable markets.
“Our forests are only as strong as the markets that sustain them,” said Pete Madden, president and CEO of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities. “Through programs like the Wood Innovation Grants, we’re creating new opportunities for innovation while reinforcing the resilience of both ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. Strengthening U.S. wood products manufacturing is necessary to achieve these goals.”
Through this role, the Endowment handles contracting, project monitoring and reporting, while helping ensure effective implementation and accountability for the Wood Innovation Grants program. This work reinforces its broader commitment to forest management, rural economic development and innovation in wood products across the United States.
About the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities is a not-for-profit public charity collaborating with partners in the public and private sectors to advance systemic, transformative, and sustainable change for the health and vitality of the nation’s working forests and forest-reliant communities. To learn more about the Endowment, please visit our website at www.usendowment.org.
