section_path: Philanthropy/#TeamTrees
section_name: #TeamTrees
paragraph_text: #TeamTrees
  
  On October 25, 2019, Donaldson and fellow YouTuber Mark Rober announced a collaborative fundraising challenge event on YouTube called #TeamTrees. This project aimed to raise $20 million for the Arbor Day Foundation by January 1, 2020, and plant trees "no later than December 2022". Every donation was said to go to the Arbor Day Foundation, which pledged to plant one tree for every dollar donated. Notable YouTubers such as Rhett & Link, Marshmello, iJustine, Marques Brownlee, The Slow Mo Guys, Ninja, Simone Giertz, Jacksepticeye, and Smarter Every Day brought attention to the project, and the foundation began planting trees in October 2019 in U.S. national parks.
  
  On December 19 of that year, the fundraiser surpassed the $20 million goal. The project received large donations from corporate executives Jack Dorsey, Susan Wojcicki, Elon Musk, and Tobias Lütke, as well as companies such as Discovery, Verizon, and PopCap. Tobias Lütke, founder and CEO of Shopify, holds the record for the largest donation at 1,000,001 trees planted. As of June 2025, the original goal of 20 million trees had been far surpassed, with over 24.8 million (24,893,602) trees planted. However, PBS reported that only 6% of the original 2,000 trees planted in one area survived.
  
  On October 25, 2019, Donaldson and fellow YouTuber Mark Rober announced a collaborative fundraising challenge event on YouTube called #TeamTrees. This project aimed to raise $20 million for the Arbor Day Foundation by January 1, 2020, and plant trees "no later than December 2022". Every donation was said to go to the Arbor Day Foundation, which pledged to plant one tree for every dollar donated. Notable YouTubers such as Rhett & Link, Marshmello, iJustine, Marques Brownlee, The Slow Mo Guys, Ninja, Simone Giertz, Jacksepticeye, and Smarter Every Day brought attention to the project, and the foundation began planting trees in October 2019 in U.S. national parks.
  
  On December 19 of that year, the fundraiser surpassed the $20 million goal. The project received large donations from corporate executives Jack Dorsey, Susan Wojcicki, Elon Musk, and Tobias Lütke, as well as companies such as Discovery, Verizon, and PopCap. Tobias Lütke, founder and CEO of Shopify, holds the record for the largest donation at 1,000,001 trees planted. As of June 2025, the original goal of 20 million trees had been far surpassed, with over 24.8 million (24,893,602) trees planted. However, PBS reported that only 6% of the original 2,000 trees planted in one area survived.