The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) Secures $135,000 Foxwynd Foundation Fellowship Grant to Modernize ‘dentataBase’ Infrastructure.
The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) announced today that its “dentataBase” modernization project has been selected for a prestigious Fellowship Grant in the amount of $135,000 over three years from the Foxwynd Foundation Board of Trustees. Along with the financial award, TACF officially joins the Foxwynd Fellowship Program—an initiative designed to empower visionary leaders driving impactful change across environmental sustainability, healthcare, and housing.
President of Foxwynd Foundation David Bently shared, “What inspires us most about The American Chestnut Foundation is the long-term vision behind its work. Restoring the American chestnut is about far more than bringing back a single tree species. It is about revitalizing entire ecosystems, supporting wildlife, and ensuring that future generations can experience this important part of America’s natural heritage.”
The $135,000 funding injection will directly fuel critical functionality upgrades for dentataBase, a foundational research database conceptualized in 2009 for TACF to serve staff and stakeholders working to restore the American chestnut. Spanning a three-year development cycle from June 2026 through June 2029, this project focuses on two primary phases: creating a mobile module for real-time field data uploads to replace cumbersome spreadsheet workflows and updating the Application Programming Interface (API) for increased accuracy of orchard mapping and tracking. By building a highly reliable, user-friendly data infrastructure, TACF aims to strengthen breeding program decisions, support its recurrent genomic selection initiatives, and target a 20% mobile adoption rate among active staff, members, and citizen scientists.
“TACF’s mission closely aligns with Foxwynd Foundation’s commitment to environmental sustainability, resilient ecosystems, and lasting impact, which is why we are proud to support TACF through our Fellowship Program, said Bentley. “We look forward to seeing how this investment helps advance the restoration of one of America’s most iconic native trees.”
The Foxwynd Foundation donor-advised fund (DAF) funded the Foxwynd Foundation’s generous donation to The American Chestnut Foundation.
About The American Chestnut Foundation
Our mission is to return the iconic American chestnut to its native range. Our vision is a robust eastern forest restored to its splendor. TACF is a 501(c)(3) conservation organization headquartered in Asheville, NC, with four regional offices in Chattanooga, TN, Charlottesville, VA, Griswold, CT, and University Park, PA. TACF’s Meadowview Research Farms is in Meadowview, VA. To learn about our mission, visit www.tacf.org. Join the effort to rescue the American chestnut tree by becoming a member, and find us on social media at Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
For further information about this press release, contact TACF Director of Development John Chastain at 828-281-0047, gro.fcat@niatsahc.nhoj.