New Roots Institute
Empowering the next generation to end factory farming.
300k+
students reached through lessons since inception
~88%
of students support plant-based options and welfare laws, following lessons
600+
fellowship participants to date
100k+
hours of fellowship work combatting factory farming since 2019
About New Roots Institute
New Roots Institute empowers the next generation to dismantle factory farming. Through their flagship year-long Leadership Academy, students explore the impacts of factory farming, while developing skills in communication and organizing. The program inspires critical thinking to address issues including animal welfare, environmental sustainability, human rights, and public health. The curriculum strengthens student networks and aims to catalyze individual and systemic change, empowering graduates to influence institutions for lasting impact.
New Roots Institute at a Glance (2025)
Founded
2010
Revenue (2024)
$2.4 million
Growth
Can effectively absorb $3.2 million per year in 2026 and 2027.
Outcomes
Works to increase knowledge and skills for animal advocacy in the U.S.
Scope
Has the potential to spare 1.12 animals for every dollar spent through their fellowship program.
Direction
Demonstrates evidence-based decision making and robust impact measurement.
What is the unique Problem?
Four unaddressed gaps are weakening the animal protection movement. The movement is fragmented and lacks coordination; young advocates don’t have the structured training they need to lead effectively; campuses are underutilized as engines of cultural change; and the environmental movement continues to neglect factory farming as a core driver of climate and biodiversity crises. Without cultivating young leaders equipped to drive change, current efforts to address factory farming may lack the sustained momentum needed to end widespread animal suffering and unsustainable agricultural practices.
How does New Roots Institute solve it?
New Roots Institute addresses these gaps by cultivating values-driven leaders through fellowships for high school and college students. Fellows gain skills in organizing, advocacy, and cultural competence needed to unify efforts, strengthen institutions, and connect animal protection to the broader justice and environmental movements. Fellows test out these skills on campuses, shifting norms and policies that ripple outward. With ongoing alumni support, graduates carry these skills into nonprofits, government, academia, and business, propelling the systemic change required to end factory farming.
Recent Key Achievements
Across all fellowship cohorts, 23% of alumni obtained anti–factory farming roles, with an additional 38% advancing the cause in schools.
Fellows in 2024 secured plant-based commitments affecting over 2 million student meals per year.
Post-lesson surveys (2024–2025) show 86–90% student support for plant-based options and anti-factory farming policies, with 82% intending to reduce animal product consumption.
Conclusion
New Roots Institute is cultivating a vibrant community of young advocates equipped with skills in problem solving, campaign development, and leadership. We find their theory of change compelling. However, the evidence needed to evaluate the impact of their alumni’s careers on animals will only become clear in the years ahead. Given this timeline for results, we are insufficiently confident that marginal dollars would help animals as much with New Roots Institute as they would with our Recommended Charities.
