In late March 2020, 324 Association member gardens responded to a survey. Survey results indicated sweeping closures that occurred suddenly and caused profound earned revenue-related losses and other economic impacts to garden business operations.

Despite all the important work accomplished by nonprofit organizations over the last hundred years, significant growth or scaled impact has remained an elusive goal for most of them. Even the most effective mission-driven organizations face the...

Beyond gift shops, wedding rentals, and one-off plant sales, every garden has unique assets that could be leveraged to achieve the institutional mission and creatively generate revenue for the organization or reduce expenses. Identifying those assets...

Public gardens, which are centers for expertise, often have concerns with earned-revenue generation and education seeing consulting income as a conflict with their mission. Our experience shows education, advocacy, and service can enhance relevance and...

Growth is vital for any organization to be successful but many institutions do not strategically plan how, why, and where they invest resources to grow strategically. Whether large or small, managing your growth is critical to make sure your garden's...

For the purposes of this study, we have broadly categorised the results of the activities of botanic gardens into economic, social and environmental impacts. Wherever possible, this Technical Review has highlighted case studies where impact evaluation...

Did you miss the Finance & Operations Symposium in March? A few of the symposium speakers brought their earned revenue focus presentations to the annual conference. Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to learn more. 

We are living in a day and age where big data is discussed in every newspaper, trade publication, or blog we read. Public gardens need to connect more with our customers, deepen loyalty, and generate more earned revenue. But how? This 60-minute, multi-...

Bellevue Botanical Garden Society has generously provided samples of artist/performer agreements for one-time events and annual events sponsored by thier partner group (updated annually). 

The triple bottom line refers to economic, environmental, and social value of an investment and is related to the concept of sustainable development. The triple bottom line is increasingly salient to economic development related disciplines, yet...

Demand for food and beverages that are locally grown and made, organic, and nutritious has been on the rise in recent years, and many public gardens are recognizing the interest in and need for programming about these topics. Public...

Greater Philadelphia Gardens (“GPG”) is a consortium of more than 30 public gardens, arboreta, historical landscapes and supporting organizations located within 30 miles of Philadelphia.The dual purpose of this report is to understand and articulate...

The Institute of Museum and Library Services offers a variety of grants that are great resources for public gardens. The grant application process can be rigorous, and managing grant projects successfully requires careful planning and resource...

Learn how two gardens evolved their membership programs in 2016. Longwood Gardens originally launched their membership program in 2007. The program was not able to support future growth, had capacity challenges, no distinction in benefits, and was...

Presenters will discuss the challenges, opportunities, and benefits of accepting large plant-collection donations. Three institutions have tackled this challenge in recent years and will discuss how they brought in large collections, some with...

Fundraising is a team sport. What is the role of the Executive Director in fundraising? How does s/he engage the appropriate key players, the chief development officer and other development professionals, in building a highly effective partnership? It...

In 2015, The Morton Arboretum decided to shake things up with a full assessment of volunteer engagement in fundraising programs. Kathleen will discuss the benefits of Arboretum efforts to “shake up, not just stir” long-standing volunteer committees....

A robust major gift program begins with a strong mid-level giving program. Building your annual gift pipeline will include connecting with new donors, good stewardship, willing leadership volunteers, informative data and a strong organizational plan....

While annual garden visitation in the tens or hundreds of thousands provides one metric of success, productive relationships with fewer than 100 major donors can prove far more important to achieving a public garden’s mission, growth and success. Learn...

The Membership program at Longwood Gardens originally launched in 2007 and quickly grew to over 65,000 household Members by 2016. The program, as originally designed, was not able to support future growth while providing an extraordinary member...