More than a year has passed since many of our gardens were forced to rethink day to day operations to meet government guidelines, protect our employees, and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. One of the tools that many of us quickly adopted was a...

A successful nonprofit organization has diversified funding streams, and individual donors play an important role. If you or your organization is new to individual giving, this webinar is for you. We’ll provide you with an overview of the fundraising...

The Association's Finance & Operations Community holds its Annual Meeting virtually. Hosted by Community Chair Drake Fowler (Chief Business Office, North Carolina Arboretum), Vice-Chair Karen Sikkenga (Principal, Huron River Group Consulting), and...

As the philanthropy world grapples with the spread of Covid-19, nonprofit leaders must consider how they can best care for the people they serve, as well as their organizations, staff, and donors. To help leaders steer their organizations during these...

This webinar explored how we should be communicating internally and externally during the COVID-19 pandemic.  How to best communicate with our staff, members, supporters, funders, boards, and families focused on home-schooling.

 In this webinar...

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...

In this episode of What’s Next?, Randy and Kathleen Janus talk about social entrepreneurship and how it can be used to tackle some of society’s grandest problems. Also discussed in this episode is earned income, overhead costs, root-cause initiatives...

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...

Former members, previous donors, past customers – whatever you call them  – every organization has them. Too often we think of this audience as lost opportunities, but the decisions that people make to join or not join are not final decisions. They can...

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...