Dear Friends,
I’m thrilled to announce our plans to build the Education Pavilion and Garden – the first phase of the Waterfront Botanical Gardens. On this website, you’ll read about why we chose to focus on the pavilion, the types of activities it will support and the next steps in its development.
The generous support of our community has brought us closer than ever to breaking ground. During 2015, 799 donors provided over $1.4 million in financial support to the garden effort. That’s nearly double the number of supporters – and triple the amount of funding – than the previous year.
Since we began our effort, we’ve raised $2.3 million, including a recent grant of $100,000 from the Gheens Foundation. When you also consider our endowment funding and the 23-acre garden property, it adds up to a remarkable level of community support.
Our opening day is within reach. We are working hard to raise the remaining $1.9 million needed to begin construction of our first phase. The pace of our fundraising will determine the timing of our progress. If we’re able to meet our ultimate goal of $4.2 million by the end of 2016, we’ll be on our way to breaking ground in early 2017.
I hope you’ll help us meet that goal. If you haven’t given recently, please consider making a donation to help us build the Education Pavilion.
Happy gardening,
Brian Voelker
President, Board of Directors
P.S. Supporting the Education Pavilion is easy: To become a member or make a donation, visit the support section of our web site.