Two successful fund raisers, the 2017 Native Plant and Spring Plant Sales, are complete for the Master Gardener Foundation. Congratulations to everyone for two fantastic events! One of the key features of these activities is the multi-island effort that we put into making these activities a success. One of the goals of the Foundation over the past two years has been to encourage unifying the islands into one group rather than separate island Master Gardener groups. We are separated by water and may not see each other regularly. SJI, OI and Lopez participation in the Native Plant Sale, Spring Plant Sale, Lopez Grafting Workshop, the Diagnostic Clinics, County Fair planning and Annual Gardening Workshop planning help us know each other and the projects we do to help the San Juan County residents understand the science based aspects of gardening.
Beyond the activities that help unify our group, we have also changed how we budget and manage Foundation funds. Here’s a little history to explain how our funds have been organized. The Foundation was formed in 2002 because Washington State University (WSU) regulations prevented the Master Gardener program from charging fees for what was then the Spring Gardening Workshop. The Foundation evolved from a relatively informal organization to a dependent chapter of the Washington State Master Gardener Foundation and finally to an independent IRS 501(3)(c) approved non-profit. Funds were collected jointly to a general fund for all islands from projects like the Annual Workshop and independently on each island; examples are the Spring Plant Sale and Orcas Island apron sales. At the end of each year, if there were surplus funds in the general fund after budgeting, those funds were assigned to each island fund, usually based on the number of Master Gardeners on each island.
The Foundation board determined that we should be managing our funds in a way that promoted a unified organization and we should foster projects that benefitted the program for all of San Juan County. The board voted to change how we managed our general funds and moneys collected by Master Gardener projects. From now on, all funds collected by Master Gardeners are pooled into the general fund. This does not affect funds assigned to each island prior to 2017. Those funds are still assigned to each island. An account of the Foundation finances is available here.
Each project (like the Native Plant Sale and Spring Plant Sale and Diagnostic Clinics) and each island will still create a budget at the end of each year for the next year. A new general fund project request has been developed to access the general fund. If group of Master Gardeners has a new project, like the Heritage Apple Orchard that Lopez Island is working on, they can request money from the general fund for that project. Funds will be awarded based on availability, the benefit to the entire Master Gardener program, and capped at $500 per project per year. A link to the application is here.
This is a new approach and we welcome your questions. We hope you will agree that this will foster a successful and unified organization. Contact me, one of your Board representatives or an intern mentor if you have questions. The next Foundation quarterly meeting is July 11 and we welcome your comments.
Beyond the activities that help unify our group, we have also changed how we budget and manage Foundation funds. Here’s a little history to explain how our funds have been organized. The Foundation was formed in 2002 because Washington State University (WSU) regulations prevented the Master Gardener program from charging fees for what was then the Spring Gardening Workshop. The Foundation evolved from a relatively informal organization to a dependent chapter of the Washington State Master Gardener Foundation and finally to an independent IRS 501(3)(c) approved non-profit. Funds were collected jointly to a general fund for all islands from projects like the Annual Workshop and independently on each island; examples are the Spring Plant Sale and Orcas Island apron sales. At the end of each year, if there were surplus funds in the general fund after budgeting, those funds were assigned to each island fund, usually based on the number of Master Gardeners on each island.
The Foundation board determined that we should be managing our funds in a way that promoted a unified organization and we should foster projects that benefitted the program for all of San Juan County. The board voted to change how we managed our general funds and moneys collected by Master Gardener projects. From now on, all funds collected by Master Gardeners are pooled into the general fund. This does not affect funds assigned to each island prior to 2017. Those funds are still assigned to each island. An account of the Foundation finances is available here.
Each project (like the Native Plant Sale and Spring Plant Sale and Diagnostic Clinics) and each island will still create a budget at the end of each year for the next year. A new general fund project request has been developed to access the general fund. If group of Master Gardeners has a new project, like the Heritage Apple Orchard that Lopez Island is working on, they can request money from the general fund for that project. Funds will be awarded based on availability, the benefit to the entire Master Gardener program, and capped at $500 per project per year. A link to the application is here.
This is a new approach and we welcome your questions. We hope you will agree that this will foster a successful and unified organization. Contact me, one of your Board representatives or an intern mentor if you have questions. The next Foundation quarterly meeting is July 11 and we welcome your comments.