Founders Fund Voting
SLGC
Established in 1934, the Founders Fund grant is awarded annually to an exceptional community project that supports GCA's mission. This year there are three finalists, with two runners-up receiving $10,000 each and the winner awarded $30,000. GCA Founders Fund Committee selects these projects. The winner is then elected by GCA members across the country who have the opportunity to vote personally. You can read about these impressive projects in the Winter 2023 Bulletin and vote for your favorite, using the ballot provided. All GCA Clubs will have the opportunity to vote this month and each Club will select its favorite. Club President Cynthia Druckenbrod will then submit the SLGC winner to GCA by April 1. The winner and runners-up will be announced at the GCA Annual Meeting in May.
It is a privilege to cast a vote for one of these projects and I hope that we can achieve an impressive voter turnout! Please take the time to read about each of these compelling projects and reflect upon their vision, mission, and value to the GCA. You may even be inspired to create a project for SLGC to submit in the future!
For more extensive descriptions and photographs of each project, refer to the GCA bulletin, Winter 2023.
1 - PROJECT PROPOSAL: Cylburn Arboretum Friends Nature Education Center Garden
Proposed by: St. George’s Garden Club, Zone VI
Seconded by: Garden Club of Twenty, Zone VI
The Founders Fund grant will be dedicated to providing regionally appropriate, native-plant material and trees for the garden. For kids who may have only seen street trees, this garden will serve as a sort of launch pad before they enter the woodland. It will include benches made from recycled arboretum wood and hammocks designed to encourage looking up at the tree canopy beneath a large, existing catalpa tree. The design includes a stormwater plan mitigating runoff into the nearby Jones Falls stream, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay.
2 - PROJECT PROPOSAL: The Butterfly and Bee Pollinator Meadow at Chickasaw Park in Honor of Muhammad Ali
Proposed by: Glenview Garden Club, Zone VII
Seconded by: James River Garden Club, Zone VII
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” are the words used by Louisville’s native son Muhammad Ali to describe his fighting style. They are also the inspiration for a pollinator meadow and family picnic area to be located in Chickasaw Park, a culturally significant part of the park system Frederick Law Olmsted and his firm designed for Louisville. Ali grew up not far from Chickasaw Park and trained there, likely testing his physical agility as well as his quick wit. Olmsted Parks Conservancy surveyed and engaged with park users to better understand their needs and wants. The community repeatedly requested native plantings and gathering areas. Glenview Garden Club has raised over $12,000 and has submitted a $30,000 Founders Fund proposal to implement this vision. Physical infrastructure in and around the meadow will allow accessibility for everyone.
3 - PROJECT PROPOSAL: Sowing and Growing Evanston Grows: Urban Gardens and Community
Proposed by: Garden Club of Evanston, Zone XI
Seconded by: Cedar Rapids Garden Club, Zone XI
Garden Club of Evanston is excited to apply for a Founders Fund grant on behalf of its community partner, Evanston Grows (EG). Funds will be used to grow more food to share in 2023, extend educational programming, and show how gardening by and for the community can advance health equity. Founded in 2021, EG is a nonprofit collective of community organizations and individuals that aims to reduce food insecurity in our city where one of every six residents is at risk. EG currently cultivates 18 edible gardens that provide free, fresh, organic produce to Evanston’s most underserved neighborhoods. EG directly manages three of these gardens, and partners with 15 neighborhood gardens farmed by and for local residents. This year, EG shared 4,000 pounds of fresh, organic food at its two farm stands in the Fifth and Eighth Wards—areas where many foodinsecure residents live, and which are majority BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color). In addition, EG organizes internships and educational opportunities for all residents of Evanston to learn more