Funding Strategies For Government-Affiliated Gardens
Date
1991-08
Authors
Lowe, Cheryl
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Approximately one-third of the public gardens in this country are
administered by government agencies, or dependent upon government funds for
annual operating support. This research documents the basic financial framework
for this group of public gardens by studying sources of funds, non-monetary or in kind
support services, and partnerships between public and private organizations.
Thirty-seven gardens representing different budget sizes and different geographic
regions of the country are surveyed, and results analyzed.
Funding sources are analyzed for frequency of use and percentage of
operating budget. They are placed into three major income categories for analysis:
government income, earned income, and contributed income. Funds for capital
projects are most often from general taxes, bonds, donations, and fundraising. In kind
services such as insurance, building maintenance, and legal services are used
by 89% of the gardens.
Cooperative arrangements between government and private
organizations are common (89% of surveyed gardens) and extremely varied.
Governing authority, management agreements, division of program responsibilities,
and fundraising issues are discussed. Although government agencies are the
primary governing authority in two-thirds of the gardens, program and funding
responsibilities are most often shared in some way.
Comparisons are made between gardens with small, medium, and large
budgets. There are correlations between size of operating budget and type of
governing authority, and between size of operating budget and the existence of a
written agreement. Comparisons are also made between minor, moderate, and
major government funding levels. Income categories, governing authority, in-kind
services, and the existence of written agreements show some correlation to the level
of government funding.
Based upon the evaluations of the survey participants and the existing
literature, suggestions are made for improving cooperative arrangements between
government and private organizations. Key elements are planning, communication,
mutually agreed upon written documents, trust between partners, support for the
garden’s mission from within as well as outside the garden, and political acuity.
Description
Keywords
Financial management , Fundraising , Government , Collaboration