Last June, the Garden embarked upon Plants for Life 2020, a fundraising campaign to raise the funds necessary to complete the Jarantoski and Learning Campuses and grow the Garden’s endowment to four times its operating budget. Spurred by a matching grant from the State of Illinois, the Garden’s friends in the private sector already have committed enough funds to enable work to begin this year on new nurseries, and go a long way toward achieving the total amount required to complete both campuses. But $39 million remains to be raised: $9 million for the Learning Campus and $30 million for the Jarantoski Campus. Only when sufficient funds are in hand (80 percent of the capital cost of each project) can construction begin. Gifts to the Garden, in any amount, are needed and valued. The Garden may be supported through current gifts, pledges, and planned giving, and there are many opportunities to recognize those gifts. The Garden’s development staff welcomes the opportunity to respond to requests for information. The Garden’s achievements in its relatively short history, and its promising future, have inspired the continuing support of its many friends among individuals, families, foundations, corporations, and governments. That support, along with support from new friends, is essential if the Garden is to fully meet the goals of its strategic plan. We cannot fail to do so. Many public gardens do one or two things well. Very few do everything the Chicago Botanic Garden does well: offering inspiring gardens and natural areas, engaging in plant conservation science and research, and providing a lifetime of opportunities for people to learn about and appreciate the power of plants to sustain and enrich life. We owe it to ourselves and future generations to complete the new Jarantoski and Learning Campuses, and to grow our endowment, so that our Garden will continue into the future, second to none anywhere. All three of the Garden’s boards—the Board of Directors, the Woman’s Board of the Chicago Horticultural Society, and the Guild of the Chicago Botanic Garden—work very hard throughout each year to sustain the Garden’s present and future. I know that I speak for all who enjoy and benefit from the Garden when I extend unbridled thanks to the Garden’s boards and the entire Garden family—staff, volunteers, members, and donors—for all they do every day to make the Garden preeminent among public gardens everywhere.
With gratitude and warm regards,
Robert Finke Chairman of the Board
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