Chicago Botanic Garden Annual Report 2023

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

A Message from the Chairman of the Board and the CEO & President

Our reaccreditation by the American Alliance of Museums was another proud moment. We’re one of only 25 accredited arboreta/botanic gardens in the United States. In its review, the Alliance noted that, “The Chicago Botanic Garden is an excellent museum, a world-class botanic garden, and a clear leader in our industry.”

As we grow, we’re keeping the visitor experience at the top of our concerns. Last year, we celebrated the opening of our Welcome Plaza and the Stone Family Picnic Glade. We

At the Chicago Botanic Garden, growth tells a vibrant story—

also completed a record number of capital maintenance

from our stunning landscapes to our plant conservation

improvements, funded by the first year of tax revenue from

research to the urban farms of Windy City Harvest.

the Forest Preserves of Cook County’s successful property

Our growth, and the change that comes with it, is a sign of

tax referendum.

a thriving organization. In 2023, we affirmed a new five-year

Your support has been essential to the successes—past,

strategic plan that calls for broadening the Garden’s reach

present, and future—of our growing living museum. We

and connecting people to the power of plants so people

invite you to grow with us.

and planet may thrive. We aim to develop our main campus in Glencoe to become more resilient and relevant, grow our Chicago-area partnerships beyond Windy City Harvest, increase our global contributions in plant conservation science, and become more sustainable financially and operationally with a thriving organizational culture.

Throughout this Annual Report, you’ll see our refreshed branding, which reflects how we’ve evolved since the Garden opened in 1972. Our new logo and tagline reflect who we are today— welcoming, vibrant, modern—and unite the Garden’s main campus with our plant science, learning, and urban agriculture programs, while allowing

Michael R. Zimmerman

Jean M. Franczyk

each program to stand on its own.

Chair of the Board

President & CEO

We cultivate the power of plants to sustain and enrich life.

Cover: Through a weeping willow on the shores of Evening Island, the rising sun illuminates the calm waters of the Great Basin.

Above: The lush late-summer setting of the Thomas English Walled Garden is the perfect backdrop for a tête-à-tête.

PLANTS. PEOPLE. PLANET. With your help, in 2023, the Chicago Botanic Garden connected people to the power of plants so people and planets may thrive.

Negaunee Institute As chief scientist, Kay Havens, Ph.D., is leading our work to turn plant science into action.

Garden scientists are training other botanic gardens around the world on our plant studbook approach to preventing extinctions. We’re also teaching the next generation of conservation leaders through our Stewardship and Ecology of Natural Areas (SENA) internship program, which was launched in 2023 to provide hands-on habitat restoration experience and training. With a Walder Foundation grant, we established a pollen bank focused on conserving oaks and orchids of the Great Lakes region and supporting the recovery of rare and endangered plants from around the world.

Regenstein School The Regenstein Learning Campus is more than a place to roll down hills and find a thriving Nature Preschool. In 2023, the Regenstein School expanded our lifelong learning opportunities for people of all ages. A full group of 60 6th- to 12th-grade students participated in the 2023 summer Science Career Continuum. We’re also working with the Skokie and Waukegan school districts to incorporate field trips to the Garden into their science curriculum. In adult learning, registration for wellness programs increased by 30 percent, and cooking programs by 150 percent. We’re continuing to find ways to expand our impact through programs such as Budburst, which reached nearly 2,000 people in 2023 through off-site, informal education events.

Windy City Harvest The dream began in 2003 with 15 teens and one acre of land in North Chicago. Since then, Windy City Harvest has grown to 13 farms across the South and West Sides of Chicago. Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2023, Windy City Harvest now is a national role model. We’ve partnered with the United States Botanic Garden to help seven gardens across the country launch or expand their own urban agriculture programs. And last year, at the Farm on Ogden, we hosted the 2023 Nutrition Incentive Hub and shared with a national audience our model for VeggieRx, a prescription produce program.

Impact Every year, you help us shape how people experience, value, and care for the planet.

SNAPSHOT: 2023

1.2 million

244,000

290,000

free admissions

lifelong learners reached

$21 million

15,000

4,800

visits

gift from The Negaunee Foundation for plant conservation science and restoration

VeggieRx boxes of produce distributed from Windy City Harvest farms

pounds of Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden produce donated

SNAPSHOT: BUILDING MOMENTUM

2.9 million

living plants in permanent collection

100 million

seeds stored in Dixon National Tallgrass Prairie Seed Bank

50,000

plants propagated and returned to the Forest Preserves since 2019

65,000 member households

You make the difference We are grateful for the invaluable support of our partners—especially the Forest Preserves of Cook County—along with our donors, sponsors, members, volunteers, staff, board members, and visitors. Thank you for helping us grow a better world.

Statement of financial position As of December 31, 2023 (in millions of dollars) ASSETS Cash Pledges receivable Accounts receivable Investments Prepaid expenses and other assets Property and equipment

$13.4 23.8 0.3 173.5 5.8 128.6

TOTAL

$345.5

LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS Liabilities Accounts payable and accrued expenses Other liabilities Bonds payable

$7.0 8.6 49.7

Total liabilities

$65.2

NET ASSETS Without donor restrictions With donor restrictions

$165.2 115.0

Total net assets

$280.2

TOTAL

$345.5

MEMBERSHIP 13% MEMBERSHIP 13%

Operating revenue and other support $61 million • •

•

SPONSORSHIPS 1% SPONSORSHIPS 1%

• •

•

VISITOR PROGRAMS AND OPERATIONS VISITOR PROGRAMS 24% AND OPERATIONS 24%

ALLOCATION OF LONG-TERM EDUCATION FEES 4% INVESTMENTS & OTHER 1% ALLOCATION OF LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS & OTHER 1% CONTRIBUTIONS/IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS 14% CONTRIBUTIONS/IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS 14%

• • • •

•

•

•

RESTRICTED PROGRAM GIFTS 16% RESTRICTED PROGRAM GIFTS 16%

• • •

•

FOREST PRESERVES OF COOK COUNTY FOREST PRESERVES 18% OF COOK COUNTY 18%

OTHER GRANT & CONTRACT REVENUE 4% OTHER GRANT & CONTRACT REVENUE 4%5% GOVERNMENT GRANTS

•

•

•

EDUCATION FEES 4%

GOVERNMENT GRANTS 5%

Operating expenditures $59 million LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT 11% LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT 11%

• •

•

ADMINISTRATION 15%

• SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS 15% SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS 15%

•

•

• •

GARDENS AND GROUNDS 21% GARDENS AND GROUNDS 21%

ADMINISTRATION 15% MEMBERSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT 9% MEMBERSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT 9%

•

•

•

•

COMMUNICATIONS 5%

•

COMMUNICATIONS 5%

•

VISITOR PROGRAMS AND OPERATIONS VISITOR PROGRAMS 24% AND OPERATIONS 24%

$2 million of Forest Preserves of Cook County revenues is for capital maintenance and not reflected in operating expenses.

Complete, audited financial statements for the Chicago Botanic Garden, including the auditor’s report, for the year ending December 31, 2023, are available at chicagobotanic.org/annual_report.

CHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY Board of Directors Officers

Michael R. Zimmerman Chair

Jennifer Schwarz, Ph.D. Vice President, Learning & Public Programs

Jean M. Franczyk President and Chief Executive Officer

Aida Z. Giglio Vice President, Human Resources

Fred Spicer Executive Vice President and Director

Kayri Havens, Ph.D. Chief Scientist & Negaunee Vice President for Science

Paul Rafac Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Gwen VanderBurg Vice President, Marketing & Communications

Ivan A. Adames Chief Development Officer

2023 Board of Directors

Life Directors

R. Henry Kleeman

Neville F. Bryan

Thomas E. Lanctot

J. Melfort Campbell

Dana Anderson

Anne Leventry

Barbara Whitney Carr

Ann Balusek

Diane vS. Levy

David R. Casper

Matt Banholzer

Laura M. Linger

Gary P. Coughlan

Carol A. Barnett

Anne S. Loucks

Peter R. Crane

Russell F. Bartmes

Michael J. McMurray

James W. DeYoung

Heather Lowe Becker

Christopher Merrill

Thomas A. Donahoe

Martha D. Boudos

Britt M. Miller

Peter B. Foreman

Terrence R. Brady

Gregory A. Moerschel

Ralph F. Fujimoto

James Brooks

Lois L. Morrison

James J. Glasser

John H. Buehler

Henry Munez

Caryn L. Harris

Suzanne M. Burns

Craig Niemann

John L. Howard

Jane S. Park

William H. Kurtis

Dora Aalbregtse Jake Amsbary

˚

Sandy Campbell Robin Colburn

˚

Toni Preckwinkle

˚

*

* *

Donna La Pietra

Jill M. Delaney

Bob Probst

Timothy A. Dugan

Arnold Randall

Diana S. Ferguson

Mary B. Richardson-Lowry

Josephine P. Louis

Robert F. Finke

Shawnelle Richie

Mary L. McCormack

Jean M. Franczyk

John C. Robak

Jeanine McNally

Ryan S. Ruskin

William E. Moeller

Nancy Gidwitz

Anita M. Sarafa

William A. Osborn

Christopher E. Girgenti

Richard Sciortino

Homi B. Patel

Ellis M. Goodman

Robert E. Shaw

Susan L. Regenstein

Joseph P. Gromacki

Andrew Sinclair

Anne O. Scott

William J. Hagenah

Maria Smithburg

David Byron Smith

Kathleen Hagerty

Pam F. Szokol

Susan K. Stone

Julie Falstad Hayes

Glena Temple

Richard L. Thomas

Joanne Chun Hughes

Ernest W. Torain, Jr.

Ernest P. Waud III

Jane Irwin

Jean Z. Tsai

Susan A. Willetts

Samuel S. Jacobs

Anita M. Tyson

Arthur M. Wood, Jr.

Gregory K. Jones

Catherine M. Waddell

Peter Keehn

Wanjiku J. Walcott

Steven J. Gavin

Megan Kellerman Lydia R. B. Kelley

˚

˚

Barbara Malott Kizziah

˚

Melvin F. Williams, Jr. Nicole S. Williams Ernest C. Wong

Benjamin F. Lenhardt, Jr. Daniel I. H. Linzer

˚ ex officio * deceased

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION US POSTAGE PAID NORTHBROOK, IL

1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, Illinois 60022 U.S.A. chicagobotanic.org (847) 835-5440 One of the treasures of the Forest Preserves of Cook County

To view our Annual Report online, please visit

chicagobotanic.org/annual_report

Our Stewardship and Ecology of Natural Areas (SENA) program prepares interns for careers in habitat restoration.

Here, SENA interns and Windy City Harvest apprentices prepare native plant beds at our Rodeo Farm site. Seed harvested from these plants will help restore native habitats in the Forest Preserves of Cook County.

PERMIT NO. 1568