The Business of the Minnesota Turf and Grounds Foundation

By SAM BAUER President Minnesota Turf and Grounds Foundation

Momentum

I often wonder what my life would have been like if I would have taken a different career path. Where would I be? What would I be doing? It’s incredible to think that seemingly small decisions at the time have such a dramatic impact on the path you take in life. My path has been an interesting one, filled with many jobs and great people along the way. The green industry has been very good to me and it’s fun to reflect on some of those memories.

I became aware of the Minnesota Turf and Grounds Foundation (MTGF) in the early 2000s. In 2007, I was hired by MTGF to manage the booth at the Northern Green Expo (what we called it back then) that year. This was right around the time of our large economic impact study of the turf and grounds industry in Minnesota. If my memory serves me right, and no promises there, our study demonstrated a $1.2 billion dollar economic impact of the turf and grounds industry in the state of Minnesota. Now that’s pretty significant.

The livelihood of our foundation, and our seven allied associations, relies on turf and grounds research to advance our understanding of the work we do. The MTGF has a long history of supporting turf and grounds research through various institutions across the state and in the Midwest. If fact, since 2001, we have donated over $1.8 million dollars to thirty research programs at the University of Minnesota and beyond. This is something we are very proud of. Over the past 20 years, our annual grant program has averaged almost $88,000 per year in donations. In our most charitable year (2009) we funded $138,000, a close second being 2018 with $134,715 in funding In our least charitable year (2021) we funded $0 due to the pandemic, virtual conference, and financial implications that came with that. Being a foundation whose sole purpose is to fund research, 2021 was a tough year for us. But we have the momentum. (See Page 10 for Funding since 2002)

JimRepresentative O’Neill

Eco Works Supply

Vendor

JamesRepresentative Wolfin

Twin City Seed Company

University of Minnesota

Turfgrass Extension

Jon Trappe

University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

Turfgrass Extension

Dr. Eric Watkins

University of Minnesota

Executive Director

Jeff Turtinen

763-703-4983 turtinen@mtgf.org

P. O. Box 617

Wayzata, MN 55391 www.mtgf.org

Our most charitable years were a very short time ago and I truly believe that we can get back to our historical giving numbers with the support from every one of you. It was just a short three years ago that we were donating over $100,000 through our competitive grant program and we can get back there. Let’s not let this momentum slip away.

There are many opportunities for you to be involved. First and foremost, a majority of our charitable dollars are generated from the Northern Green conference held in January every year. This year we are excited about the move to the River Centre in St. Paul, and we hope to see you all there from January 23rd-25th, 2024. Along with the conference changes, there will be an outdoor component to be held on the State Fairgrounds in October of 2024. You can directly support the MTGF by donating on our website at mtgf.org. Additionally, we encourage you to support and engage with your local associations, the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association, and the University of Minnesota by participating in field days and stakeholder events. The University of Minnesota Parks, Fields, and Grounds Field day is being held on the St. Paul Campus on June 28th, 2023. I hope to see you all there.

Sam Bauer President Minnesota Turf and Grounds Foundation