WCLO (radio station) and the Janesville Gazette released information today regarding our (Rotary Gardens) desire to charge admissions next year. The reason for this request is because we are in serious financial difficulty. This will require City Council approval and has already elicited a fiery debate in the community regarding this possibility. It's important to note that in our 19 year history, we did accept some funding from the City of Janesville for three years (which essentially supplied less than 5% of our operational budget each year). The other sixteen years had no taxpayer support and we've struggled to raise operational income (particularly in the past five years) to simply maintain the status quo. It has been tough for all non-profits, no doubt, however, based on some of the comments I've read or heard today, we have a serious identity crisis. There seems to be an assumption by many that we should be free even though the vast majority of visitors are not part of our membership program and don't put any money in our donation tubes. We rely on donations and support from the community and visitors from abroad. This support may be in the form of volunteerism, donated materials/services and/or of course monetary donations. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and the public will be able to comment on this proposal at the next City Council meeting. I wont address all the recent, negative comments regarding this proposal from the Rotary Gardens' Board of Directors but do want to make any readers of this blog aware of some of the neat things about their garden that they may not know. Please see below.
- The American Horticultural Society listed Rotary Gardens as one of the best (and least known) botanic gardens in the Midwest
- Rotary Gardens has provided environmental education for tens of thousands of school children of all ages and provides adult education and courses as well
- Disabled and special needs groups consistently utilize the gardens and consider it a great resource
- Rotary Gardens has been featured in nine episodes of The Wisconsin Gardener, was featured on the HGTV show Great American Gardens and was also featured on the PBS show GardenSMART to a national audience in 2007.
- The Japanese garden at Rotary Gardens has consistently been ranked one of the top 25 in North America.
- Rotary Gardens won a national award from All-America Selections (AAS) for our collection of historical AAS winners. Subsequent AAS displays at Rotary Gardens have been featured in national gardening magazines
- Rotary Gardens in one of only six institutions in the United States that is privileged to feature Fleuroselect award winning plants from Europe
- Rotary Gardens is a national display garden for the American Hosta Society and the American Hemerocallis (daylily) Society. Rotary Gardens will be featured in 2010 as part of the American Iris Society national convention for displaying 500 new varieties.
- The fern collection at Rotary Gardens is recognized as one of the best in the country and Rotary Gardens is one of very few gardens in the Midwest working with the Hardy Fern Foundation
- Rotary Gardens is trialing plants for Bailey Nursery, Ball Seed Company and PanAmerican Seed Company
- Rotary Gardens solicits considerable donations of both plants and other gardening materials, however, our budget is dependent on goodwill donations, user fees, special events, grants and other revenue sources
- The beauty of Rotary Gardens is a direct result of a team effort involving a small, paid staff and a very large, dedicated corp of volunteers
Having listed just some of the interesting things about Rotary Gardens, in my tenure here (I'm the veteran paid staff), I've seen an alarming assumption or misunderstanding by many visitors that we are funded by the City of Janesville or Rotary International or possibly the Rotary clubs in town. We have been "admission by donation" for 19 years and have cut expenses, minimized the grounds budget, streamlined events, maximized fundraising, begged and borrowed and in other words, done everything we can to make ends meet and keep the gardens "free".
We realize that people visit Rotary Gardens for various reasons. Perhaps they just want to wander and relax, maybe they're interested in seeing plants or getting landscape ideas, maybe they're a child, learning about vegetables and insects, perhaps a photographer, wedding guest, new visitor in town, etc... These are all valid reasons for visiting but true supporters of the existence of Rotary Gardens should get all the facts regarding our sources of revenue, our expenses and our goals. Over my ten years here, I have heard the comment that we are one of the best botanical gardens in the country at least 50 times by visitors that have travelled extensively and do visit other gardens. We are more than a glorified park as many assume, "gem of the Janesville Park system" (not a City park), showy wedding site, photography backdrop, etc. We are a mission-based non-profit that is desperately concerned about our financial future and continued existence. We hope to maintain the same level of service and commitment to this wonderful community and are exploring one of our last options to do so.
WCLO (radio station) and the Janesville Gazette released information today regarding our (Rotary Gardens) desire to charge admissions next year. The reason for this request is because we are in serious financial difficulty. This will require City Council approval and has already elicited a fiery debate in the community regarding this possibility. It's important to note that in our 19 year history, we did accept some funding from the City of Janesville for three years (which essentially supplied less than 5% of our operational budget each year). The other sixteen years had no taxpayer support and we've struggled to raise operational income (particularly in the past five years) to simply maintain the status quo. It has been tough for all non-profits, no doubt, however, based on some of the comments I've read or heard today, we have a serious identity crisis. There seems to be an assumption by many that we should be free even though the vast majority of visitors are not part of our membership program and don't put any money in our donation tubes. We rely on donations and support from the community and visitors from abroad. This support may be in the form of volunteerism, donated materials/services and/or of course monetary donations. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and the public will be able to comment on this proposal at the next City Council meeting. I wont address all the recent, negative comments regarding this proposal from the Rotary Gardens' Board of Directors but do want to make any readers of this blog aware of some of the neat things about their garden that they may not know. Please see below.
We realize that people visit Rotary Gardens for various reasons. Perhaps they just want to wander and relax, maybe they're interested in seeing plants or getting landscape ideas, maybe they're a child, learning about vegetables and insects, perhaps a photographer, wedding guest, new visitor in town, etc... These are all valid reasons for visiting but true supporters of the existence of Rotary Gardens should get all the facts regarding our sources of revenue, our expenses and our goals. Over my ten years here, I have heard the comment that we are one of the best botanical gardens in the country at least 50 times by visitors that have travelled extensively and do visit other gardens. We are more than a glorified park as many assume, "gem of the Janesville Park system" (not a City park), showy wedding site, photography backdrop, etc. We are a mission-based non-profit that is desperately concerned about our financial future and continued existence. We hope to maintain the same level of service and commitment to this wonderful community and are exploring one of our last options to do so.
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