Alexandria, Virginia – For the second year in a row, the American Floral Endowment (AFE)’s annual fundraising event will be held virtually in order to assure the safety and health of the floral community. While we know many are ready to travel this fall to in-person events, many still are not. Since our annual fundraising dinner also serves as a donor recognition event, we plan to have a large in-person celebration in 2022 to honor our industry champions over the past two years. As donors, you can continue to support the industry from home and spare any unnecessary travel.
In honor of our 60th Anniversary celebration this year, AFE’s Board of Trustees and staff have set a goal to raise $60,000 in 60 days through sponsorships from Monday, June 14th to Friday, August 13th. This campaign will be held through peer-to-peer fundraising efforts, calls, and online marketing. With incredible investment to AFE’s mission, every individual board member has committed to a personal goal of raising $6,000 from their own networks and through their own fundraising website. The ultimate objective of this tremendous effort is to continue to help the floral industry flourish and grow through AFE’s many important programs.
For the past 60 years, and only through industry support, AFE has provided vital research, scholarships, internships, and grant funding totaling over $18 million giving back to the industry that we serve. It is only with community support that we will be able to expand funding to help the industry face new challenges and find new advances.
In 2021, AFE committed to funding over $800,000 towards:
- Research to produce healthier, longer-lasting flowers and plants to boost profits for everyone.
- Scholarships and Internships to recruit tomorrow’s leaders and provide and hands-on training for the next generation.
- Educational Grants to provide learning opportunities and knowledge to all industry members.
- Industry resources to recruit and retain top talent including a floral career center, resources to help train your employees, and more.
Contributions support this commitment and ensure that all of AFE’s programs can continue to meet growing demands.
AFE’s Board Chairman, Laura Shinall notes, “It is our mission both as a Board and as industry members ourselves to invest in the future of floral. Through our first-ever virtual peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, we aim to bring more people into the Endowment’s network and broaden the impact of AFE’s programs – further raising awareness of all the resources that are available to our community.”
Sponsorship benefits include commemorative t-shirts, water bottles, advertising opportunities, featured job postings on AFE’s Career Center, and recognition on AFE’s social media and newsletters.
Please consider the sponsorship levels below and join us in supporting sustainable growth for the floral industry for years to come! The deadline for sponsorship commitments is August 13th!
You can make a donation to any of the fundraising pages at endowment.org/60days.
In addition to the 60-day peer-to-peer campaign, the Endowment launched a year-long $60 for 60 campaign in January. Every donation of $60 or more received during 2021 will receive a commemorative t-shirt!
About the American Floral Endowment (AFE)
The American Floral Endowment is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the floriculture and horticulture industry through funding research, educational grants and scholarships. Since 1961, more than $18 million has been funded in research and educational projects, and more than $3 million has been funded in scholarships and internships designed to attract and retain the future leaders of the industry. To learn more about AFE or how you can support floriculture programs, visit www.endowment.org.
