![](https://cdn.perishablenews.com/2020/09/fl234.jpg)
Alexandria, Virginia – The floral community came together and gave to grow the industry through these uncertain times. The American Floral Endowment raised over $80,000 through sponsorships, registrations, and donations which will help fund scholarships, internships, grants, and other industry programs.
Due to the event being unconventionally held fully virtually, AFE was able to net bring in more support for the floral industry than ever before during times when research and development are especially needed to adapt to the new normal. It may have been virtual, but it still brought the community together through some fun mask photos. We thank our sponsors and supporters for making this such a successful event!
We will be announcing the winner of our photo contest with Rio Roses on October 1st! The virtual event included a fun and creative mask design contest sponsored by Rio Roses, where the winner will receive a monthly arrangement of roses for an entire year! We collected and shared over 90 photo submissions over the duration of the event through our social media:
Instagram – @american_floral_endowment
Facebook – @americanfloralendowment
Twitter – @FloralEndowment
From at-home game and date nights to beach and fishing trips, the mask-erade spanned across the US encouraging attendees to have a nice dinner or day out wherever they prefer while personalizing their own mask look.
About 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 $16 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. www.endowment.org.