Alexandria, Virginia – Calling all artisans, creatives, and floral designers! In light of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the American Floral Endowment has transformed their Annual Fundraising Dinner into a Virtual Mask-erade. All sectors of the floriculture industry are invited to attend including retail, wholesale, affiliate, and suppliers of fresh-cuts, potted plants, hard goods, care products, tools, accessories, and more!
Join AFE’s Board of Trustees and industry supporters by becoming a sponsor or attendee by registering at endowment.org/ GivingtoGrow. Sponsors and attendees will receive an event mask(s) with the Giving to Grow & AFE logo.
Rio Roses is sponsoring a special prize for the best AFE mask photo. The winner will receive FREE roses for ONE YEAR delivered to the winner’s home or business starting in October 2020!
To Enter the Contest:
- Register for the Virtual Mask-erade Dinner at endowment.org/GivingtoGrow by August 31st
- Once you receive your event mask by mail, decorate and customize it
- Take a photo at a fun virtual dinner anywhere!
- Submit your mask photo to AFE using #GivingtoGrow and tag any of American Floral Endowment’s social media accounts:
Instagram – @american_floral_endowment
Facebook – @americanfloralendowment
Twitter – @FloralEndowment
All contest entries must reside in the United States and are due by Friday, September 11th, 2020. Both AFE and Rio Roses will regularly share the submitted photos in their publications, websites, and social media accounts throughout the event and once the event is over, AFE will share a collage of all the participants.
The contest winner will be selected by Rio Roses based on Design Technique/Creativity 40%, Uniqueness 40%, and Location/Background 20%. The winner will be announced on Thursday, October 1st, 2020.
Says Victor Giorgini, President and CEO of Equiflor/Rio Roses, “For 20 years, our company has proudly sponsored the annual AFE Dinner by supplying beautiful flowers from our farms. Even in trying times like these, Rio Roses supports the industry through the work that the American Floral Endowment provides in scholarships, education, internships, and research.”
*See endowment.org/GivingtoGrow for full details
Your charitable donation supports ongoing floral industry programs and is fully tax-deductible. Visit endowment.org/GivingtoGrow to become a sponsor or attendee.
Questions? Contact Karin Krause, Manager of Communications & Outreach at kkrause@afeendowment.org or call 703-838-5202.
About the Virtual Mask-erade Dinner
The American Floral Endowment has been serving the floral industry for 59 years with 44 years of our annual fundraising dinner and they want to continue the streak. This annual dinner is an important and vital fundraising event that helps offset administrative expenses so that more of AFE’s contributions can be used to fund research and programs to help grow the industry. The Endowment is currently funding 12 research projects and 29 annual scholarships totaling over $800,000 000 in research initiatives, educational grants, scholarships, and internships.
About Rio Roses
For the past three decades, the privately-owned Equiflor has been a leading fresh flower grower and distributor in the region. They hand grow and carefully nurture each plant to provide the highest quality flowers every time. What started as a family business in 1986 has flourished into a household name, with the nationally branded, fresh-cut “Rio Roses” distributed via a network of flower wholesalers across the US and Canada. From a state-of-the-art distribution center near Miami International Airport, the growth, importation, distribution, and marketing of roses, carnations, and specialty flowers are carefully managed from the major growing regions of the world.
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
