BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY

Our goals and objectives include: To develop, maintain and promote programs for public education in gardening, horticulture and conservation relevant to the botanical heritage of the Pacific Northwest; To assist the City of Bellevue to develop the Bellevue Botanical Garden into a resource of regional and international renown; to increase public awareness of the Bellevue Botanical Garden and support the City of Bellevue in making the BBG an attractive destination for public enjoyment and passive recreation; to support Garden enhancement and endowment through fundraising; and lastly, to broaden and support our membership and volunteer growth to help reach the goals listed above.

Our Strategies include: Our Education Strategies include offering horticultural classes to all age levels: We offer Adult Education classes annually on a wide variety of topics of interest to gardeners of all levels, as well as 6 top-notch lectures with speakers from around the world. Our Children's Education "Living Lab" program is offered at no charge to elementary students. Our "Kids in the Garden" preschool program for 3-5 year-olds is offered 3 times a year in 4-week sessions. We provide two Scout-Days. Our Docents lead regular weekend afternoon tours and answer questions from visitors around the world. Our Garden Development and Maintenance Strategies include: supporting the City of Bellevue in helping to fund installation of key Bellevue Botanical Garden structures and plantings through fundraising such as our Capitol Campaign. Our Garden Public Relations and Marketing strategy includes our Trillium Store, which serves as both an Information Center for the Garden and a fundraiser. We increase the Bellevue Botanical Garden and Society's exposure through our website and social media, as well as in local and regional publications. Our Fundraising, Community Events and Membership strategies include: Three major volunteer run events a year; raising funds through special events; 501 Common's GiveBIG fundraising event in May, and our annual year-end appeal.

The Bellevue Botanical Garden Society has a very active Board of Directors and involved volunteer base, with over 2400 registered Bellevue Botanical Garden Society Members. We are able to fund 2 full time staff, and 2 part time staff to run our Education, Marketing, and Fund Development programs.

Our Education program offers over 30 adult education classes annually on a wide variety of topics of interest to gardeners of all levels, as well as 6 top-notch lectures with speakers from around the world. Our Children's Education Living Lab program is offered at no charge to over 2500 elementary students from 30 schools each year, additional funding could increase the number of students served in the future. Our Kids in the Garden preschool program for 3-5 year olds is offered 3 times a year in 4-week sessions. We provide two Scout Days, serving about 200 youth a year. Our 33 Docents provide regular weekend afternoon tours and answer questions from visitors around the world. Our Community Events attract large numbers: "Mother's Day at the Garden" with 4000 attendees, Arts in the Garden in August with 7000 attendees, and Garden d'Lights in December, with over 90,000 attendees. We also raise funds through a variety of strategies throughout the year.