BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Through education and community involvement, we inspire all generations to advance Northwest horticulture knowledge, and preserve natural beauty and our local ecology.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Living Lab
The Living Lab Program is a science-based program for children in grades K-5. The program serves local public and private schools and supports the mission of the Bellevue Botanical Garden Society, as well as the Interpretive Plan of the Bellevue Botanical Garden. All activities are interactive, fun, hands-on, and aligned with the Washington State Standards for Science.
Kids in the Garden preschool program
KIDS IN THE GARDEN is a Science Discovery Program. Designed especially for preschoolers, ages 3-5, our 4-week program will teach kids about the many parts of a garden, from birds to bugs and lots in between. Classes are taught by an experienced preschool science teacher. The curriculum is based on “Growing Wild” and is part of “Project Learning Tree,” a nationally recognized science program.
Scout Workshops
The Bellevue Botanical Garden is a great place for enjoying and learning about nature and the environment. We offer Scout badge workshops for Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and all levels of Girl Scouts twice a year.
Adult Lecture Series
Our popular lecture series fulfills our mission to inspire all generations to advance horticultural knowledge and to preserve natural beauty and our local ecology through education and community involvement. Our lectures bring speakers from all over the world to teach, entertain and enrich.
Adult Horticultural classes
We provide a wide variety of gardening, horticulture and environmental classes year-round open to anyone in the community.
Docent Tours
Our Docents lead walking tours throughout the garden and answer questions, provide historical details and give insights into the landscape. Docents give more depth to the garden visit. Our docents go through a nine-week training program covering a wide range of topics from botany and plant identification to the history of the Garden. Docent tours are scheduled in advance but they are also on site on weekends to answer questions. Public tours are conducted each Saturday and Sunday afternoon from April through October.
Garden d'Lights
Garden d’Lights features over half a million sparkling lights formed into the whimsical shapes of plants, flowers, birds, animals, and cascading waterfalls set amid the natural beauty of the Bellevue Botanical Garden. This event takes place the Saturday after Thanksgiving through the New Year, 4:30-9:00pm nightly, including holidays. Some nights are free to the public, many nights are a fundraiser for garden programs: $5 per person 11 and over | children 10 and under are free. This volunteer produced event brings over 90,000 visitors to the Bellevue Botanical Garden each season and is our largest public outreach event. www.gardendlights.org
Arts in the Garden
Arts in the Garden is a three-day garden art show featuring art in the natural setting of the Bellevue Botanical Garden. Over 8000 people attend this summer event that increases public awareness of the garden in our region. www.artsinthegardenbellevue.org
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
American Public Gardens Association 2023
External reviews

Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
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.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
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.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
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.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
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.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY
Board of directorsas of 02/06/2023
Tracy Botsford
Amy Doughty
Robin Root-James
Doris Wong-Estridge
Kathleen Searcy
Chuck Freedenberg
Sara Hutton
Jane Ramsay
Genevieve MacDonald
Nita-Jo Rountree
Carolyn Yuen
Tracy Botsford
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? No -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
No data
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
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Sexual orientation
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Disability
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