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Innovating a Greener Future

The Finish Line is in Sight for Phase One of our Master Plan!

 

Won’t you partner with us during the final months of this project?

The Phase One finish line for Selby Gardens’ Master Plan campaign is near! And construction is projected to be complete this October — less than 7 months from now! Our Campaign Capping Challenge has been underway with all new gifts being matched dollar-for-dollar by a group of Selby Gardens’ loyal champions. From this point forward — every new gift up to $250,000 will be tripled thanks to leadership support by Willis A. Smith Construction, our construction manager. 

Triple your gift todayGifts at all levels are welcome. To learn more about naming opportunities, please contact Jemma Fagler at 941.210.0576 or jfagler@selby.org.

 

More than 45 years ago…

Marie Selby left her property in our care to preserve a bayfront oasis in the midst of downtown Sarasota. Her executors created the world’s only botanical research garden specializing in epiphytes, or air plants such as orchids and bromeliads.

Selby Gardens has become a leading botanical garden in the United States that is internationally recognized. Through research and education, we are committed to plant conservation and ensuring everyone we reach understands that plants are essential to all life on earth.

In 2020, Selby Gardens adopted Historic Spanish Point as a second campus. This cultural landmark less than 10 miles from the Downtown Sarasota campus boasts an archaeological record that encompasses approximately 5,000 years of Florida history. Today, Selby Gardens’ two campuses offer visitors 45 acres of bayfront sanctuaries connecting people with air plants of the world, native nature, and our regional history.

While our work has progressed, our Downtown Sarasota campus found itself still in need of the infrastructure a public botanical garden requires, especially considering future sea level rise to protect our collections. As Selby Gardens moves into the future, we envision an improved master site plan that connects our more than 230,000 visitors each year with the important work conducted by our professional staff. These improvements move our scientific and living collections out of flood zones and into secure structures using the latest green building technology. We are proud that this plan upholds our past and also ensures Selby Gardens’ future, which has significant scientific importance.

This thought-out plan also allows us to expand on Marie’s original gift to the community at the highest level.

 

CAMPAIGN CHAIRS
Jean Weidner Goldstein
Cornelia Matson
Pauline L. Wamsler

CONTACT INFORMATION
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
1534 Mound Street
Sarasota, Florida 34236

Jennifer O. Rominiecki, President & CEO
jrominiecki@selby.org
941.366.5731, extension 226

Support Solar for a Sustainable
Selby Gardens

With a strategic investment by Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation to power the Downtown Sarasota campus, Selby Gardens is poised to become the First Net Positive Botanical Garden Complex in the World.

You can be a part of this important step to make Selby Gardens an innovative leader in sustainability — locally, nationally, and internationally.

Today, you can make a gift to name a solar panel supporting the future of Selby Gardens. A gift of $2,500 will dedicate a panel in your name or that of a loved one.  A special occasion can also be commemorated.

Your support will make our 50,000-square-foot solar array a reality, while also enabling future energy savings of $100,000 annually from the vital megawatt of power that will be generated.   Your help will allow further investment in our mission to provide bayfront sanctuaries connecting people with air plants of the world, native nature, and our regional history.

Thanks to a generous matching challenge by Marcia Jean Taub & Peter Swain in loving memory of Ethel & Ron Taub, your gift will be DOUBLED!

Selby Gardens’ Strategic Plan

Guided by our mission, the entire organization is committed to fulfilling our vision set forth in this Strategic Plan.

The priorities set forth in the 2016–2021 Strategic Plan guided Marie Selby Botanical Gardens to new peaks and positioned the institution for continued advancement. In our 2022–2025 Strategic Planning process, we determined that the core intentions guiding our work since 2016 remain relevant. Strengthening upon the foundations built will be the focus of the 2022–2025 Strategic Plan. The goals set forth call for bold, deliberate, and pioneering action by Selby Gardens’ diverse stakeholders.

In the 2022–2025 Strategic Plan, we will continue to advance the objectives set forth in the following key pillars:

  • Stewarding and Expanding Our Collections
  • Building Our Visitor Engagement
  • Diversifying Our Revenue Model
  • Securing Our Brand and Global Position
  • Creating the Infrastructure for Our Future
  • Fostering Diversity and Inclusion