Two more Garland residents have joined the planning committee for the Garland Urban Agricultural Center and Community Garden--Ken and Kellie Dyer.
I met both of them this August at the Garland Marketplace event on the square in downtown Garland and I'm looking forward to their participation on this project. Kellie is a school teacher and Ken is a sign designer. Look at a few of his preliminary designs for a logo (Using "loving Garland Green" as an example.) Tonight I'm hoping we will decide on a name and a mission statement.
After establishing our identity, we will be able to move ahead full speed with creating the rest of our business plan and submitting it to Mayor Athas and other appropriate members of Garland city government.
Update on Pecan Gathering for Fund Raiser
To date I've gathered 24 pounds of Texas native pecans. As the lead co-creator for fundraising, my goal is to double that poundage over the coming weekend and by next weekend I hope to have 100 pounds of Texas native pecans. Eventually before this fund raiser is over mid-December, we hope to have sold over 300 pounds.
Look for members of our team to hit the Garland streets the weekend before Thanksgiving. We will be selling Texas native pecans at $3 a pound on street corners all over Garland. This first fund raiser has a primary purpose of creating interest and public awareness of who we are and what we hope to accomplish. Of course, we also plan to raise at least $900.
Upcoming Fund Raisers
As part of our business plan, we have several seasonal fund raisers planned. Put the Love and History of Texas Native Pecans in Your Holiday Baking by supporting Love Garland Green --our Thanksgiving and Christmas fund raiser. Other fund raisers planned include: Give Us Your Best New Year's Resolution; Give Garland Your Heart on Valentine's Day; DFW Community Gardens Tour--Spring 2014; A Midsummer's Night Dream in Garland; and Fall for Garland. These will be recurring annual events.
In addition to these fund raisers, we will of course apply for various grants that suit our profile and mission as a nonprofit. I am also exploring the possibility of appealing to people through online funding tools such as Kickstarter.
Julia Childs was quoted as once saying: "You can never have too much butter."
You can quote iflizwerequeen as saying: "A nonprofit doing good for the community can never have too much money." And that's why I'm in charge of fund-raising for our group.
