Giving Opportunities

Gifts in Support of the Arboretum
South Seattle Community College maintains a beautiful Arboretum at the far north end of the campus as an amenity for the benefit of the college and the surrounding West Seattle community. This six-acre garden is a park-like setting with walking paths, multiple specialty gardens, reflecting pools and large gazebo. Visitors can see Elliott Bay and the Seattle skyline from the garden’s northern-most edge. The Arboretum serves as an outdoor classroom and living laboratory where students in the college’s Landscape Horticulture Program benefit from hands-on experiences. This working garden provides our students with instructional opportunities in the areas of landscape design, plant identification, arboriculture, irrigation, landscape maintenance and landscape construction.

Gifts to the Arboretum Fund. Gifts made to the Arboretum Fund are a great way to support this special garden at South. The Arboretum Fund provides general support to the Arboretum; gifts to the fund are applied to the area of greatest need. For example, your generous financial contribution to the Arboretum Fund might support development of new gardens, expansions and updates of existing gardens, the expenses of maintenance and upkeep, or the cost of student internships in the Arboretum.

Commemorative Giving at the Arboretum. The college offers a number of commemorative giving opportunities designed to celebrate a loved one or a special friend while providing support for the South Seattle Community College Arboretum. Tribute gifts of any amount are welcomed and provide much-needed financial support to sustain this resource for the West Seattle Community.

Memorial Gifts. Gifts of any amount may be made in honor or memory of an individual or group. Memorial or tribute gifts are a popular way to make a thoughtful gift recognizing a friend or family member while demonstrating support for the Arboretum. In response to each gift, a personalized card is sent to the family of the honoree notifying them of the gift.

Commemorative Trees. A tree in the South Seattle Community College Arboretum may be dedicated in memory or honor of an individual or group with a gift of $1,000. In keeping with the Arboretum's development plan, the commemorative tree program does not provide for planting new trees, but rather the dedication of young, already established trees, about two to three years of age. Available commemorative trees are identified each year by the Arbortetum Coordinator in cooperation with the Foundation. Dedicated trees will be identified with a permanent name card. If in the future a dedicated tree must be removed due to death, disease or changes in the Arboretum, a substitute tree will be appropriately identified.

Commemorative Benches. With a gift of $5,000, a bench may be dedicated in the Arboretum, in memory or honor of an individual or group. In respect for the Arboretum's plan, bench sites are pre-determined and sold on a first-come, first-served basis. A small plaque is inscribed with tribute information and mounted on the bench.

Scholarships and Internships. Donors may make gifts in support of student internships in the Arboretum or scholarships for Landscape Horticulture Students. Currently a gift of $1,000 will provide support for a one-quarter working internship. Learn more about scholarships.

Harlow Carr Garden Internships. South Seattle Community College maintains a special relationship with the Royal Horticulture Society’s Harlow Carr Garden, located in North Yorkshire, England. A select group of our most promising students are offered the opportunity to complete a summer internship at this internationally famous botanical garden. Contributions of $1,000 per student allows the Foundation to offer stipends in support of this unique educational opportunity.

Endowment Gifts. Endowment gifts can be made to establish permanent funds that would support the Arboretum, scholarships or internships. The Foundation manages an endowment by investing the original gift and then using the earnings to fund the charitable purpose in perpetuity. Learn more about endowments.

For more information on giving to the Arboretum, please contact us.