The number 41-4087417 may not mean much to most people, but it means a lot to the board and staff of The Giving Gardens. That is the number that the Internal Revenue Service recently issued to The Giving Gardens (GG), completing the organization’s transition to a fully independent nonprofit organization.
According to John Curtis, GG founder and executive director, The Giving Gardens is an organization with the mission to “strengthen communities with more gardens in more neighborhoods.”
Currently, the organization manages seven public access gardens in Macomb, as well as public access gardens in Colchester, Bushnell, Roseville and Morton. The nonprofit also manages a large production garden outside of Macomb, raising produce to share at local food pantries.
Since its founding in 2022, The Giving Gardens has been housed at First Presbyterian Church in Macomb at 400 E. Carroll St. Since that time, First Presbyterian Church has provided land, office space, tool storage and the use of the church’s commercial kitchen. The church has also served as the fiscal sponsor for GG.
“Setting up a nonprofit organization is often the best way to help your community, especially if you’re hoping to help in an unusual way.
However, creating a nonprofit from scratch is a real challenge. First Presbyterian Church not only sheltered us when we needed the space, they also basically adopted us until we could grow to the point that GG could stand entirely on its own,” Curtis shared. “With FPC acting as our fiscal sponsor, we were able to apply for grants and have our book keeping and accounting done by the church. We just couldn’t have gotten started without that help.”
IRS recognition is only the final step in what has been a long process of developing into a strong organization.
“In January, we seated our first board of directors who have created bylaws, developed policies and got us started with Quickbooks (for accounting) among other things. I know that all of this sounds very boring, but these are essential steps if you want to create the organizational infrastructure needed to grow into an organization that has a much bigger impact. We have those kinds of ambitions,” Curtis added. “We want to continue putting new public access gardens until we have one within easy walking distance of every home in Macomb and we want to make it possible for every small town in our region to create their own Giving Garden in their community.” For more information, visit givinggardensforall. com or the gardens’ You-Tube Channel, Facebook or Instagram pages at givinggardensforall.
