The Gesneriad Society – Why Your Donations are Important 

The Gesneriad Society – like most not-for-profit organizations – must rely on its friends and supporters to ensure for the Society’s strong financial footing and to help with gesneriad research. Three endowment funds have been established by the Society with these goals in mind.

The Frances Batcheller Endowment Fund is the Society’s capital fund, from which the Society draws to help with educational programs to benefit its members and gesneriad growers world-wide. 

The Elvin McDonald Research Endowment Fund is the Society’s research fund. This fund is used to underwrite research grants for gesneriad researchers whose grant proposals have been reviewed and approved by the Research Committee. 

The Nellie D. Sleeth Scholarship Endowment Fund provides scholarships to interested and deserving students of botany or horticulture

Students and Speakers Convention Fund enables the Society to offer convention grants to graduate and undergraduate students who are studying gesneriads and to offset the travel and lodging costs of speakers at the annual convention.

Gesneriad Research Center Fund enables members of The Gesneriad Society to make donations to the Gesneriad Research Center for the furtherance of gesneriad research and exploration around the world.*

* All monies in the GRC fund will be transferred to the EMREF in the event of the dissolution of the Gesneriad Research Center

Your donations are tax deductible, since the Society is a tax-exempt organization with an IRS section 501(c)(3) tax status for donations.  You can make a donation to The Gesneriad Society in someone's memory or honor. You will have the opportunity to do this during the checkout process or on the mail-in form.

To obtain additional information about making a donation to the Society, contact Development Chairperson Paul Susi, or make your donation online or mail it in now.