Spring Meadow - Proven Winners® Endowment Fund tops $1 million

Grand Haven’s Spring Meadow Nursery and the Horticultural Research Institute (HRI) are pleased to announce that the Spring Meadow - Proven Winners® Endowment Fund has topped $1 million.

Dale & Liz Deppe established the Spring Meadow - Proven Winners® Endowment Fund with HRI in 1999 with the belief that bright, well-trained, and qualified people are essential to the green industry and that backing motivated students plays a vital role in protecting and growing the industry.

To mark the achievement, the Redwood Circle award was presented to Dale Deppe at the HRI reception held Saturday evening, July 10, at Cultivate ’21. The presentation also included a video honoring the Deppe’s, which features words of appreciation from many of the Spring Meadow – Proven Winners scholarship recipients. One such recipient, Jacklyn Stupienski, said, “I’m so grateful to be part of an industry that inherently wants what’s best for our world and our environment. Dale and the Spring Meadow – Proven Winners scholarship embody the kind of support and encouragement I hope to give the generation that follows me and my peers.”

Dale Deppe is deeply committed to investing in the next generation of horticulture professionals. “Our team has been blessed by this industry and the mentors who’ve helped us along the way. It’s important that we pay it forward by continuing to support students and horticultural research through the HRI endowed fund.” Said Deppe.

As with most non-profits, HRI delineates giving by levels. Until recently, the organization defined eight levels, or “Circles,” with the Emerald Circle being the highest at $500,000 and above in total giving. With the Spring Meadow Nursery - Proven Winners® Endowment Fund topping $1 million, a new circle called the Redwood Circle – Million Dollar Fund was established.

The HRI website states, “Endowed gifts are an investment in the industry’s future success.” Gifts to the endowment establish an enduring legacy that benefits the industry in perpetuity with the principal of a donation invested and the earnings used to fund research and scholarship.

The Spring Meadow-Proven Winners Endowment Fund provides support for scholarships and horticultural research that meets industry-approved standards for value, impact, and accountability. The fund seeks to support research that has definable outcomes and represents a return on investment for the green industry.