A small organization with big ideas, the Maine School Garden Network (MSGN) has been carrying out its mission to promote and support youth gardening in Maine since 2002. With over 250 school gardens registered in its online Garden Directory and collaborations with numerous like-minded organizations throughout Maine, MSGN impacts more than 40,000 students in Maine each year!

“We provide guidance and support to anyone who works with educational gardens in Maine through our events and programs, website, referrals, newsletter, and Facebook posts,” shares Susan Sager, MSGN Coordinator. Made up of a group of committed individuals who believe in the profound importance of teaching youth to garden (and the far-reaching value of adding a gardening curriculum to schools), the MSGN’s volunteer Board of Directors and part-time staff dedicate their time, knowledge, and experience to make a difference in the way students learn.

In 2023, the MSGN conducted a Network Survey of school gardens in Maine to get a snapshot of their needs after the pandemic. “The survey results continue to inform our planning and work as we move forward,” says Sager. “For example, not only did we find out that only 52% of school garden coordinators in Maine get paid anything for their efforts, we also learned that only 20% are given funding through their school budgets.” In response to these issues, MSGN secured grant funding to begin offering its School Garden Caretaker Grants in 2023, and in 2024, launched a fundraiser for its 2026 School Garden of the Month Calendar.

“The calendar fundraiser idea grew out of the already existing series of School Garden of the Month profiles that were begun in 2016,” Sager explains. “It provides a way to reach a broader audience by highlighting the amazing work of twelve school gardens each year in calendar form for the education and enjoyment of the buyers.” Not only does the project diversify MSGN’s funding sources and amplify its mission to support and promote youth gardens in Maine, but it also provides participating school gardens with a much-needed way to raise funds and promote their school garden efforts in their local communities. Although still in the beginning stages of development, the project is already a success!

Fundraising Calendar Methodology 

Here is the detailed step-by-step method that Maine School Garden Network uses to create it's fundrasing calendar.

• All aspects of the project begin prior to the calendar year. MSGN started fundraising for the 2026 calendar project and organizing the photo review process in 2024!
• Grant funding is sought to help subsidize the project by providing seed money to support planning and promotion of the calendar.
• Twelve “Sponsors of the Month” are solicited from businesses and organizations in the fall, which helps cover most of the printing costs for the calendar in the spring.
• Printing quotes are requested from several printers, and a printer is selected.
• School gardens are encouraged to enter up to five photographs through an online application form, which opens in November. Schools must be in-state, have a listing in the MSGN Garden Directory, and sign a photo release form ensuring that the submitted images are available for the project.
• A review committee is formed to reviews and select the winning photographs in late January.
• One school receives the added designation of “School Garden of the Year” and is featured as the calendar cover image, as well as one of the months.
• The calendar layout and design are created in-house in February, and the final version is proofread before being sent to the printer in March.
• The MSGN website is updated to include an online ordering option for both individual and wholesale orders of ten or more calendars.
• The calendar is shipped in early May, before Maine School Garden Day, and is available for the summer tourist season in Maine at participating businesses.
• At Maine School Garden Day in May, a Calendar Launch Party was held to celebrate the school garden photographs and coordinators.
• Maine School Garden Day and Annual Meeting attendees had the option to pick up orders there to save on shipping costs or request a sample to take to their school fundraisers, such as plant sales, farm stands, and other school events.
• Local businesses, such as greenhouses, plant nurseries, food co-ops, and bookstores, are approached about selling the calendar, with samples sent upon request.
• MSGN applied for a Maine Sales Tax number and keep accurate records of sales, shipping, and sales tax collected for their Treasurer. Check with your state to determine the requirements for collecting sales tax where you are located.
• The process is repeated for the next year before the current year’s calendar project is finished!

“The far-reaching ripple effect of the calendar project has been gratifying to behold,” says Sager. “Our ‘School Garden of the Year’ for the 2026 Calendar is Mount Desert Elementary School with their ‘Growing Gardens, Growing Minds’ school garden in Northeast Harbor, Maine. Not only was the school chosen for the cover image of the calendar, but their state representative also obtained a Maine Proclamation for them as the School Garden of the Year! Then the Garden Club of Mount Desert submitted their school garden coordinator, Patty Kelley, for the Elizabeth Abernathy Hull Award from the Garden Club of America and surprised her with the award at a club meeting where she was the guest speaker!”

Although MSGN is still in the selling phase for the 2026 calendar and gearing up for the 2027 calendar, the organization continues to learn ways to improve the project and expects future School Garden of the Month Calendar fundraisers to only get better. “We are happy to report that we recently found out that we have received three more years of funding from a foundation! We are currently soliciting twelve Sponsors of the Month for the 2027 calendar and will open the application for school gardens to submit photos in November,” Sager shares.

Thank you to the Maine School Garden Network for sharing about their 2026 School Garden of the Month Calendar.