Endowment for Excellence

Endowment gifts provide a long-term investment that will weather the financial storms of our precarious economy and provide essential support into perpetuity. A gift to the Endowment for Excellence is way of insuring that future generations will have a green space to visit and to learn about plants from around the world. Your gift to the Endowment for Excellence is wise investment for the future—helping to provide a beautiful tranquil setting where families can enjoy and appreciate nature.

What is the JC Raulston Arboretum Endowment for Excellence?

This endowment is the root system that slowly but surely secures the stability and growth of the JC Raulston Arboretum’s plant collections, garden development, educational programs, and public outreach. Your gift is a lasting legacy and a wise investment for the future of JC Raulston Arboretum.

Garden Development

The endowment will contribute to the renovation, maintenance, and construction of specialty gardens that showcase sought after plants.

Future gardens:

  • Pavilion
  • Pedestrian entrance
  • Ellipse (signature event space)
  • English wall (signature wall along Beryl Road)
  • Edibles garden
  • Turf alternatives display
  • And more

Plant Collections

The endowment will help expand plant varieties by supporting:

  • Faculty, staff, and student research of new plants suitable for landscape
  • The propagation and distribution of plant germplasm to nurseries, researchers, and other gardens
  • The identification of new varieties through international travels

Children's Program

The endowment will help offer discovery classes and activities to:

  • Teach children about plants, gardening, and horticulture
  • Stimulate children's abilities to observe, analyze, and interact with plants
  • Develop children's appreciation for the environment and for the need for conservation

Technical Support

The endowment will help recruit key experts whose work will impact:

  • Maintenance of the gardens
  • Research
  • Partnership with the green industry
  • Expansion of Arboretum facilities

For more information about the Endowment for Excellence or to create a named endowment of your own, please contact Alycia Thornton, director of development, at (919) 513-7068 or alycia_thornton@ncsu.edu.