Giving to Grow - Virtual Mask-erade Fundraising Dinner

Giving to Grow – Virtual Mask-erade Fundraising Dinner

In light of the COVID-19 Pandemic, American Floral Endowment transformed our Annual Fundraising Dinner into a Virtual Mask-erade. Supporters of the Endowment were in a unique position in 2020 to do more for the industry from the safety of their homes. The Endowment’s work is ongoing and vital to the continued growth and development of the floral industry as we adapt to this new normal.

In 2020, AFE committed to funding over $800,000 in research initiatives, educational grants, scholarships, and internships. We’ve been serving the floral community for 59 years with 44 years of our annual fundraising dinner and we won’t let the coronavirus break our streak.

The event featured a photo contest sponsored by Rio Roses. The contest ran from August until mid-September and encouraged participants to use their Giving to Grow event mask to design their own mask-erade look. The best mask-erade photo wins 50 stems of Rio Roses sent to them monthly for an entire year starting this month!

See the Mask-erade!

Sponsors and attendees shared their mask-erade photos using #GivingtoGrow and tagged us.

View the Photos

Out of over 90 entries, Cactus Flower Florists in Scottsdale, Arizona won and will be receiving FREE roses for a YEAR! Rio Roses conducted scoring based on design technique/creativity, uniqueness, and location/background. Read more about the contest and winner here.

Thanks to our amazing floral community the event was a great success! We raised over $80,000 to support the Endowment’s programs. We are very grateful for the ongoing support whether in-person or at home — thank you for standing by the industry and funding its continued growth.