It may still be winter in Fulton, IL, yet it is time to think spring. Any group or governmental agency that helps maintain or enhance any of Fulton’s public garden areas should consider applying now for grant money, available from the Fulton Gardens Fund. This includes all public gardens and landscaping areas–such as public schools, governmental offices, and public parks.
All applications need to be submitted to FACE (Fulton’s community foundation) on or before Monday, March 6, 2017. Requests can be made for grants to cover most aspects of maintaining or creating a public garden spot, including plantings, landscape elements, equipment, and labor.
FACE is a component fund of the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend. All applications must be submitted using its online grant application system. To access it, go to www.fultonFACE.org and click on “Get a Grant,” then choose “FACE: Fulton Gardens Fund” to get started. If you have questions or want additional information, please contact Connie Koehn at 815-589-2646. Applications must be completed and submitted online by no later than Monday, March 6.
The Fulton Gardens Fund is an endowment established by the Kopf family, through FACE, in 2013 in memory of Gerhart A. Kopf. He spent much of his professional career in the agricultural/nursery fields. Through his Bald Eagle Nursery, he became known for expertise in ornamental grasses and hostas. Over several decades, Gerry Kopf established and helped maintain many beautiful gardens in Fulton, which included grasses as well as tulip and daffodil beds. This fund is intended to maintain and build on his legacy to the community and to honor his efforts and passion to beautify Fulton. It is hoped that this fund will both inspire and assist those who share his passion for beautification.
The fund’s purpose is to permanently support public garden areas in Fulton, by providing grants to help maintain or enhance these gardens. Priority will be given to maintaining garden areas that already exist. Additionally, priority will be given to applications received for those garden areas in which Kopf played a role. These include
- the windmill area/Den Besten Park
- the bike trail flowerbeds on S. 4th Street
- 14th Avenue beautification (tulips at the corners and flowering trees.)
About $600 is expected to be available in 2017. It will be distributed as one or two grants, with no grant for less than $250.
Examples of previous grant recipients:
- Girl Scouts received a grant that helped them enhance the Lincoln Highway gazebo area on 10th Avenue
- the Exploratory Committee for the City of Fulton received a grant allowing them to add plantings along the sidewalk, on the north side of the old Drives/Fidelity building and also on 10th Avenue.