FUNDRAISER

Our Fundraising Efforts

Wow wow wow!! We did it!! Thank you to every neighbor, friend and community partner that supported us over the years! Penn Treaty Special Services District and the Joseph Robert Foundation in particular, and special thanks to Senator Nikil Saval, Representative Mary Isaacson, Council President Darrell Clarke for their critical political support. This funding gets us over the finish line to purchase the garden in partnership with Neighborhood Gardens Trust and secure the land as PERMANENT green space in our urban neighborhood. Go Green! Go Philly!

The Crease Street Garden Board is proud to share that its non-profit partner, The Neighborhood Gardens Trust, (NGT), submitted a funding application to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) on May 31, 2022 in an effort to complete the Board’s years-long fundraising effort that will allow NGT to acquire the Garden and preserve it as an asset to the Fishtown community.  Several community leaders including Darrell Clarke, Nikal Saval, and Mary Isaacson, as well as the Fishtown Neighbors Association, have graciously provided the Board with endorsement letters to submit with the DCED application.

We expect the DCED to announce grant approvals sometime in the Fall of 2022.  If the funding is approved, NGT hopes to close on its purchase of the Garden by early 2023.

This funding application to the DCED process would not be possible without the generous support of you, our neighbors,  as well as the generous grants made by the Penn Treaty Special Services District, and Joseph Robert Foundation.  NGT believes the funds raised by the Garden Board, which represent about one-third of the contract price of the land, will make a strong case for the DCED to fund the balance of the price of the land.

The Crease Street Garden was born 10 years ago when neighbors came together to clear an overgrown, abandoned lot that was inviting crime. It has since grown into a vital community garden. Open to all, it is now public space where we join together and continue to build and nurture our neighborhood.  

As Fishtown is rapidly being developed, the garden is now threatened. Our only hope to keep this precious gem as permanent green space is to purchase it. To achieve this, we have joined in partnership with the Neighborhood Gardens Trust, a recognized leader in Urban Land Preservation. NGT will be supporting us in securing government grants for the bulk of the purchase price, but we still need to raise about $100,000 by the end of 2021.

Can you help? 

The garden is an important green space for all to enjoy, and this will make it a permanent part of the Fishtown neighborhood. We look forward to enjoying the Garden together for many years to come!

Please visit our GoFund Me page to make a donation to help us SAVE THE GARDEN!

If you would like to receive information about other fundraising efforts and/or updates about the garden, please email us at friendsofcreasestgarden@gmail.com or fill out the message form on our contact page.

Below you can view our purpose statement, the full details of the fundraiser and how all of the funds will be used, the PTSSD Grant, and endorsements from our neighbors!

The official registration and financial information of Friends of the Crease Street Garden may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania,
1 (800) 732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.