Selby Gardens Receives $1 Million for Endowment as Part of the Downtown Sarasota Campus Master Plan

May 12, 2021 – Sarasota

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens (Selby Gardens) is thrilled to announce a $1 million dollar gift from Jean Weidner Goldstein, towards the endowment of the Master Plan for the Downtown Sarasota campus. Goldstein serves on Selby Gardens’ Board of Trustees and is a leadership donor and co-chair of the capital campaign, Innovating a Greener Future- Living Inspiration for The Living Museum®: The Campaign for Selby Gardens.

“Selby Gardens is an extraordinary garden of international stature, not only for its world-class collections, but for the Master Plan,” says Jean Weidner Goldstein. “The sustainability features of this Master Plan will solidify Selby Gardens’ as a leader in sustainability worldwide. Becoming the world’s first net positive botanical garden complex will ensure that Selby Gardens is an internationally-renowned cornerstone of sustainability for the generations to come.” 

“We are incredibly grateful for Jean’s generosity,” says Jennifer Rominiecki, president & CEO of Selby Gardens. “Jean is a devoted supporter of Selby Gardens. With this generous gift to our endowment, Jean is investing in the future of Selby Gardens. We are so fortunate to have her unwavering commitment.”

Jean’s late husband, Alfred R. Goldstein, provided a leadership gift for Phase I of the Master plan to create a new arrival experience for visitors with the Jean Goldstein Welcome Center.

Jean is also responsible for the signature Jean & Alfred Goldstein Exhibition Series, now in its fifth year, that launched The Living Museum® operational model. In addition, with Teri A Hansen and Margaret Wise she created the “Lunch in the Gardens” series. Further, she has consistently supported Selby Gardens’ education and outreach programs, including the creation of the Groundworks program of Designing Women Boutique to expand awareness and support of our work with underserved children and families in our region. 

To date, Selby Gardens has raised more than $35 million or 80 percent of the $42.5 million needed to implement Phase I of the Master Plan. Selby Gardens will hold aGroundbreaking Ceremony on Thursday, June 3 at 10 a.m.

“I would like to thank the inspired leadership of Jennifer Rominiecki and her team for the transformation taking place and for all the board members, staff and volunteers who have shepherded the gardens from its inception without whom all of this would not be possible,” says Goldstein. 

For more information, please contact Lynn H. Bates, lbates@selby.org.