At Park Seed Company, we believe in “doing well by doing good.” Park Seed and Wayside Gardens receive hundreds of donation requests each year from all around the country, and we do our best to fulfill as many as we can.

Preference for donations is given to:

• Organizations, events, and projects that actively promote the joys and benefits of gardening, or that use gardening as an educational or therapeutic tool
• Requests that have the greatest potential to generate broad visibility for the company and to directly reach serious gardening enthusiasts all across the USA
• Organizations located in the home of Park Seed Company’s headquarters, Greenwood County, South Carolina

This Web page describes the contribution options we offer to qualified parties and explains how to submit a request.

Park reserves the right to change these guidelines at any time without notice, and to limit the size and frequency of donations at will. Donations are made only when funding and materials are readily available. A donation from Park to any organization does not necessarily constitute support for the mission and goals of that organization. Park cannot be held liable for the actions of donation recipients.

Park’s Donation Guidelines

Only requests submitted through this Web site will be considered. Contributions are not made to individuals. Park accepts requests from registered 501(c)(3) non-profit groups, authorized garden clubs, educational institutions, and health/human services organizations only.

Note that each type of request has specific guidelines defining who can receive donations and what types of donations are available. Please study the guidelines below carefully before you apply.

How do I request catalogs for classroom or conference use?

• Classroom use. Park is pleased to provide catalogs in bulk for educational use to accredited schools (K-12), colleges, and universities. Although catalog cover prices range from $3.00 to $5.00, we ask only that you pay for the shipping. The catalogs that we send are recent, but not necessarily the most current version. Use the Educational Catalog Order Form to let us know what you need.
• Club and conference use. Rather than burden garden clubs and conferences with shipping and handling large numbers of books, Park provides catalog request cards for distribution at meetings and conferences. Use the Catalog Request Card Order Form to tell us what you need.
• Customer use. Anyone who wants a single catalog for personal use can request one from our retail Web sites. Click below to go directly to the catalog request page of your choice:
• Park Seed
• Wayside Gardens
• Park's Landscapes
• Park Wholesale

How do I get free seeds or plants for my project?

• County Extension Service/Master Gardener educational projects. County Extension Agents can receive up to 50 packets of seeds for use where Master Gardeners are working with children or community members in “hands-on” projects. Use the Master Gardener Educational Projects Request Form to make your selections.
• Professional trial gardens. County extension agents, university faculty members, or professional garden writers can receive up to 12 packets of seeds for use in trial gardens and testing. Use the Trial Gardens Request Form to make selections from Park’s newest varieties.
• General educational projects. Schools and community organizations seeking seeds for learning projects should apply to the National Gardening Youth Gardening Grant at: http://www.kidsgardening.com/grants.asp.
  Schools, youth groups, community centers, camps, clubs, treatment facilities, and intergenerational groups throughout the United States are eligible. Applicants must plan to garden with at least 15 children between the ages of three and 18 years.
• General community projects. Park Seed receives an overwhelming number of donation requests for free seeds and plants. Only a few requests can be filled. If your organization meets our criteria, complete and submit the online application form.

How do I ask for seeds or plants to use as gifts and conference favors?

• Requestors representing garden-oriented conferences can obtain “conference special” cards to include on information tables or in “goodie bags” using the Conference Special Request Card Form. One side of this card directs the bearer to the Wayside Gardens website and offers $20 off their first order of $100 or more. The flip side of the card provides a similar offer for use at the Park’s Landscaping website. Use the conference special card form to request these items.

How do I get cash donations for my organization?
Requestors can apply for only one fundraising donation each year. The number of awards made annually is limited by the funding amount budgeted by Park Seed for that period.

• National Fundraising Options
  Qualified organizations from around the United States can request donation of a fifty-dollar gift certificate to be auctioned, put in gift basket, distributed via prize drawing, and so forth.
  
• What additional support is available to groups in Greenwood, SC?
  Because Greenwood, South Carolina has been Park Seed and Wayside Garden’s home for many years, local organizations have access to some additional forms of support from us.

If your organization meets our criteria, complete and submit the online application form. Twice each year, in January and July, a committee of Park Seed employees reviews those applications and distributes awards. The committee follows strict guidelines and operates within a fixed budget. Awards are distributed by mid-February for the January cycle and by mid-August for the July cycle.