The North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation, Inc., is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation established in 1966 as the endowment agency for the North Carolina Botanical Garden. The foundation, acting through its Board of Directors and Executive Committee, allocates funds to the garden's trust fund to supplement operating costs and to underwrite projects and activities approved by the garden's Administrative Board. The foundation's funds come from membership dues, private donations, and corporate gifts.
The North Carolina Botanical Garden was limited in its early years by a lack of funding from the state. William Lanier Hunt, a respected horticulturist and member of the garden's Advisory Committee, recognized the need to establish a foundation to support the garden, and organized efforts to do so. He then served as the first president of the North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation.
In 1974 the estate of Henry and Addie Totten was left to the foundation. Money from the sale of this property was used to construct the Totten Memorial Garden Center, the North Carolina Botanical Garden's first permanent building. The Totten Center was completed in 1976 and deeded to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by the North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation.
The foundation has also enabled the garden to enlarge its role in the conservation of natural resources through land acquisition and management. The foundation, working with other organizations and agencies, acquires land, usually on a stewardship basis and with the consultation of the garden, and sees to its use for educational and research purposes.
From the guide to the North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation Records, 1952-1989, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. University Archives.)
