Greensward update: Less than $200K to go + a new match

With about three weeks left before our June 11 deadline to raise $1 million, we’re excited to announce a $250,000 pledge from a generous friend of Overton Park Conservancy! This brings our total to date over $813,000. With your help, we can raise the remaining funds and begin the planning and design process that will return the Greensward to Overton Park.

This campaign has truly been a collaborative effort, with more than 500 donations to date. We’ve seen support from 24 states and 24 Memphis-area zip codes, and a third of the donations have come from people who weren’t previously engaged with the Conservancy. This broad support helps strengthen the Conservancy’s foundation, as we continue to make the case for the value of free, open space–and this special park in particular–to Memphis’ future.

How can you help out in the home stretch? We’ve got a new matching opportunity! A generous donor is challenging supporters to give at least $100. All gifts $100 and over will be matched, up to $10,000 total. Make your gift at www.overtonpark.org/greensward.

You can also plan to attend Park Friends’ Parking Party next Wednesday, May 24 at the Abe Goodman golf clubhouse in the park. From 6:00 – 8:00 PM, there will be burgers and dogs on the grill, music from Loveland & Duren, and the chance to help us meet our fundraising goal. The event is also a friendly competition between neighborhoods, and we’ll share which neighborhoods had the highest totals for the evening.

Several other fundraisers over the next few weeks will also benefit the project. See the list here.

We’d also love to keep greening up our map of states that have supported the project. We know you know someone in Alabama or Georgia, right?

THANK YOU for your continued commitment to returning the Greensward to Overton Park. We’re quickly approaching a day when we can stand on the Greensward and see nothing but people, trees, and open space, and we couldn’t be more excited.