Help build a permanent national institution for evidence-based gardening in Canada.
The Cultivation Network of Canada is seeking $373,000 in founding investment to launch infrastructure, publish our first eight journal issues, and deliver our inaugural programming.
Why we need founding investment
Canadian researchers produce reliable, regionally specific horticultural knowledge, but that knowledge is fragmented, rarely translated for home gardeners and often overshadowed by generalized or commercially driven advice.
The Cultivation Network of Canada will operate as a national communication platform, interpreting and regionalizing horticultural evidence for public use.
Founding investment establishes the infrastructure for a permanent, independent institution dedicated to evidence, transparency and practical public benefit.
Two-year founding budget
Legal & governance — $12,000
Website & member portal — $28,000
Journal (8 issues) — $80,000
Executive Director — $120,000
Communications — $40,000
Operations & contingency — $93,000
Total — $373,000
The Cultivation Network of Canada is federally incorporated under the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act and governed by a board of three directors. Annual financial review will be conducted by an external accounting professional.
How we thank our founding sponsors
Founding sponsorship is a partnership, not a transaction. We are building a permanent national institution, and the organizations that help establish it will be part of it in lasting, meaningful ways.
We work with a small number of founding sponsors to develop arrangements that fit their goals. What’s on the table includes:
Presence and recognition. Named recognition as a founding sponsor across the website, journal, and key materials. Positioning inside content that audiences read carefully rather than scrolling past.
Direct audience reach. Structured visibility across our channels: our journal Cultivation, newsletter, website, and events. Consistent presence, not one-off placements.
Association with credibility. Alignment with a platform explicitly committed to evidence, transparency and regional accuracy, that is separate from generalist and algorithmically-driven content.
Integration into programming. “Supported-by” positioning on roundtables, webinars and evidence update series. Association with thematic streams like soil health, pollinators, urban food production, climate adaptation and more.
National reach, regional relevance. Most sponsors struggle with Canada’s regional variation. We are built to handle it. Your presence carries national scope with locally meaningful context.
Audience insight Aggregated understanding of what engaged Canadian gardeners are thinking, asking and concerned about.
This is a long-term relationship. As the Network grows, so does the value of being part of it from the beginning.
To discuss founding sponsorship, contact Shauna Dobbie at shauna@cultivationnetwork.ca.