Michigan Garden Clubs, Inc.

Member of National Garden Clubs, Inc

Benefits of Belonging to NGC, CR and MGC

  • Quarterly Publications
    • NGC: 40+-page, The National Gardener is full of national, club and region news.
    • MGC: 16-page, Thru the Garden Gate is full of state, district and club news
  • Newsletters
    • NGC: President’s Keeping in Touch
    • CR: Central Region Newsletter
  • Annual Conventions/Conferences/Annual Meetings:
    • NGC: Hosted each year (usually in May) by a state(s).
    • CR: Hosted each year (usually in October) by a state within the region (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin)
    • MGC: Conference hosted each year (usually in June) by clubs/districts within Michigan
      • These provide:
        • Educational seminars
        • Tours
        • Opportunity to meet fellow gardeners and share ideas and make new friendships. (across the country and international affiliates/region/state)
        • Opportunity to invite non-MGC members, as guests.
  • District Annual Meeting/Conference—at least one/year
    • Speaker/program/tours
    • Opportunity to meet fellow gardeners from across the district and share ideas and make new friendships.
    • Opportunity to invite non-MGC members.
  • Websites (NGC, CR, and MGC): An up-to-date website with much information available with some downloadable information. Each has a member-only side where more information is available.
  • Education
    • Classroom Style and Zoom Options for the four NGC schools:
      • Gardening (GS)
      • Landscape Design (LDS)
      • Environmental (ES)
      • Flower Show (FSS)
    • Each school is composed of four courses generally held over a two-year period: The successful student of GS, LDS, and ES who is also a member of MGC earns NGC-Accredited Consultant status. After completing FSS successfully, the student who is a member of MGC earns NGC Accredited Flower Show Judge status.
      • Refresher: Education to maintain GS, LDS, and ES NGC accreditation and opportunity to earn “Master status.”
      • Symposium: Education to maintain FS NGC accreditation and opportunity to earn “Master status.”
      • Consultants and Judges may join the Michigan Consultants Council (MCC) and/or the Michigan Association of Accredited Judges (MAAJ) respectively. These organizations provide additional educational opportunities. Provisional Consultants and Provisional Judges (those who have completed at least two courses in a series) may join MCC or MAAJ on a provisional basis.
      • NOTE: In order to maintain NGC accreditation, a consultant or judge must be a member of an NGC member organization and refresh their credentials by attending NGC-accredited education events in the required time period.
      • A person completing all schools successfully earns the 4-Star standing and after earning “Master Status” in all schools, earns the 5-Star standing.
    • Educational lesson plans, suitable for club programs, are available from NGC Member Services and available from MGC website—member side.
  • Calendar program: Photographs from the photography contest are used in the production of the NGC’s Calendar of Beauty.
  • Exhibiting: Entering horticulture, floral designs, botanical arts, and/or educational exhibits in NGC-accredited Standard Flower Shows and opportunity to win a prestigious top award.
  • Opportunity to serve others in leadership positions at various levels: local, district, state, region or national, as well as at special events.
  • Leadership Development: Club Presidents, Vice Presidents, other club officers, and those interested in aspiring to become a leader have the opportunity to attend presentations to develop their leadership skills further by attending leadership sessions at the District and/or State levels.
  • Youth Gardening Programs:  MGC clubs provide opportunities involving youth. MGC sponsors youth wishing to enter NGC contests, such as Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl poster, sculpture, high school essay, and win awards.
  • Scholarships: Available for students in fields of study related to the MGC Mission and at the NGC and CR levels.
  • Club Programs/Projects: Support available from NGC, CR, and MGC.
  • NGC (Plant America and others) and MGC Grants (Plant America; Grow and Share): Available to MGC member clubs.
  • Annual Awards: Club, MGC, CR, and NGC prestigious awards (some cash awards) available to adults and youth.
  • Free Advertising of Member Club Events: Member garden clubs can advertise their events on the MGC Website public-viewable calendar.
  • Eligible for 501(c)(3) for voluntary participation in the MGC Group Tax Exemption Program to those clubs that wish to participate.

A 501(c)(3) organization is recognized by the IRS as a non-profit organization and may solicit tax-deductible donations from corporations and individuals. The process of becoming a 501(c)(3) organization is usually too complex and expensive for most small clubs. The MGC program provides a simplified and less expensive process for getting this official status from IRS. In addition, the major benefit for applying for a 501(c)(3) is to limit member liability. If someone attending a club’s meeting or event should happen to get injured, all the club’s members could be sued equally.

  • Member Club General Liability Insurance: Provided by MGC.
  • Club officer and club organizing materials and assistance: Available from NGC and MGC.

JOIN A GARDEN CLUB

National Garden Clubs
National Garden Clubs Central Region

Michigan Garden Clubs, Inc. is a member of National Garden Clubs, Inc. and Central Region, Garden Clubs, Inc.

www.MIGardenClubs.org www.NationalGardenClubs.org www.NGCCentralRegion.org

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