Denver Urban Gardens At a Glance
Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) was founded in 1985 on the belief that together, we can build connection, knowledge, and resiliency by growing food. Over the last thirty-five years, we have grown to include more than 180 community gardens spanning six counties, and we’ve further expanded our impact by offering horticultural and leadership training, youth education, and food access programs that provide free and low-cost access to seeds, seedlings and education around growing food.
What is happening?
A tough decision had to be made due to our current financial situation, the state of philanthropy, and the uncertainties related to the pandemic. DUG is under contract to sell about two-thirds of the land on which the El Oasis Community Garden is located. Selling a portion of one garden will allow DUG to continue our mission and serve our community of 17,500 gardeners in more than 180 gardens throughout metro Denver.
**2021 Update: DUG is requesting a variance from the City of Denver for the property on which the El Oasis Community Garden sits. If granted, the variance allows for the parcel split that will enable us to sell only part of the land while keeping part of the land as a community garden in perpetuity. Maintaining a garden in this part of the city is important to DUG, the El Oasis gardeners and the community at large.
After the sale, the remaining one-third of the land will be redesigned as the new El Oasis Community Garden. We anticipate being able to accommodate most of the El Oasis gardeners in the new garden and will support the transition of any gardeners who desire to move to another nearby garden.
We plan to work closely with the El Oasis community as we redesign the new garden that meets the gardeners’ needs. We anticipate the new garden will have more than 30 garden plots and retain many of the features of the current garden, including the pergola and storage shed.
In addition to El Oasis Community Garden, DUG owns six other properties. We have no plans to sell any of those tracts of land.
Why are you selling a portion of a garden?
This decision was not made quickly or lightly; many alternatives were explored by DUG staff and board members. However, this land sale is part of a larger strategy for moving DUG forward for the greater good.
Fundraising challenges associated with the pandemic have exacerbated financial challenges that were already in existence, specifically DUG’s reliance on a line of credit over the last several years. For example, From 2014 through 2018, DUG worked to meet communities’ requests and built 59 new gardens. Unfortunately, during the same time period, approximately $300,000 to $400,00 in annual funding that we had received for over a decade dried up, and a national grant of nearly $100,000 that had been received annually ceased to be available, as well.
How will you prevent this from happening again in the future?
Moving forward, we are building a more diverse fundraising strategy, reworking how we fund and maintain our gardens, and engaging the strength of our community to ensure we can continue providing education and land access for everyone.
What happens if the sale doesn’t happen?
Unfortunately, if this sale does not close as planned, DUG will cease to exist as it does today. The money from the sale allows us to pay off the line of credit, design and build the new El Oasis Community Garden, and establish the necessary reserves to ensure the organization’s sustainability moving forward.
It is critical to make this transition a reality in order to continue to serve our entire community of 17,500 gardeners throughout metro Denver, many of whom rely on the land, seeds/seedlings and education DUG provides to feed their families and their communities. You can learn more about our community impact here.
How can I help?
You can help DUG continue to support all of our gardeners by sharing facts about this situation.
- Share this webpage with other interested community members, friends and family members who may not have heard the complete story.
- Donate to DUG .While the sale of a portion of El Oasis garden does set DUG up for a sustainable future, it does not replace our need to raise funds to meet our annual budget this year and in the years to come. We need your financial support now more than ever.
