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PLANTING FIELDS FOUNDATION
OYSTER BAY, NY · EIN 111770097 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE C114 · Environment · Medium ($1M-$10M) · plantingfields.org
revenue
$1.7M
expenses
$3.0M
net assets
$29.8M
employees
36
volunteers
100
program ratio
74%
mission · from form 990

TO STEWARD THE BUILT & NATURAL ENVIRONMENT OF PLANTING FIELDS AS A PUBLIC CENTER OF LEARNING & LIFE

profile · synthesized from sources

Planting Fields Foundation stewards a 409-acre historic estate and arboretum in Oyster Bay, NY, designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm. It operates as a public center for learning and life, offering educational programs, guided tours, and public events centered on horticulture, history, and art. The organization serves K–12 students, visitors, and researchers through place-based learning and community engagement.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $587K
    EDUCATIONAL AND VISITOR EXPERIENCE: FESTIVALS AND PUBLIC EVENTS REMAINED A CORNERSTONE OF ENGAGEMENT, WELCOMING OVER 7,000 VISITORS TO CELEBRATIONS SUCH AS ARBOR DAY, THE CAMELLIA FESTIVAL, AND HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING EXPANDED WITH JUNIOR RANGER FIELD TRIPS ALIGNED WITH NYS CURRICULUM STANDARDS, AS WELL AS THE INAUGURAL SENSORY CELEBRATION WEEK, WHICH INTRODUCED TAILORED EXPERIENCES FOR NEURODIVERSE YOUTH. ADDITIONALLY, THROUGH THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF PARTNERS, THE FOUNDATION MADE ITS ANNUAL CAMELLIA FESTIVAL FREE OF CHARGE IN 2025, REDUCING BARRIERS TO ACCESS AND EXPANDING PUBLIC ENJOY- MENT OF PLANTING FIELDS' RENOWNED CAMELLIA COLLECTION. THE FOUNDATION CONTINUES TO OFFER GUIDED AND SELF-GUIDED TOURS OF THE HISTORIC MAIN HOUSE AND INTRODUCED HISTORIC LANDSCAPE TOURS IN EARLY 2025.
  2. #2 $454K
    COLLECTIONS, ARCHIVES, AND EXHIBITS: IN 2024, THE FOUNDATION ADVANCED THE ACCESSIBILITY AND STEWARDSHIP OF ITS ARCHIVAL HOLDINGS THROUGH IMPROVEMENTS IN COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT AND STORAGE FUNDED BY THE PEGGY M. GERRY CHARITABLE TRUST. THE ARCHIVES WERE RELOCATED TO A NEWLY DESIGNED FACILITY THAT ENHANCES PRESERVATION AND SUPPORTS INTERNAL RESEARCH, SCHOLARLY ACCESS, AND EXPANDED DIGITAL AVAILABILITY. THE FOUNDATION ALSO CONTINUED ITS CATALYST PROGRAM, COMMISSIONING SITE-SPECIFIC CONTEMPORARY WORKS IN DIALOGUE WITH THE HISTORIC SITE. THE 2024 COMMISSION, FOLLIES: A BOTANICAL BACKSTORY BY PROCESSIONAL ARTS WORKSHOP, ENGAGED DIVERSE AUDIENCES AND REINFORCED THE PROGRAM'S ROLE IN LINKING HISTORIC PRESERVATION WITH CONTEMPORARY ARTISTIC PRACTICE. (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O.)IN 2025, THE FOUNDATION WAS AWARDED ACCREDITATION BY THE AMERICAN ALLIANCE OF MUSEUMS, A DISTINCTION ACHIEVED BY ONLY 3% OF MUSEUMS NATIONWIDE.
named programs · 7 · from sources

What they call their work

Catalyst Program
Commissions site-specific contemporary artworks in dialogue with the historic landscape, such as "Follies: A Botanical Backstory"
Coe Kids: A Historical Treasure Hunt
Interactive tour of the Main House for grades 4–8, focusing on early 1900s life, artifacts, and letter-writing activities inspired by the Coe family
High School Field Trips
Themed two-hour tours for grades 8–12 including landscape design, history, museum exhibits, and greenhouse visits, with optional hands-on activities
Junior Rangers
Nature-based field trip program for PreK–4 students featuring observational missions, citizen science projects, and badge-earning activities on the historic grounds
Natural Sensory Adventure
Inclusive 120-minute exploration program for PreK–12 students of all abilities, using sensory activities to engage with nature
Olmsted 200 Symposium
Multi-day scholarly event celebrating Frederick Law Olmsted’s bicentennial, featuring lectures, tours, and discussions on landscape preservation
Planting Fields Comes to You
Traveling educational program bringing horticulture and history workshops to classrooms for grades 1–8
activities · 9 groups

What they do

  • Onsite & Outreach Environmental Education Programs 2 activities
    • Educational Programming for School-Aged Children
      Provides educational programming for thousands of school-aged children annually through field trips aligned with New York State curriculum standards, including Junior Ranger field trips, Coe Kids historical treasure hunts, and Natural Sensory Adventure programs. Offers themed, tour-based field trips and in-classroom programs for grades 1–12 focused on history, horticulture, and science.
    • Science and Nature Engagement Activities
      Offers hands-on science and nature-based activities including a wildlife detective scavenger hunt, frost-in-a-can experiment, pinecone weather prediction, fall foliage exploration, sundial creation, Birder Bingo, bee hotel building, and pollinator education through puzzles, games, and art to engage learners of all ages.
  • Archival Digitization and Preservation 1 activity
    • Archival Stewardship and Research Access
      Manages over 500 linear feet of archival materials in a newly designed facility, improves stewardship through enhanced collections management and digital access, and makes materials available to researchers online with updated finding aids. Houses the archive of the landscape architecture firm Innocenti & Webel acquired in 2021.
  • Equitable Access Admission Programs 1 activity
    • Free and Reduced-Cost Access Programs
      Provides free or reduced admission to individuals with SNAP benefits through the Museums for All program and offers year-round free admission to active duty military personnel, National Guard, Reserve, veterans, and their families through the Blue Star Museum program. Also provides free parking, free tours for up to six people, and a 10% Museum Shop discount to participants in the Museum Library Pass Program.
  • Donor-Advised Fund Grantmaking 1 activity
    • Funding Support to External Institutions
      Funds external institutions through grantmaking, including a $750,000 donation to the University of Wyoming.
  • Guided Historic Site Tours 1 activity
    • Guided and Self-Guided Tours
      Offers guided and self-guided tours of the historic main house, greenhouses, gardens, and special exhibitions year-round for the general public and pre-arranged groups, including private tours for groups of 15 or more by appointment. Provides tours in Spanish and Chinese upon advance request and offers sign language interpreters for tours and events upon request.
  • Historic Garden Preservation and Support 1 activity
    • Partnership for Cultural Landscape Access
      Co-developed and published a guidebook and facilitated public access to 15 Olmsted-designed sites on Long Island in partnership with The Cultural Landscape Foundation, expanding regional awareness of historic landscape architecture.
  • Free Public Access Nature Sites 1 activity
    • Public Access to Historic Site and Grounds
      Operates the Main House Visitor Center, Main Greenhouse, Camellia House, and park grounds for public access multiple days per week, with daily access to the park from 9am to 5pm except on December 25. Provides wheelchair accessibility across paved roads and select paths, and ensures accessibility in key structures including the ground floor of the Main House, Sensory Garden, Camellia House, Hay Barn, Conference Center, and restrooms near the Main Greenhouse.
  • Community Festival & Event Production 1 activity
    • Public Festivals and Seasonal Events
      Hosts annual public festivals and events including the Camellia Festival, Arbor Day celebration (Branches in Bloom Festival), Home for the Holidays, Planting Pride, Spring 5K, Fall 5K, and a week-long series celebrating the bicentennial of Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., attracting over 7,000 visitors. These events feature live music, crafts, seasonal activities, and themed runs on woodland trails.
  • Uncategorized 4 activities
    • Contemporary Art and Landscape Commissions
      Continues the Catalyst Program by commissioning site-specific contemporary artworks such as "Follies: A Botanical Backstory" by Procedural Arts Workshop in 2024 and annually displaying sculptures in the Blue Garden during springtime. Also introduces new landscapes that reimagine the concept of a garden.
    • Development of Educational Learning Kits
      Produces and distributes free digital learning kits for educators and families, including themed resources such as holiday ornament-making, Nature Detectives, Bird Explorers, and Modern Industrialists kits, designed for learners from PreK through 12th grade to support remote or supplemental learning.
    • Historical Research and Documentation
      Documents the transformation of Planting Fields from a private estate to a public park and the formation of the Planting Fields Foundation, supporting institutional memory and public understanding of its historical significance.
    • Symposia and Expert Convenings
      Organized a two-day symposium convening experts to examine the residential projects of the Olmsted firm from 1857 to 1979, advancing scholarly dialogue on landscape architecture history.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$1.70M
Contributions & grants$1.22M72%
Program service revenue$257K15%
Investment income$178K10%
Other revenue$47K
expenses
Total expenses$2.95M
Program expenses74%
Admin / overhead15%
Fundraising12%
Salaries & benefits$1.71M
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$30.36M
Cash$837K
Investments$29.27M
Liabilities$561K
Net assets$29.79M
Liquid reserves122.4 mo
5 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue -5.9%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 1
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
GINA WOUTERS PRESIDENT & CEO 40 $368K
board members · 22
  • AMY XU — TREASURER
  • ANDREW NEVIN — VICE CHAIR
  • ANNA COE HAYES — TRUSTEE TO AUGUST 2024
  • BERNADETTE CASTRO — TRUSTEE TO JUNE 2024
  • BRUCE ADDISON — TRUSTEE
  • DAVID HOLMES JR — TRUSTEE
  • DEBRA DEL VECCHIO — TRUSTEE
  • DUNCAN SAHNER — CHAIR
  • HANNAH BURNS — TRUSTEE
  • JEANNE SLOANE — TRUSTEE
  • JEFFREY LEE MOORE — TRUSTEE
  • JENNIFER SMITH — TRUSTEE
  • JONATHAN OTTO — TRUSTEE
  • KIM VINNAKOTA — TRUSTEE
  • MARGARET FRERE — TRUSTEE
  • MARY MACDONALD — TRUSTEE
  • MICHAEL KEMPNER — SECRETARY
  • ROBERT FOSCHI — TRUSTEE
  • ROBERT MACKAY — TRUSTEE
  • SARAH COE — TRUSTEE
  • THOMAS GOLON — TRUSTEE
  • TIMOTHY DOOLEY — TRUSTEE
relationships · 14

Who they work with

  • American Alliance of Museums Government — Awarded accreditation to the Foundation in 2025.
  • Arboretum State Historic Park Government — Partners with Planting Fields Foundation to host K-12 group visits at Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park.
  • Blue Star Museum Program Partner — Participates in the Blue Star Museum program to offer year-round free admission to military personnel, veterans, and their families.
  • Gerry Foundation Funder — Provided a generous grant to support the development of the archives' new space in the Haybarn building.
  • Long Island Railroad Government — Provides train service to the Oyster Bay station, near the arboretum.
  • Museums for All Partner — Participates in the Museums for All program to provide free or reduced admission to SNAP beneficiaries.
  • National Association for Olmsted Parks (NAOP) Partner — Partnered in the Olmsted 200 commemorative events.
  • New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Government — Partnered with Planting Fields Foundation on Olmsted 200 events.
  • New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation Government — Partnership to steward Planting Fields as a public historic site.
  • Peggy M. Gerry Charitable Trust Funder — Funded improvements in collections management and storage for the Foundation's archival holdings.
  • Procedural Arts Workshop Partner — Commissioned to create the site-specific artwork "Follies: A Botanical Backstory" for the Catalyst Program.
  • Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation Funder — Provided grant funding for the Olmsted 200 events.
  • The Cultural Landscape Foundation Partner — Collaborated to produce a guidebook and public programming on Olmsted-designed sites on Long Island.
  • University of Wyoming Partner — Recipient of a $750,000 donation from Planting Fields Foundation.
strategies · 3

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Experiential and Multimodal Learning for Public Engagement
    methodology: experiential_multimodal_learning
    By using hands-on exploration, play, and multimodal activities—such as games, art, and interactive experiments—the foundation increases visitor engagement and understanding of ecological and cultural concepts, because experiential formats make learning accessible and memorable across diverse learning styles and age groups.
  • Place-Based Learning with Inclusive Access
    methodology: place_based_inclusive_education
    By anchoring education in the unique historical and natural context of the estate—using the “genius of the place” and Olmsted’s “parks for all people” philosophy—the foundation fosters deeper public engagement and learning, because connection to place enhances meaning and inclusion strengthens participation. This approach integrates physical, cultural, and cognitive accessibility to ensure people of all backgrounds and abilities can engage.
  • Preservation Through Research and Public Engagement
    methodology: research_engaged_preservation
    By combining scholarly research, archival scholarship, and convenings with public programming and events, the foundation advances sustainable preservation of historic landscapes, because integrating academic rigor with community involvement ensures both technical innovation and cultural relevance.