#415: Why We Brought Back Our Seed Fundraiser

Nearly 20 years after first trying the idea, we’ve brought The Gardener’s Workshop Seed Fundraiser back with better tools, simpler fulfillment, and the same goal: helping groups raise money while helping more people succeed at growing flowers from seed. Lisa shares how the program began, why it was put on hold, and how it works today.

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The⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Field and Garden Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is produced by Lisa Mason Ziegler, award-winning author of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Growing A Beautiful Life, The Cut Flower Handbook, Vegetables Love Flowers, and Cool Flowers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, owner of⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Gardener’s Workshop,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Flower Farming School Online,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and the publisher of⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Farmer-Florist School Online⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Florist School Online.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Watch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Lisa’s Story⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and connect with Lisa on social media!

 

How The Gardener’s Workshop Seed Fundraiser Helps Groups Raise Money and Grow Flowers

What if a fundraiser could help an organization raise money while also helping its supporters successfully grow flowers from seed?

That was the idea behind The Gardener’s Workshop Seed Fundraiser when Lisa Mason Ziegler and her sister Suzanne first developed the program nearly 20 years ago. The idea was good, but the business systems available at the time made the program too labor-intensive to maintain.

Now, with a larger team and modern digital tools, The Gardener’s Workshop has brought the Seed Fundraiser back in a simpler format designed for schools, garden clubs, Master Gardener groups, 4-H groups, and other organizations raising money for a shared purpose.

Participating groups receive 50% of the product sales generated through their fundraiser, while The Gardener’s Workshop handles seed packaging, order fulfillment, shipping, and customer support.

 

What Is The Gardener’s Workshop Seed Fundraiser?

The Gardener’s Workshop Seed Fundraiser is an online fundraising program that allows participating organizations to raise money by selling flower seeds.

Instead of collecting paper order forms, receiving boxes of products, sorting individual orders, and coordinating deliveries, the process is handled digitally.

The organization signs up for the program and chooses a fundraising period. Supporters then place their orders online, and The Gardener’s Workshop ships those seed orders directly to the customers.

The group receives 50% of qualifying product sales generated during its fundraiser.

This approach is designed to reduce the workload for volunteers while giving supporters a useful product they can plant and enjoy.

 

Why Did The Gardener’s Workshop Create a Seed Fundraiser?

The idea grew out of two important parts of Lisa Mason Ziegler’s life: teaching people how to grow flowers from seed and volunteering with Golden Retriever Rescue.

Fundraising organizations are always looking for appealing products to offer supporters. At the same time, Lisa regularly met gardeners who believed they were unable to grow flowers from seed because earlier attempts had failed.

Often, the problem was not the gardener.

It was missing information.

Something as simple as whether a particular seed should be covered with soil or left uncovered can determine whether it germinates successfully. Through years of flower farming and teaching, Lisa saw how much difference clear planting instructions could make.

A seed fundraiser offered a way to connect those two needs: organizations could raise money, while supporters received flower seeds accompanied by information intended to help them grow successfully.

 

Why Was the Original Seed Fundraiser Put on Hold?

The Gardener’s Workshop first introduced its seed fundraising program around 2008 or 2009.

At the time, the business was transitioning from a direct-sales model to an online garden store while Lisa was still actively flower farming, teaching, traveling, and helping operate a growing company.

The original fundraiser relied heavily on printed brochures, paper order forms, manual signup processes, and hands-on order management.

Every new fundraising group created additional administrative work.

Although Lisa and Suzanne believed strongly in the idea, the company did not yet have the staff or systems necessary to manage it efficiently. The program was eventually paused.

The idea, however, never completely went away.

 

Why Did The Gardener’s Workshop Bring the Seed Fundraiser Back?

By late 2025, The Gardener’s Workshop had a larger team and better technology available.

The company asked its chief operating officer and technology lead, Kelly, to develop a digital version of the fundraising program that would remove many of the logistical problems of the original system.

The goal was to make fundraising easier for both participating organizations and The Gardener’s Workshop team.

The new system eliminates many of the tasks traditionally associated with product fundraising:

• No paper order forms
• No collecting individual customer payments
• No boxes of seeds for volunteers to sort
• No coordinating customer pickup or delivery
• No manually matching orders with individual supporters

Customers order online, and The Gardener’s Workshop handles fulfillment and shipping directly.

 

What Seeds Are Available Through the Fundraiser?

The fundraiser focuses on flower seeds that can be planted directly outdoors in the garden when conditions are appropriate.

The available seeds are warm-season tender annuals selected from varieties also sold by The Gardener’s Workshop.

Depending on current program offerings, supporters may find seed sets and larger individual seed packets.

The emphasis on direct-sown flowers is intentional.

Someone purchasing seeds through a fundraiser may be an experienced gardener, but they may also be completely new to growing flowers from seed. Choosing flowers that can be planted directly outdoors removes the need for an elaborate indoor seed-starting setup.

Each order also includes The Gardener’s Workshop seed-starting information to help customers understand the basic steps needed for successful growing.

 

Why Does The Gardener’s Workshop Package Its Own Flower Seeds?

Lisa began flower farming in 1998 and launched the business that became The Gardener’s Workshop in 2005.

Selling flower seeds under the company’s own label was not originally part of the plan.

The team initially looked for an established seed company whose packets they could purchase wholesale and resell. But Lisa found that many seed packets did not include all of the growing details she believed beginning gardeners needed.

Years of teaching had shown her where people commonly became confused or made mistakes when starting seeds.

The Gardener’s Workshop therefore began packaging its own flower seeds.

The company purchases seeds from large commercial seed distributors rather than growing the seed itself. Its role is to select varieties, package them, and provide growing directions based on its experience growing and teaching about those flowers.

For Lisa, the instructions are an important part of the product.

A seed packet may hold the potential for an entire garden, but the gardener still needs to know what to do next.

 

How Does the Seed Fundraiser Work?

The process is designed to be simple for participating organizations.

First, the organization visits The Gardener’s Workshop website and reviews the current Seed Fundraiser information.

After signing up, the group selects its fundraising window. Fundraising periods are generally about 10 to 14 days, although organizations should review the current program details when registering.

The Gardener’s Workshop provides information and marketing support that the group can use to tell its community about the fundraiser.

Supporters then place their seed orders online.

The Gardener’s Workshop processes the orders, packages them, and ships them directly to customers.

The participating organization receives 50% of the product sales generated through its fundraiser.

Because fulfillment is handled by The Gardener’s Workshop, volunteers do not need to receive large shipments, separate customer orders, or organize local delivery.

 

What Types of Groups Can Use a Seed Fundraiser?

The program was designed for organized groups raising money for a shared mission.

Examples may include:

• Schools
• Garden clubs
• Master Gardener organizations
• 4-H groups
• Community organizations
• Other eligible groups with fundraising needs

Groups should review the current program requirements before registering.

 

When Is the Best Time to Hold a Flower Seed Fundraiser?

Flower seeds can be purchased at many times of year, but timing a fundraiser around the normal gardening season can make the offer more relevant to supporters.

In the Mid-Atlantic region, January through May is an especially natural time for seed shopping because gardeners are planning and planting their upcoming gardens.

Organizations in other regions may want to consider when their own supporters typically begin thinking about spring and summer planting.

Choosing the fundraising window when interest in gardening is already high can make flower seeds a particularly timely product.

 

A Fundraiser That Can Help Someone Become a Gardener

The Gardener’s Workshop tested the redesigned fundraiser during the summer, outside its busiest seed-buying season.

One piece of feedback from that test captured exactly what Lisa hoped the program could accomplish.

A parent who purchased sunflower seeds through one of the fundraising groups reported that, after years of unsuccessful attempts, the seeds had finally sprouted and were growing well. The parent credited the planting directions that came with the seeds.

That success represents an important part of the program’s purpose.

The immediate goal is to help an organization raise money. But a packet of seeds can also introduce someone to gardening, restore confidence after earlier failures, or encourage a person to grow something they have never tried before.

A successful experience may even give supporters another reason to participate when their organization holds its next fundraiser.

 

A Simpler Way to Raise Money With Flower Seeds

The Gardener’s Workshop Seed Fundraiser combines online fundraising, direct-to-customer fulfillment, flower seeds, and practical growing information in one program.

Organizations can focus on sharing their fundraiser with their supporters while The Gardener’s Workshop handles order fulfillment, shipping, and customer support.

For Lisa, bringing the program back nearly two decades after its original launch is also a reminder that sometimes a good idea simply arrives before the systems needed to support it.

The idea behind this one never changed: help organizations raise money, help more people grow flowers successfully, and make the process easier for everyone involved.

To learn more, visit The Gardener's Workshop Seed Fundraiser page for current program details, eligibility information, available products, and signup instructions.