MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND THE PRESIDENT & CEO
We are pleased to present Mount Auburn Cemetery and the Friends of Mount Auburn’ s Annual Report, encapsulating project highlights and a summary of our financial results for FY2025.
Over the past few years, Mount Auburn has invested significantly in its staff and landscape to provide greater welcome, greater service, and greater beauty to the over 200,000 visitors that explore our 175-acre urban oasis annually. As an active cemetery, botanic garden, wildlife refuge, and cultural institution, Mount Auburn continues to hold a unique significance to each person that seeks to escape the bustle of our communities.
Pivotal for Fiscal Year 2025 was increasing access to the Cemetery and the amenities within our landscape through philanthropically led capital projects. Four new pedestrian entrances along Mount Auburn and an accessible pathway to the Story Chapel Columbarium provide visitors with new ways to interact with the landscape while adding beautiful gardens and thoughtful horticultural visual interest to key areas of our front precinct.
SOLSTICE: Reflections on Winter Light has blossomed into a multi-night signature event, offering an illuminative glimpse into the Cemetery’ s core thoughtfulness and reflection to audiences old and new. Membership to the Friends of Mount Auburn has doubled since 2021, with 2025 boasting over 2,000 active members for the first time in the organization’ s history. We are thrilled that more and more of our community is discovering the ways in which they can get involved in our landscape.
The Treasurer’ s Report( page 17) reflects our investments in staffing and programs as a key strategy to increase earned revenue and philanthropy over time with the aim to create an even balance with endowment spending, ensuring Mount Auburn’ s health for generations to come.
We gratefully submit this report and encourage you to visit Mount Auburn often to reflect in all seasons.
Dean T. Hara Chair, Mount Auburn Cemetery Board of Trustees
Matthew Stephens President & CEO