Mount Auburn continues to receive thoughtful, generous and loyal support from our members( now over 1,300 strong) and other donors to the Annual Fund— including individuals, foundations and corporate sponsors. Clearly, our ongoing yearlong 175th Anniversary celebration and the widespread press and public attention our many special 175th events and programs have received have had a positive impact on membership and contributions.

As we go to press, the Friends of Mount Auburn Annual Fund 2007 has received over $ 164,126 in gifts, exceeding our goal of $ 155,000, an increase of 21 % over the same time last year of the fiscal year that ends March 31. Membership contributions to the Friends are also up this year, about 3 % over last year.

Total giving from all sources to all funds, cash in to date, is $ 603,283, up 8 % from last year.

Special 175th Anniversary Gifts

For the 175th Anniversary celebration, Mount Auburn has received some very special contributions: Cambridge Savings Charitable Foundation donated $ 25,000 to underwrite the production of the 175th Anniversary program

brochure( mailed or distributed to over 50,000 people in the greater Boston area), and Cambridge Trust Company gave us $ 10,000 to fund the design, production and installation of the festive banners hung this past fall along Cambridge’ s Mount Auburn Street from the Cemetery to Harvard Square( and soon to reappear this spring). With its gift of over $ 56,000, The Anthony J. and Mildred D. Ruggiero Memorial Trust( Tucson, AZ) gave a major boost to the 175th lecture series,“ Facets of Mount Auburn: Celebrating 175 Years of a Boston Jewel,” seven lectures on various topics( horticulture, birding, history, art and architecture, etc.) held throughout the year at the Boston Public Library. Other significant support for the lecture series was received from The James W. Flett Company, Inc.,( Belmont, MA) and The Lowell Institute of Boston.

We also received a $ 3,000 gift from the Halvorson Design Partnership( Boston) to fund a well-attended, lovely Saturday afternoon concert in Story Chapel in October by musicians from the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, a first for both Pro Arte and Mount Auburn! And Whole Foods, River Street, Cambridge donated food and service for the commemoration of the 175th anniversary of Mount Auburn’ s consecration, held on Bigelow Chapel Lawn on September 24.

The grand finale to the yearlong celebration of Mount Auburn’ s 175th Anniversary

6:00- 7:00 pm: Cocktails in Asa Gray Garden( weather permitting) & Silent Auction of special Victorian-era items and horticultural services

7:30 pm Celebration Dinner under a clear tent, Bigelow Chapel Lawn

Music and program during dinner

Tickets: $ 275 per person

To benefit the preservation of the extraordinary historical and natural resources of Mount Auburn Please call 617-607-1995 for an invitation or more information