“The blooming cherry tree is the most ideally, wonderfully beautiful tree that nature has to show, and its short-lived glory makes the enjoyment the keener and more poignant.
”
Join Our Mission on the National Mall
The cherry trees on the National Mall are a beloved cultural symbol and annual destination that draw in visitors from around the world to our nation’s capital. Living symbols of friendship and diplomacy, the trees have adorned the National Mall waterfront since 1912, when the Mayor of Tokyo gifted cherry trees to the United States. As a lasting symbol of the friendship between the United States and Japan, the trees have remained a hallmark of the countries’ friendship and a lasting cultural exchange.
But the effort to plant Cherry Trees along the Potomac River began much earlier. A dedicated group of naturalists, donors, and civic leaders advocated for the cherry trees for years, petitioning to the Superintendent of the National Park Service and eventually captivating the attention of First Lady Helen Taft who elevated their campaign.
Damage from weather, flooding, and foot traffic pose an ongoing threat to the trees. They require year-round tending to bloom in the spring and one hundred trees are replaced annually.
The cost to maintain and care for the Cherry Trees exceeds the federal budget allocation—public private partnership was critical to bringing the trees to Washington and is still needed today for their ongoing care.
The Trust for the National Mall is proud to partner with the National Park Service to steward the trees. The Cherry Tree Endowment Fund was created as a way for private donations to bolster the public resources dedicated to maintaining the trees. Uncared for, the trees would suffer and cease to bloom and grow.
The Trust has a financial goal to raise $3.5 million dollars for the Cherry Tree Endowment.
The Cherry Trees belong to all of us. The Trust seeks ambassadors who share our commitment to environmental sustainability and who are willing to join our mission to preserve this cultural landscape and living symbol of friendship and diplomacy.
“Come see the cherry trees of a water constellation and the round key of the rapid universe, come touch the fire of instantaneous blue, come before its petals are consumed.
”
#BloomCam
Nothing signifies the arrival of spring in the nation’s capital quite like the blooming of the cherry blossom trees. Each year more than 1.5 million visitors descend upon Washington, D.C. to admire the 3,000-plus trees during the three-week National Cherry Blossom Festival.
As the famous cherry blossoms were reaching “peak bloom” in 2020, cities and communities across the country began to lock down in response to the coronovirus pandemic. In response, the Trust for the National Mall, in partnership with EarthCam and the National Cherry Blossom Festival, launched #BloomCam, a 24/7 live, real-time camera view of the Cherry Trees lining the Tidal Basin allowingvisitors from all over the world to virtually monitor DC’s famous budding cherry blossom trees in real time as they bloom, but from wherever they were located.
“Once the National Cherry Blossom Festival was canceled, we immediately began thinking creatively about virtual ways to allow the more than 1.5 million people who typically visit this time of year to continue to celebrate and support the cherry blossoms - one of the most popular and beloved sites in Washington, D.C.,” Catherine Townsend, President & CEO of the Trust for the National Mall explains. “With #BloomCam, our goal is to encourage collective sharing of the cherry blossoms as symbols of hope, renewal, and friendship during this time, while helping to build a wider community of support for the long-term care and maintenance of these beloved natural treasures on the National Mall.”
#BloomCam 2020
Launched in partnership with EarthCam and the National Cherry Blossom Festival, #BloomCam allowed visitors from all over the world to virtually monitor DC’s famous budding cherry blossom trees along the Tidal Basin, in real time as they bloom, but from the safety of their homes.
VIEWS
Between March 19 and April 30, 2020, #BloomCam received over 835,000 impressions.
AUDIENCE
Over 315,000 unique visitors from more than 12,000 cities across 169 countries including all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
MEDIA COVERAGE
#BloomCam 2020 received earned media coverage from 37 National/International media outlets, 29 local news in the DMV (broadcast – TV & radio, print, digital), and 19 Local news outside the DMV.
“With #BloomCam, our goal is to encourage collective sharing of the cherry blossoms as symbols of hope, renewal, and friendship during this time, while helping to build a wider community of support for the long-term care and maintenance of these beloved natural treasures on the National Mall.
”
Become a Sponsor
#BloomCam is returning in 2021. Our goal is to reach over 1 million views and to raise an additional $1 million dollars for the Cherry Tree Endowment. With your support we can achieve both.
We are seeking program sponsors to exclusively sponsor the National Mall’s #BloomCam, a 24/7, live, real-time camera view of the Cherry Trees lining the Tidal Basin during their peak bloom period.
Following the ‘peak bloom’ of the Cherry Trees, the camera will provide year-round views of one of the Tidal Basin and surrounding area, one of the most popular and iconic sites in Washington, D.C.
SPONSORSHIP LEVELS
$250,000 - Presenting Patron*
Exclusive opportunity. One available.
$25,000 - Grove Patron
Multiple opportunities available.
$5,000 - Green Bud Society Patron
Unlimited opportunities available.
$1,000 - Cherry Tree Sponsor
Unlimited opportunities available.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO SPONSOR, PLEASE CONTACT
Lindsay Miller, Director, Institutional Giving
lmiller@nationalmall.org | 202-316-2750
“The Trust helps us raise money, they help us bring volunteers in, and quite honestly, they help us be smarter. The work that they do – and enable us to do – is critically important to make sure that we present the National Mall in its best light for the American People.
”
ABOUT THE TRUST FOR THE NATIONAL MALL
As the leading nonprofit, nonpartisan philanthropic partner of the National Park Service dedicated to restoring, enriching and preserving the National Mall, the Trust for the National Mall brings expertise, private funding and in-kind support to time-sensitive restoration and sustainability projects, mobilizes volunteers, and provides educational opportunities to ensure that the National Mall endures and evolves as a vibrant space for all.
With over 36 million visits annually to the National Mall, combined with aging infrastructure and the need for better visitor amenities throughout the park, the Trust is helping the National Park Service tackle the more than $800 million needed for critical repairs and improvements.
OUR COMMUNICATIONS REACH
nationalmall.org: 500,000+ annual visitors
Monthly e-newsletter: 25,000 subscribers
Facebook: facebook.com/NationalMall: 10,000 followers
Instagram: @TheNationalMall: 15,000 followers
Twitter: @TheNationalMall: 11,000 followers
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO SPONSOR, PLEASE CONTACT
Lindsay Miller, Director, Institutional Giving
lmiller@nationalmall.org | 202-316-2750