Providing annual Grants to support the continued and future education of industry members and young professional development.
AFE strongly supports funding educational programs to promote and strengthen the floriculture industry. The majority of the programs funded are wide-reaching and focus on attracting young people to the industry or are educational endeavors to identify and solve industry needs and/or challenges.
In addition to the general Educational Grants that can be applied for each year, AFE also awards Floral Design Grants to institutions with floral design programs and travel/reimbursement grants.
Additional information on all of the grants can be found below.
Requests are reviewed on an annual basis, with funding dependent on the number of funds available. Scroll down to see grants for individual retail florists.
The American Floral Endowment (AFE) educational grant practices have been established in accordance with the organization’s mission statement. The American Floral Endowment is a not-for-profit corporation that raises and prudently invests its funds to support research, education, scholarships, and internship programs to benefit the floriculture industry.
The Del Demaree Floriculture Advancement Fund provides annual grant funding to support special projects or programs addressing critical or timely challenges within the floral industry. The fund focuses on initiatives that create meaningful impacts through resources, education, or advancements that benefit the industry as a whole.
The Meinders Retail Florist Education Grant Fund provides financial support for retail florist education. Established through generous contributions from longtime industry members and AFE supporters, Herman and LaDonna Meinders, this new fund combines with the first-ever AFE Named Fund established in 2011 by the couple now totaling more than $500,000.
The James and Helen Phillip Scholarship Grant is a grant given annually to institutions with floral design programs to provide tuition assistance to students. It was established in 2008 to honor James and Helen Phillip by providing scholarship assistance to people in need who are interested in careers in the retail and floral design sectors of the floral industry.
These grants are available to individuals to support continued education. Requests are reviewed on an annual basis, with funding dependent on the number of funds available.
This travel grant was developed for retail florists in Arizona to pursue floral industry educational or design events. It was established to serve traditional retail florists located in Arizona and was created through the efforts of Ken Young AAF while a member of the AFE Board of Trustees.
The Bill Doran Company Wholesale Education Travel Grant assists those working in the traditional wholesale floral segment, as well as professionals involved in the marketing and promotion of floral products, by helping offset travel expenses associated with attending key industry events, conferences, and educational programs.
This annual travel reimbursement grant is designed to facilitate ongoing education and networking at industry events, particularly for individuals who might face financial barriers to participation. Applicants must be owners, managers, or employees of traditional retail florists with a brick-and-mortar storefront and must be requesting this grant as a First Time Attendee of a regional, state, or national conference/event. Founded in 2024 with a bequest from the estate of Ken and Jean Royer, The Ken and Jean Royer Family Fund promotes floral industry education.
Established through a multi-year pledge from the McCarthy Family, the McCarthy-Family Flowers Legacy Fund honors the enduring legacy of multi-generational retail florists. Each year, the fund will award an educational travel grant of up to $1,000 to help traditional family-owned retail florists reduce barriers to participating in or attending in-person professional development events.
Created in 2025, the Oklahoma Florists’ Education Fund was established to support the continued education and professional development of Oklahoma florists. Each year, one recipient will be selected by AFE’s Education Committee to receive a travel grant of up to $1,000 to help cover the cost of attending an out-of-state industry educational event.
The Retail Florist’s Continued Education Grant provides reimbursement grants to brick-and-mortar retail floral owners in the Maryland, Virginia and DC areas to continue their education through in-person industry events, community courses or webinar classes.
The Endowment is pleased to support continued education in all areas of floriculture. Below are a small sample of previously supported organizations.
