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Toro Company Announces Land. Water. Thrive. 2018 Grant Recipients

BLOOMINGTON, Minn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–With a commitment to supporting our communities and enhancing outdoor environments, The Toro Company is pleased to announce the 2018 grant recipients for its Greenspace Enhancement Grant Program. In connection with the company’s Land. Water. Thrive. global initiative, Toro is helping support organizations in their efforts to revitalize parks and greenspaces, and the outdoors of our neighborhoods and schools.

“We are so proud to support an array of impactful community projects through the Greenspace Enhancement Grant Program,” said Judson McNeil, president of The Toro Foundation. “The projects supported in Toro communities across the world reflect the ongoing need to revitalize outdoor environments in our own backyard.”

For 2018, the Greenspace Enhancement Grant Program awarded grants to the following organizations in cities where The Toro Company has a presence:

Beatrice, Nebraska

  • City of Beatrice ($5,000) – In 2007, Exmark Manufacturing, a division of The Toro Company, celebrated its 25th anniversary in Beatrice by donating and building a new playground for Roszell/Exmark Park. To meet the needs of the community, this grant will help provide additional shade trees and new landscaping for the park.
  • Diller-Odell Public Schools ($20,000) – Servicing the Diller and Odell communities in southern Gage and Jefferson counties, the school district aims to provide high-quality facilities for its students and is building a new gym to create additional space for music, play production and speech programs. This grant will help provide new landscaping around the new facility.
  • Keep Beatrice Beautiful ($40,400) – Located along the Union Pacific railway route, which was built in 1879, the Chief Standing Bear Trailtoday runs from Marysville, Kansas, to Beatrice, and connects with the Homestead Trail that runs 40 miles north to Lincoln. This grant, managed by Keep Beatrice Beautiful, will reclaim areas of the trail that have been neglected. Planting evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs and seeding the area will help turn a neglected industrial area into a part of the trail enjoyed by community and tourists alike.

Bloomington & Shakopee, Minnesota

  • Camp Fire Minnesota ($38,500) – With nature as a catalyst, Camp Fire Minnesota energizes youth through nature-based experiences, and is one of America’s longest running youth development organizations. With construction of a new Community and Dining Center at Tanadoona on Lake Minnewashta, this grant will help with tree and shrub planting surrounding the new building. Additionally, it will help in creating a second camp garden where youth will plant, tend and harvest produce to prepare healthy meals in the new Teaching Kitchen.
  • Minnesota Landscape Arboretum ($40,000) – Home to 1,200 acres of gardens, plant, tree collections, and natural areas, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is building a new regional trail to provide an off-road alternative for people to travel for recreational purposes. This grant will support beautification of the landscape along portions of the trail that traverse the Arboretum’s property including installing turf, shrubs, trees and plants that are environmentally sound, sustainable, and support songbirds and pollinators.
  • The Loppet Foundation ($21,500) – With a shared mission of creating a year-round outdoor activity for underserved youth and families in the Minneapolis area, The Loppet Foundation and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board recently opened a new Trailhead Building in Theodore Wirth Regional Park. This grant will help support the installation of a new garden and greenspace, as well as the removal of invasive species in the area.

Iron Mountain, Michigan

  • Habitat for Humanity Menominee River ($20,000) – Serving families in need by building and renovating homes, and improving neighborhoods, this project will bring together local civic groups and volunteers to transform the Stanton Street Tot Lot in Iron Mountain. Aging tennis courts will be replaced by pickle ball courts, in addition to installing new playground equipment and improving the greenspace with new landscaping that will help enhance the park experience.
  • Lake Antoine Park, Dickinson County($40,000) – One of the oldest and most frequented parks in Dickinson County, Lake Antoine Park covers 48 acres just outside Iron Mountain. This grant will help to revitalize the park in a number of areas, including stump removal, reseeding open greenspaces, planting native shoreline shrubs, and regrading and cleaning up the beach area.

Windom, Minnesota

  • Business, Arts and Recreation Center ($35,000) – In partnership with several local, regional and state organizations in Minnesota, this grant will help in efforts to develop and expand sustainable public greenspaces in Windom. This includes the construction of rain gardens and earth berm in Tegels Park, improving the landscaping surrounding the Business, Arts and Recreation Center, and planting trees along the Des Moines River in Island Park.

Xiamen City, China

  • Green Waterkeeper Environmental Center ($10,000) – Focusing on the protection of water resources, the Green Waterkeeper Environmental Center carries out activities associated with the Jiulong River and Xiamen streams. This grant will help support water quality testing, and educating the community on nature and the ecology of the river with the ultimate goal of increasing environmental awareness.

Launched in early 2018, the Land. Water. Thrive. initiative aims to help improve water use efficiency, enhance outdoor environments and greenspaces, and educate on sustainable agricultural practices. Over a two-year period, The Toro Foundation is contributing up to $1 million in grants to nonprofits in our global communities with the Greenspace Enhancement Grant Program.

For 2019, The Toro Company will be accepting grant applications from the following cities worldwide. The application process will open in May 2019, and more information on grant criteria can be found at on www.toro.com.

  • Abilene, Texas
  • Adelaide, Australia
  • Ankeny, Iowa
  • Althengstett, Germany
  • Brisbane, Australia
  • El Cajon, California
  • El Paso, Texas
  • Fiano Romano, Italy
  • Juarez, Mexico
  • Melbourne, Australia
  • Oevel, Belgium
  • Perth, Australia
  • Ploiesti, Romania
  • Plymouth, Wisconsin
  • Riverside, California
  • Sanford, Florida
  • Spellbrook, United Kingdom
  • Sydney, Australia
  • Tomah, Wisconsin
  • Ustron, Poland

About The Toro Company
The Toro Company (NYSE: TTC) is a leading worldwide provider of innovative solutions for the outdoor environment including turf maintenance, snow and ice management, landscape, rental and specialty construction equipment, and irrigation and outdoor lighting solutions. With sales of $2.6 billion in fiscal 2018, Toro’s global presence extends to more than 125 countries. Through constant innovation and caring relationships built on trust and integrity, Toro and its family of brands have built a legacy of excellence by helping customers care for golf courses, sports fields, public green spaces, commercial and residential properties and agricultural operations. For more information, visit www.toro.com.


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