Fenner Nature Center launches November Mask Ask fundraiser 

After a season that saw the cancelation of its summer camp and the Maple Syrup Festival, Fenner Nature Center had to forgo yet another of its marquee community gatherings, the Apple Butter Festival, which was supposed to be held in mid-October. The resulting loss of revenue has led to Fenner’s November fundraising campaign, the Apple Butter 2020 Mask Ask.  

Mask Ask urges the community to make a single $50 donation, in exchange for a limited-edition mask featuring the 2020 Apple Butter Festival artwork and a membership pass to Fenner Nature Center, which itself is a $30 value. Contributors can request additional masks for $15 each.  

Executive Director Liz Roxberry said Fenner has struggled in part because it is not considered an essential service by the state of Michigan. The pandemic as a whole is taking a major toll, as Fenner has lost 80 percent of its earned income for 2020. “Not only does that come from our seasonal programs like summer camp, but of course our festivals like Maple Syrup Festival in March and Apple Butter Festival in October,” Roxberry said. “We had to find non-traditional ways to look at fundraising from our community.” 

Roxberry said another major difficulty is the fact that the majority of grant funding for place-making institutions such as Fenner has dried up. Fenner has only received supplemental funding from the Paycheck Protection Program and donations from community members. “Not only have we seen a dramatic decrease in our ability to raise funds through seasonal revenue, we’ve also seen a dramatic decline in foundation grant funds that are available to organizations like ours.” 

These combined factors pushed Fenner into having to come up with its own best possible last-ditch effort at its disposal to make up for the severe loss of revenue. Mask Ask was largely inspired by the Apple Butter Festival’s evolution as an arts and culture event since its inception in 1973. The festival began as a fundraiser where volunteers would gather and share joy with each other while peeling, slicing and stirring apples into butter. Eventually, it became a showcase for local music, crafts and artisanship. The 2019 festival featured Capital Area Lace Makers, the Greater Lansing Potters Guild and the Capitol City Quilt Guild.  

“We started seeing a transition to really reflect the arts through imagery. We’ve had Apple Butter Festival posters and artwork that’s been done by local artists that has become rather coveted in our community. We wanted to preserve that history and nostalgia with this campaign,” Roxberry said. 

Roxberry explained that selling the 2020 Apple Butter Festival poster in the form of a cotton mask was an obvious decision, considering how it would be highly emblematic of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “We’re not presenting this as, ‘Here’s an opportunity to buy a really cool mask.’ We’re presenting this as, ‘We really need our community to support us,’” Roxberry said. 

Fenner Nature Center 

2020 E. Mt. Hope Ave., Lansing 

Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

(517) 483-4224 

To donate to the 2020 Mask Ask fundraiser visit: 

mynaturecenter.org/product-category/maskask