The Michigan Master Gardener Association was created as an educational and service organization serving Extension Master Gardener Volunteers throughout Michigan.

 
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Your Support is Crucial

The Michigan Master Gardener Association is a non-profit corporation with an all-volunteer board who invite you to become involved as a members and as a volunteer.  Membership is open to every MSU Extension Master Gardener volunteer in good standing, which includes re-certified master gardeners and volunteers in training.  The cost is just $5.00 - significantly less than the cost of a movie or lunch out. That $5.00 individual membership fee helps pay for that critical liability insurance coverage that none of us can afford to be without.  Your commitment to our association will help keep this insurance affordable for everyone.

For a copy of the bylaws of the MMGA, click here.

For further information about the Michigan Master Gardener Association, Inc. check out MMGA Frequently Asked Questions.

 

Set up to benefit the dedicated volunteers who have made the Michigan Extension Master Gardener Program such a success, the Michigan Master Gardener Association is dedicated to:

  • providing our members with discounts at garden retailers.

  • providing liability insurance for EMGs at group rates

  • helping Master Gardener Affiliate Chapters to become 501(c)(3) organizations and providing them with leadership training

  • supporting Extension Master Gardeners who don’t have a local association in their area

  • working as a collective voice for EMGs throughout Michigan with Michigan State University.

Volunteers and volunteerism are central to our mission as we strive to make Michigan a more beautiful place to live and to educate Michigan residents about the many benefits of gardening, including the opportunity to grow nutritious, healthy food.

Mission and Purpose

Purpose

This Association shall be organized exclusively for charitable, religious,educational, and scientific purposes under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or any corresponding section of any future federal tax code; specifically to instruct adults and youth in horticulture science, to educate communities about environmentally sound practices through horticulture-based activities, to promote food security, and to improve the aesthetics of the community.

Mission

The Association shall carry out the following:
a) Coordinate, encourage, and foster opportunities for members of the association to further the goal of educating others through the dissemination of environmentally sound, research-based horticulture information, enhance the beautification of the communities of the Members through volunteering,and related activities;
b) Provide appropriate assistance and support, to local chapters and affiliates of the Association;
c) Facilitate certification and recertification of members as Master Gardeners in conjunction with the Michigan State University Extension (“MSUE”);
d) Coordinate with MSUE in providing educational opportunities in horticulture to Members and the general public; and
e) Provide topical communication with members of the association.

History

The Michigan Master Gardener Association started when a team of Michigan Master Gardeners from around the state volunteered to serve on a transition team to create the association in early 2012. By September of that year the MMGA became a 501(c)(3) organization. Shortly after this accomplishment, the MMGA purchased liability insurance coverage for its members.

As a new association the MMGA quickly got to work to create a network of affiliated chapters beginning with annual leadership conferences, bylaws assistance and set of comprehensive Standard Operating Procedures.  As a separate entity, MMGA works closely with MSU Extension for the needs of our membership.

Today MMGA has 14 affiliate chapters and provides liability insurance and member discounts to members around the state.