Charitable Giving for 2023
It is that time of the year where we round up all of the good news and let you know where some of the profits of our little art business are going. Our mission from the very start of Blue Aster Studio was to find ways to give back to the nature community. And with your support of our artwork, we've been able to do just that!
In 2023, we continued donating a portion of all of our monarch themed art and gift sales to Monarch Joint Venture. Thanks to your purchases, we donated $205 to support the joint venture's efforts at protecting monarch butterflies and their habitat.
In 2022 we started a scholarship fund with the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (NWRA). The first recipient of the annual scholarship attended the NWRA Annual Symposium in 2023! We are excited to see more new wildlife rehabilitators get the chance to attend this educational event in the future and can't wait to meet the 2024 scholarship recipient in Omaha.
We have continued to support local conservation efforts by giving to organizations who not only advocate for sound environmental policy but do the work to restore and protect lands. This included $1,000 to Sycamore Land Trust, $204 to MC-IRIS (Monroe County Identify and Reduce Invasive Species), and a $100 Booster level membership to the Indiana Native Plant Society.
On a more global scale, we gave $50 to the Alongside Wildlife Foundation to support their work in providing research grants to scientists around the world focusing on natural history, science communication, or living alongside wildlife.
Additionally, we donated artwork and other products to fundraisers and events held by the following organizations:
- Back to the Wild
- American Association of Zookeepers, St. Louis Chapter
- Little River Wetlands Project
- International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council
- Sycamore Land Trust
We are so grateful to all of our customers for helping us support so many organizations over the last five years. You can also check out our roundup of charitable giving in 2019, our charitable giving in 2020, our charitable giving in 2021, and our charitable giving in 2022.