Creative fundraising has become a must for any nonprofit, and Bryant Park's business improvement district is no exception. To wrangle some extra cash, its executives dreamed up Shop Bryant Park, a catalog on the park's website that hawks the same plants and flowers growing at the midtown oasis. Soon, items for sale will include replicas of the green café tables and chairs. Even its trash cans will be available. The shop went live last week.
"It will help support our operations," says Daniel Biederman, president of Bryant Park Corp. "And we will patiently grow this so it can be one of our mainstay sources of revenues by 2015."
Everything from hydrangea plants for $29.95 to tulip bulbs for $32 to a collection of shade border plants for $213 can be purchased online. A coloring book for $11.95 depicting the park is part of the collection aimed at children. "We wanted to go for more than a mug or T-shirt," says Mr. Biederman, who hopes to eventually open a gift shop in the park.
