Introducing the 2040 Compass
The 2040 Compass is the Garden’s once in a century strategic plan to elevate the Garden from a beloved Arizona treasure to the world’s leading institution for desert plants, desert beauty and desert solutions.
Our commitment is clear: set the global standard for desert plant immersion, create unforgettable shared experiences, and drive research that helps communities thrive in a hotter, drier world.
The question is no longer whether deserts will
shape the future—it’s who will lead it.
Desert Botanical Garden chooses to lead.
Guided By Five North Stars
The 2040 Compass will carry the Garden into its second century, beginning in 2040.
North Star 1:
Research and Scale Solutions to the Desert’s Greatest Challenges
We turn desert research into scalable, real-world solutions for heat, water and long-term desert resilience.
Strategic Goals
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Focus research on the most urgent and solvable desert challenges.
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Extend the reach and influence of research through partnerships, storytelling and talent development.
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Scale solutions into realworld impact and community participation.
North Star 2:
Bring Desert Stories and Impact to Life
We connect communities through learning, storytelling and partnerships to help people live well in the desert.
Strategic Goals
- Align the Garden around a shared desert story and learning system.
- Create lifelong pathways to share desert knowledge inside and outside the Garden.
- Grow community partnerships to advance desert living across the region.
North Star 3:
set the global standard for desert plant showcase
We immerse people in the beauty of desert plants through mesmerizing landscapes and trails found nowhere else.
Strategic Goals
- Elevate desert-plant displays into immersive urban landscapes that establish a new worldwide benchmark.
- Build a climate-resilient foundation for world-leading displays.
- Deepen multi-sensory immersion across our Papago Park campus and explore signature, scalable extensions.
North Star 4:
grow community through shared desert experiences
We create iconic gatherings and cultural experiences that connect people to one another and to our desert.
Strategic Goals
- Define a signature portfolio of iconic experiences.
- Make the Garden Arizona’s most essential gathering place through repeat visits and expanded seasonal reach.
- Grow a vibrant community through deeper participation and expanded access.
North Star 5:
Secure Operational Capacity & Financial Sustainability
We build diversified, enduring revenue engines and institutional capacity to steward the Garden.
Strategic Goals
- Build an enduring financial foundation for the Garden’s future.
- Grow diversified revenue engines that fuel our mission and resilience.
- Build the leadership, governance and culture to thrive long-term.
The Plan is Grounded in a Simple Mission and Vision
OUR GUIDING MISSION
Bring people together to protect and celebrate the unique wonders of the desert.
OUR 2040 VISION
Lead the world in desert plant display and research that delivers real-world benefit and knowledge sharing.
By our centennial year, this 2040 Compass positions the Garden to be more impactful, more immersive and more resilient — a place where the people cherish today is preserved and amplified and where people don’t just visit, but belong and act.
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