Elizabeth R. Dean Trust Fund 

The Elizabeth R. Dean Promenade on Main Street from E. Huron Street to William Street 

History

In 1965, the Elizabeth Dean Fund Trust supported its first project, the planting of trees in the promenade on Main Street from E. Huron Street to William Street.  This section of Main Street where the specialty grocery store Ms. Dean’s father owned, Dean & Co., is now officially known as the Elizabeth Dean Promenade. The promenade was rededicated on April 7, 2000 and a plaque recognizing Ms. Dean's generous gift to the city was placed on the concrete planter on the northeast corner of Main and Liberty Streets. 

The Dean Fund Committee

In 1969, the Ann Arbor City Council formed a Dean Fund Subcommittee to suggest uses for the fund, including the proposed formation of a special tree care crew. By 1974, the Dean Fund Committee was formally established, to be comprised of five (5) citizen member appointees, and one (1) representative from City Council. (Currently 7 citizen members.)

The Dean Fund Committee reviews, oversees and approves all Dean Fund expenditures for each fiscal year. Administratively, the Dean Fund annual operating budget (based on annual interest income) appears as an independently managed fund within the City of Ann Arbor’s Field Operations- Forestry Division budget. 

Each year it allocates the annual interest income towards tree planting and tree maintenance activities that cannot be provided by the city’s General Fund Forestry Budget. Planting proposals are submitted by citizens, staff, merchants, neighborhood associations and special interest groups, and are reviewed by the Dean Fund Committee. Criteria are used to evaluate these projects, based on the degree of benefit to the entire community.  If you would like to submit a project idea to the Dean Fund Committee, please click here to download the Dean Fund Committee Proposal form (pdf). 

The Dean Fund Committee encourages donations of matching funds for special projects, when possible, to allow its funding to have greater civic impact.  Such cost-share projects have been undertaken with the Downtown Development Authority, the University of Michigan, the Downtown Kiwanis Club, and the city's Park Development Division via park millage funds.

Dean Fund Committee Meetings

The Dean Fund Committee generally meets on the second Tuesday of each month.  Please check back regularly as meeting dates/times may change.