TMF Future Fund
Investing in the Future of the Telluride Mushroom Festival
We’re building the first $100,000 of the TMF future fund to help ensure the festival returns year after year.
The oldest wild mushroom festival in North America, the Telluride Mushroom Festival, over the last 46 years has changed lives. Once weekend a year, TMF brings together scientists, artists, foragers, chefs, educators, and mushroom enthusiasts to celebrate the extraordinary world of fungi. What began as a small gathering has grown into an internationally recognized festival and a community dedicated to learning, connection, and discovery. Here’s a story how Blake Westman met TMF founder Paul Stamets at the event in 2004 which turned into a lifelong career with mushrooms.
$25,000 match available | goal: $100,000
As the festival has grown, so have the costs of producing it.
Like many nonprofit organizations and live events, the Telluride Mushroom Festival faces rising expenses each year, from venues and staffing to equipment, insurance, transportation, and logistics. Ticket sales remain an essential source of support, but they are no longer enough to sustain the festival on their own. While sponsors help significantly, Team Mushroom needs more sponsor support as well. Without a financial buffer, in years where ticket sales are less than previous years, the financial impact can make it difficult not only to produce the current festival, but also to confidently plan for the next one.
To ensure this legacy tradition continues to thrive for decades to come, we’ve created the TMF Future Fund: a restricted sustainability fund dedicated to protecting the future of the Telluride Mushroom Festival.
The Future Fund will help TMF:
- Build long-term financial and organizational sustainability
- Prepare for years when ticket revenue is unpredictable
- Continue attracting world-class speakers and educators
- Invest in future programming and community experiences
- Preserve the festival’s mission for generations to come
- Educational programming and workshops
- Scientific collaboration and research partnerships
- Community events and cultural experiences
- Access to world-renowned speakers and educators
- Create future generations of mushroom enthusiasts
Founding Future Fund Member Benefits
Your membership is more than a donation—it’s an investment in the future of a festival that has inspired thousands through science, education, art, community, and a shared appreciation for fungi. A gift of $500 or more automatically makes you a Founding Future Fund Member. As a thank you for investing in the future of the festival, Founding Members receive:
- Exclusive member communications and campaign updates
- Recognition as a Founding Future Fund Member
- The pride of knowing you helped launch a lasting initiative that will benefit the festival for years to come
Donation Levels & Benefits
Festival Patron – DONATION OF $50,000+
- 4 Full General Admission passes for the 2027 festival & 2 VIP passes w/easy access theater entry + Founding Future Fund Member Benefits
- donor page acknowledgment in 2027 festival program, website and theater screenwash
Founding Family – DONATION OF $25,000+
- 2 Full General Admission passes for the 2027 festival & 2 VIP Passes w/easy access theater entry + Founding Future Fund Member Benefits
- donor page acknowledgment in 2027 festival program, website and theater screenwash
Mycelial Web | DONATION OF $10,000+
- 2 Full General Admission passes for the 2027 festival w/easy access theater entry + Founding Future Fund Member Benefits
- donor page acknowledgment in 2027 festival program, website and theater screenwash
Cap & Stem Circle | DONATION OF $5,000+
- 2 Full General Admission passes for the 2027 festival + Founding Future Fund Member Benefits
- donor page acknowledgment in 2027 festival program, website and theater screenwash
Fruiting Fungal Friends | DONATION OF $1,000+
- 1 Full General Admission passes for the 2027 festival + Founding Future Fund Member Benefits
- donor page acknowledgment in 2027 festival program, website and theater screenwash
Foragers | DONATION OF $500+
- Founding Future Fund Member Benefits
- TBD level acknowledgment in 2027 festival program, website and theater screenwash
Sporing Supporters | DONATION UP TO $499
- TBD level acknowledgment in 2027 festival program, website and theater screenwash
Regulations
*Per IRS rules, grants from Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) or Private Foundations cannot be used for gifts that provide tangible benefits unless those benefits are declined.
**To avoid processing surcharges, please mail a check to Telluride Institute C/O Rebecca Roberts, PO Box 254, Rico, CO and please email rebecca@tellurideinstitute.org to confirm
Questions?
For questions about becoming a donor please email the Telluride Mushroom Festival Executive Officer, Ashley Coady Smith at ashley@tellurideinstitute.org and Business Development Manager, Rebecca Roberts at rebecca@tellurideinstitute.org for questions on the TMF Future Fund and becoming a donor of the Telluride Mushroom Festival.
Become a Founding Future Fund Member
Whether you make a leadership gift, help unlock the challenge match, or become a Founding Future Fund Member with a gift of $500 or more, you’re joining the community that is building the financial future of the Telluride Mushroom Festival.
To make this year’s Telluride Mushroom Festival happen, an incredible group of supporters stepped up and helped us close a $100,000 funding gap for this year’s festival.
That generosity got us here. It made this festival possible. And we are deeply grateful.
But solving this year’s challenge doesn’t solve the challenge of the years ahead.
Now we’re asking our community to help us build $100,000 for the future.
That is the goal of the TMF Future Fund—to create a financial foundation that helps make sure this festival can continue, year after year.
We’ve already raised more than $26,000 toward that $100,000 future goal.
We’re asking you to help us take the next step.
If this festival has given you something (a friendship, an education, a career, a sense of belonging, a deeper connection to fungi and the natural world) this is your opportunity to give something back.
Because we don’t just want to make it through this year.
We want to make sure there is a Telluride Mushroom Festival next year and for generations to come.
Thank you to the following donors for helping make the 2026 festival possible!
Festival Patron/Founding Family ($25,000+)
Erin Samueli, The Humboldt Foundation
Mycelial Web ($10,000+)
Gloria & Mickey Myhre
Cap & Stem Circle ($5,000+)
Durfee Day
Spencer Stewart & Stephanie Ansin
CCAASE Telluride
Raynier Foundation
Fruiting Fungal Friends ($1,000+)
Christopher May
Howard Kotler
