December 2009 - Parks & Recreation - 7

P erspect i ves
A Message from NRPA's Leaders

Technology and Grassroots
Support for Parks and Recreation

Recently watched the HBO documentary, By the People: The Election of Barack

Obama, and was struck by the comments of Obama's campaign architect, David
Plouffe. He credited technology-specifically social media and grassroots support-for Obama's win. Whether or not you are a supporter of President Obama, I
think we can all agree that a large measure of his success resulted from his ability to mobilize frustrated voters who desired change.
As I watched the show and thought about the
power of grassroots support for positive change, I
wondered how NRPA could do more to mobilize its
members to demand change for park funding. Specifically, how NRPA can energize its members to advocate for federal funding for parks and recreation
when victories have been few and far between?
It's no wonder that park advocates have grown
weary and frustrated as the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) for years has been raided
or starved of funding in the annual appropriations
process. Nor has there been any dedicated federal
funding for urban parks since 2001 when the last
UPARR grants were made. To add insult to injury,
some members of the U.S. Senate actually introduced language in the stimulus bill to prevent parks
from receiving funds. Apparently it wasn't enough
to deny approved funding for parks in the federal
budget. Some elected officials felt they needed to
go out of their way to ensure that parks receive not
a dime of stimulus funds, and they made a point
of characterizing such spending as " frivolous " or
a " nicety. "
To look on the positive side, however, we do have
some champions in the U.S. Congress who truly get
it. They work hard to ensure that parks and recreation receive appropriate levels of federal funding,
and they understand the vital importance of parks
and recreation in building livable communities and
providing opportunities for healthy lifestyles.
And we are starting to make an effective case
with the Administration. During the recent 2009
NRPA Urban Park Summit, White House and cabinet level officials of a number of departments spoke
about the important role of parks and recreation in
promoting health, environment, transportation, and
livable communities. Some of you who are reading

this may be skeptical, as it's a familiar cheer, but
their sincerity seemed genuine. They said, however, that in order to be successful in advancing our
cause, they need our help in two areas: First, data
that demonstrates how parks and recreation can
provide solutions for the nation's health problems
and second, educating Congress about why funding for parks and recreation is an important federal
responsibility.
NRPA is hard at work to provide the data, but educating Congress requires your help. Using the lessons learned from the Obama campaign, how, then,
do we mobilize the professional and the park user
alike to demand the attention of Congress? It simply won't happen without the collective voices of our
membership as well as all advocates for parks and
recreation across America. You are the best voice
we have to tell how federal funding for parks and
recreation helps your community, why it leverages double and triple amounts of local funding, and
why without such federal assistance, many projects
would never get built. We need your ideas and we
need your voices.
There are many tools to help you become a
better advocate-visit the advocacy pages of the
new NRPA website; sign up for Action Alerts and
breaking news; and most importantly, please plan
to come to Washington to the 2010 National Legislative Forum on Parks and Recreation March 16-19,
2010. With your presence in Washington, we can
make a difference.
Happy Holidays.


You are the best
voice to tell how
federal funding
for parks and
recreation helps
your community,
why it leverages
double and triple
amounts of local
funding, and why
without federal
assistants, projects
never get built.
Send me your
feedback-
I want to hear
from you.
btulipane@nrpa.org

Barbara Tulipane, CAE
Chief Executive Officer

www.NRPA .ORG

DECEMBER 2009

Parks & Recreation

December 2009 - Parks & Recreation

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