December 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 15

Two Forest Park Forever gardeners (left &
right) complete landscape work with the
assistance of a volunteer. The Saint Louis
Art Museum appears in the background.

A community board plays
a vital role. For every new
capital restoration project in Forest Park, there is a formal ninestep process in front of the 25person Forest Park Advisory
Board. Projects benefit from
having a variety of perspectives
around the table. And from year
to year, the park has a built-in
and diverse advocacy group that
is well-versed in the spirit and
intent of the master plan as new
potential projects come into view.

Grow deliberately. Since 2010,
the Forest Park Forever team
has doubled. In order to manage
this growth successfully, we found
success by methodically building
out a small senior leadership team,
followed by a departmental leadership team that has been able to set
its budgets and goals, which must
click into place with the larger annual organizational goals we set
as a team each fall. This sounds
straightforward - but if it's done
right, it can be foundational to
steady and thoughtful growth.

Actively learn how to be a
better fundraiser. Early in my
conservancy role, it was key for me
to hire a top fundraiser as a senior
leader, then have him build out a

PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER SILVERBERG

creating a bond deal to build the
next phase of capital projects in the
park; and establishing a cooperative maintenance agreement that
articulated how the city and Forest
Park Forever would operate and
maintain the park together.

fundraising team. Concurrently,
with the support of select board
and staff, I worked to continually
hone my own skills in this area. I
needed to learn all I could about
presenting myself as a leader intertwined with the organization's
successful future - which transformational gifts would make possible
- and I needed to feel as comfortable as possible with the art and
science of the ask.

Keep your word, tell your story.
At least once a quarter, I remind my leadership team that
if we can continue fulfilling two
crucial tenants, we'll be successful: Deliver on what we promised
during the planning or fundraising stage; and invest in telling the
story of the success that came
with their support. In doing so,
we'll build trust and momentum.

Develop relationships with
peers, and learn and share with
them. I am part of a working peer
group with my green-space colleagues in St. Louis. We talk shop
across the board monthly - from
upcoming projects and industry
trends to how we're responding to
COVID-19 and more. Park and
conservancy leaders have much to
gain by deepening their relationships with other nonprofits and civic agencies - understanding your
own region's landscape, and knowing who the conversational leaders
are and ultimately where your own
park fits into the bigger picture.

Leverage volunteers strategically. Across a range of roles,
volunteers are a remarkable force
multiplier. We've benefited greatly
from partnering with our local con-

PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N .O R G | D E C E M B E R 2 02 0 |

Parks & Recreation

December 2020 - Parks & Recreation

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