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mutually respectful relationships and
trust between park and volunteer leadership that determines the ultimate success and duration of that partnership.
Repeatedly, park directors and veteran volunteer leaders voice the same
conclusion: wherever a clear, relationship-based mission guides the work,
the joint venture between parks and
their citizen supporters can become a
shared adventure in community enrichment. That adventure includes valuable
benefits and growth opportunities for
both sides.
Several small, park-specific friends
groups can be mobilized into one
large, effective advocacy or fundraising group. " We called them the Green
Team, " says Bill Beckner, NRPA's research manager and the former director
of Fairfax County Park Authority in Virginia, referring to coalitions of individual
volunteer groups. " Park friends groups
in Fairfax County didn't form for the purpose of advocacy. But when we needed
numbers, we could go to those friends
groups and mobilize them. "
Similarly, Paul Wolf, president of
Friends for the Preservation of Ohio
State Parks, notes the ease with which
the 59 friends groups (comprising
7,500 members) that make up his umbrella organization can unite to influence state legislation. He cites the
group's 2008 success in lobbying the
Ohio state legislature to defeat a bill
that would have slashed state park
budgets by 10 percent.
Jane Hodgkinson, director of the
Western DuPage Special Recreation Association in Illinois, adds that the very
nature of in-the-trenches volunteerism
makes its unified appeals to lawmakers particularly compelling. " When
our special recreation volunteers are
coached and given talking points, their
letter-writing campaigns to their legislators are pretty unforgettable. "
Citizen groups have access to resources and funding options that
government agencies do not. Though
rules vary from one state or locality to
the next, the simple fact is that private

Fighting for
San Francisco Parks
The Delicate Dance of Give and Take

" It's a dance, a constant give and take, " says San Francisco Recreation and Park
Department General Manager Phil Ginsburg, commenting on the nature of his agency's partnership with citizen volunteer organizations, " and, like any long-term relationship, it requires commitment. "
Ginsburg does the dance skillfully, according to colleague Karen Kidwell,
president of the San Francisco Parks Trust (SFPT). Unlike many programs where
volunteers typically are " coordinated " by park staff, Ginsburg encourages a thorough-going partnership model, actively seeking a peer-to-peer relationship with
San Francisco's park-supporting private
groups. For Ginsburg, who has held his post
since 2009, this philosophy is about survival-about exercising the stewardship necessary to preserve an infrastructure that
cannot be sustained solely through public
funds. " We are fighting for our parks, " he
says. " A city parks department can no longer meet the need to provide clean, safe, fun
parks by itself. "
What does that peer relationship look
like in practice? In the case of the SFPT,
Ginsburg regularly attends board meetings, strives for daily communication,
takes care in prioritizing his department's
requests for support, and submits to a high
Phil Ginsberg
degree of financial accountability before the
group's leadership. " We want them to know,
if you support this program or function, the money will be spent wisely, " he says.
And it is critical that that trust be in place-because the kinds of funding support
San Francisco's parks department needs most right now is a tough sell to most donors. " We are able to build new facilities, " Ginsburg says, " but our operations budget
is a disaster. " Considering that most donors can see the value of tangible equipment
and facilities much more easily than that of maintenance crews or front desk staffing, citizen volunteer leaders need more than sheer fundraising savvy: They must be
able to inspire confidence in donors for requests that have not typically been made
in the past. " Karen has been able to inspire that confidence, " Ginsburg says with
admiration.
Indeed, Kidwell and the members of the SFPT have, over the past two years, established a stellar track record in both communicating the needs of the parks department and delivering on its funding promises.
Ginsburg and Kidwell have the added responsibility of remaining sensitive to concerns many San Franciscans have about public-private partnerships. In a time of ever-deeper budget cuts, Ginsburg explains, where " we are duking it out over whether
to fill a pothole or plant a tree, " the city's parks department continues to aim for robust
programming and well maintained facilities. Fulfilling that mission requires sustainable, alternative revenue sources from private sources. " Privatization, " though,
has become a hot-button word-conjuring up for many city residents worries about
restricted access and an unwelcome commercial feeling to their parks.
" This is not privatization; this is simply stewardship, " Ginsburg insists. " I think
we have the most fantastic urban park system in the country. But its future lies in robust relationships between nonprofit groups and the park department. "
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JANUARY 2011

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January 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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