September 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 112

Parks & reCreatIon at Work

run along Knoxville's downtown waterfront linking 10 parks, nearly 20 miles of
recreational trails, three civil war forts,
historic settlement sites, and diverse ecological features and recreational amenities. The Urban Wilderness Corridor will
allow residents to take advantage of natural resources in their own backyard. But
the LPF did not undertake such an initiative on its own. Evans and the foundation
worked patiently to garner support support from community partners such as the
mayor, the City of Knoxville, Knox County, the Tennessee Department of Tourism,

director. The new leadership built a business plan, recruited leaders, and-most
importantly-focused its mission. Today,
IPF is a robust organization that knows its
identity and its mission-and stays true
to it. It is difficult, Porteous acknowledges, to turn down potential resources, but
the foundation has seen success over the
past decade because its carefully articulated mission has served as an organizational compass.
■■ ■Recruit passionate leaders who know
how to build relationships. Tim Dimke,
executive director of the Rockford Park

" Relationship-building is the key....
People get involved and donate because of
the networking, partnering, and donor
appreciation for their gifts. "
-tim Dimke, executive Director,
Rockford, illinois, Park District

and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
■■ ■Define and stay true to your mission.
The Indianapolis Parks Foundation
(IPF) of today looks quite different than
when it was established in 1991. When IPF
was founded 20 years ago, then-mayor Will
Hudnutt saw an opportunity in Indianapolis
to take the park system to the next level, given the increased visibility of the city as the
amateur sports capital of the world. According to Porteous, the foundation in its humble
beginnings took an opportunistic approach
to fundraising and " chased dollars " as so
many young non-profit organizations do.
Typically, this approach to raising
funds leads to few (or merely short-term)
rewards. And so it did with the Indianapolis Parks Foundation, which fell into financial hardship after just a few years of
using this approach. But in 1999, the city
and park department underwent leadership changes and Porteous was brought
on board as the foundation's executive

110 Parks & Recreation

SEPTEMBER 2011

District in Illinois, believes that leadership is the key to having a successful park
foundation. The Rockford Park District has a
wide variety of board members who have
sincere passion for the park district, are
known for being philanthropists, and are
well connected members of the community. Dimke knows that people donate because of existing relationships or ties with
the organization.
Dimke says, " Relationship building
is the key. Our goal is to build a broad
base of foundation board members and
an Ambassadors program (young professional group that grooms future board
members). People get involved and donate because of the networking, partnering, and donor appreciation for their
gifts. "
One of the most generous and successful gifts to the Rockford Park District
was the Roland and Gladys Olson Estate-a gift that was developed through
a long-term relationship with the park

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foundation's board members. When the
Rockford Park District received the $3.2
million gift in 2001, it was the largest gift
in the organization's history.
■■ ■Communicate and collaborate with
parks and recreation. " Above and beyond " is how Judith Kieffer, executive director of the L.A. Parks Foundation (LAPF),
characterizes the role the foundation plays
in the community. Established in 2008, the
foundation's mission is to enhance, preserve,
expand and promote the recreational opportunities and facilities of the more than
400 city parks that serve Los Angeles. She
describes the foundation's relationship with
the city's parks department as " totally collaborative " . She follows the principle that any
project the foundation funds or undertakes
must not be a burden to the parks department. In fact, the entire first year after LAPF
was established, Kieffer focused less on raising funds than on integrating naturally into
the department. She knew that she needed
collective buy-in, support, and complete collaboration between the foundation and the
department in order to move forward and
grow as a foundation.
Building on the strong relationship
started in its early days, the LAPF has
experienced great success, including
funding the opening of the first universal
access sports field in Los Angeles and
putting horseback-mounted patrols back
into L.A. parks.
W hile these guiding fundraising
principles are basic, they are essential building blocks and reminders for
park foundations as they navigate their
increased role in supporting parks and
recreation in their communities. These
foundations have an opportunity to play
an important role in the future of parks.
They must, however, take full advantage
of resources and apply best fundraising
practices in place if they are to fulfi ll their
role and help give the next generation a
chance to enjoy and benefit from our nation's parks.
ReBeCCA WICKLINe is Senior Director

of Development at NRPA

September 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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