2016 impact report - park pride · fabric of our cities. they are places for members of the...

to engage communities to

activate the power of parks

mission

105 Friends of the

Park groups - the most ever!

Over

400attendees at the 15th Annual Parks

& Greenspace Conference

19,970 Volunteer

service hours in parks

2 Park visionings completed with input from over

1000 communitymembers

2016 Impact ReportPreview

For the full report, visit www.parkpride.org

Friends of Ormond-Grant Park at the ribbon cutting for the new playground, June 2016.

English Avenue community member provides input on a park visioning plan for Boone Park West, December 2016.

Executive Director, Michael Halicki, welcomes

attendees to the Parks & Greenspace Conference, March 2016.

Volunteers create a pollinator garden in Vine City Park, March 2016.

Adams Park boardwalk, completed with funding from a

Park Pride Legacy Grant, September 2016.

Participant on the Community Garden Tour

inspects produce, May 2016..

22Active

community gardens in

parks

$3,429,707Invested in parks

through grants and funds raised by Friends groups

Vision, Mission, Philosophy, and Values

Philosophy

Park Pride believes in the Power of Parks. Great parks have the power to increase our quality of life and strengthen the

fabric of our cities. They are places for members of the community to gather, play, relax, and lose themselves in nature,

encouraging mental and physical health. Great parks promote community engagement, safety, and revitalization. They

spur economic development and benefit tourism. Great parks make our citizens happy, our communities strong and our

cities sustainable.

Mission Statement

To engage the community to activate the power of parks.

Vision

We envision a nationally recognized network of locally inspired parks, greenspaces and trails that engages individuals,

strengthens communities and transforms Atlanta.

Values

Community-Based Approach: Place-based experience and the wisdom of people who live, work and play here

are at the center of our efforts. It grounds the work we do.

Systemic Approach: Parks should function as part of a system that supports healthy people, strong

neighborhoods, vibrant business districts, a robust economy and a healthy environment.

Connectivity: Parks, greenspaces and trails create opportunities to bridge gaps and barriers within and between

individuals, neighborhoods and business districts.

Inclusivity: People of all ages and backgrounds have important voices that should be heard. Parks are for

everyone.

Collaboration: Government, nonprofit, business, philanthropic and community partners are central to our

success and help us achieve a greater impact.

Passion: Passion for the transformative power of parks, greenspaces and trails is a daily motivator that pushes us

to give 110%.

Respect: Each individual has intrinsic value that deserves recognition and respect. We demonstrate respect

through active listening, passion with politeness, and openness to multiple perspectives.

Stewardship: We value the resources entrusted to us. We strive for efficient ways to make the most of each

dollar.

what we do

our work in parks across atlanta in 2016

2015 In Review

FOP Groups

All items

Fiscal Partners

All items

Visionings

All items

Matching Grants

All items

Small Change Grants

All items

Donor-Directed Capital Projects

All items

Community Gardens

All items

Go

og

le M

aps Making the

greener good possible

since 1989

N

Park Visioning Plans

Matching Grant Recipients

Friends of the Park Groups

Community Gardens

Fiscal Partners

Engaging the Community to Activate the Power of Parks

park pride

Give a gift at parkpride.org

Park Pride is the only Atlanta-based nonprofit that provides programs and leadership to help communities realize their dreams for neighborhood parks.

programs leadershipFriends of the Park

Park VisioningVolunteer

GrantsCommunity Gardens

Fiscal PartnersAdopt-the-Atlanta BeltLine

Parks & Greenspace Conference Advocacy

WorkshopsPark Meetings

Georgia Legacy

Park Pride’s Grant Program funded park improvements in 26 communities.

2 Park Vision Plans were crafted by communities for their parks. 105 Friends of the Park Groups actively engaged with their parks and communities. Neighbors grew and harvested local food in 22 active community gardens.

6,307 people contributed 19,969 service hours to local parks.

53 Friends of the Park Groups raised funds for their parks through Park Pride’s fiscal partner program.

$5,594,529 in direct benefits to parks resulted from Park Pride programs, projects, grants, community-raised funds and matching investments over the past year!

this is the power of parks

Our Philosophy: The Power of Parks—Great parks have the power to increase our quality of life and strengthen the fabric of our cities. They are places for members of the community to gather, play, relax, and lose themselves in nature, encouraging mental and physical health. Great parks promote community engagement, safety, and revitalization. They spur economic development and benefit tourism. Great parks make our citizens happy, our communities strong, and our cities sustainable.

Our Mission: To engage communities to activate the power of parks.

Our Vision: We envision a nationally recognized network of locally inspired parks, greenspaces and trails that engages individuals, strengthens communities and transforms Atlanta.

2016 Total Program Value

9%

6%

18%

58%

6%

Program Value Education and Advocacy Programs (3%)

Volunteer Programs (9%)

Friends of the Park, Community Garden & FiscalPartners Programs (6%)

Park Visioning and Directed Capital Projects(18%)

Matching Grant Programs (58%)

Management, Administration, Fundraising andMarketing Expenses (6%)

$360,875

$5,594,529

Management & Administration

Value of Park Impact

Every dollar of administrative support given to Park Pride leverages over $15 of impact benefiting parks and greenspace.

1 : 15

Education & Advocacy Programs (3%) Volunteer Programs (9%)Friends of the Park, Community Garden & Fiscal Partners Programs (6%)Park Visioning & Directed Capital Projects (18%) Grant Programs (58%)Management, Administration, Fundraising & Marketing (6%)

6%

13%

14%

11%14%

4%

12%

10%

14%

Park Pride 2015 ProgramExpenses

Historic 4th Ward Park Conservancy and Community Gardens ProgramsAdvocacyEducationVolunteer and Adopt-the-BeltLine ProgramsFriends of the Park & Fiscal PartnersPark Visioning and Donor-Directed Capital ProjectsMatching Grant ProgramsFundraising ExpensesMarketing CostsManagement/Reserves

6%

13%

14%

11%14%

4%

12%

10%

14%



6%

13%

14%

11%14%

4%

12%

10%

14%



6%

13%

14%

11%14%

4%

12%

10%

14%



6%

13%

14%

11%14%

4%

12%

10%

14%



6%

13%

14%

11%14%

4%

12%

10%

14%



Give a gift today at parkpride.org

6%9%

6%

18%

58%

“vine city park represents what [we] can achieve working together.” − Byron Amos, Friends of Vine City Park


“the partnership with park pride has been incredible.”

− Corliss Claire, Adams Park Foundation

Stories of Park Transformations

before

after

before after

Park Pride Visioning Program | Vine City Park

The Friends of Vine City Park kicked ity Park koff the summer with a ribbon cutting to celebrate the completion of their park! Thecommunity helped design the “Phase II”park improvements as part of the masterplan through Park Pride’s VisioningProgram. New amenities include anexpanded playground, exercise equipment, a rain garden, a dry creek bed and a micro-forest. The green infrastructure elements,such as the rain garden, help mitigate flooding that has plagued the neighborhood for years and signs serve to educate howthese features benefit the neighborhood. Once the site of abandoned buildings, this space is now an active community park!

Park Pride Grants Program | Adams Park

When the Adams Park Foundation began revitalizing theirhistoric greenspace years ago, most areas were coveredwith overgrowth and invasive plants, obscuring commonspaces from view and blocking walkways. Neighborsrolled up their sleeves and began the laborious process of clearing one area after another, uncovering gorgeous stone walls and paths, which spurred the group’s parkdreams. Once the group of volunteers became a registered

“Friends of the Park” group, they successfully appliedfor a Park Pride grant to help fund the construction of a boardwalk across the lake. Finished this summer, theboardwalk completes a walking trail circling the lake, now very popular with joggers, fishermen and families. “Thepartnership with Park Pride has been incredible,” saidCorliss Claire, an Adams Park Foundation leader, “Once they saw we were really dedicated and serious aboutour goals they said, ‘Let’s partner!’ and from there wecompleted these wonderful projects you see now!”

Cor

liss

Cla

ire

“we did what we needed to do...” − Richard Marion, Briarlake Forest ParkPark Pride Friends of the Park Program | Briarlake Forest Park, DeKalb County

The Friends of Briarlake Forest Park are helping theold-growth forest in their community to thrive. Theysuccessfully protected the land from damaging development and convinced the county to purchase it forpublic greenspace. “Only one thing mattered,” said RichardMarion, President of the Briarlake Forest CommunityAlliance, “We had to make sure that the trees didn’t get cutdown. [The forest is] an amenity for future generations. Wedid what we needed to do to preserve this area and protect our quality of life.” The Friends group has since taken advantage of many of the benefits Park Pride’s Friends of the Park Program has to offer: organized volunteer days,fiscal partner services, educational workshops, and more.The group even received a grant to host sheep in the forestto eat away stubborn invasives harmful to the trees. Raisingfunds for warm and fuzzy weed control has brought peopletogether in a fun way that benefits the forest!

Park Pride Volunteer Program | Chapel Hill Park, DeKalb County

The Friends of Chapel Hill Park have made incredible transformations throughout their126-acre park over the years, thanks to hundreds of volunteer hours dedicated to improving this greenspace. “Most people are absolutely shocked when they get to thispark,” says Linda Cotten Taylor, Chair of the Friends of Chapel Hill Park, “[People say],‘I didn’t know this was here, I didn’t know you had all this in the park!’” This past spring, volunteers came together and planted native grasses on a small hillside to preventerosion, fished tires and trash out of the lake, and built a brand-new, outdoor classroom where students can learn or park-goers can go to enjoy the stunning view of the lake.

“most people are absolutely shocked when they get to this park.”

− Linda Cotten Taylor, Friends of Chapel Hill Park

preserved for the future

warm & fuzzy weed control

before after

Susa

nne

Swin

g T

hom

pso

nK

aren

Sch

aefe

r


Park Pride A Brief History

11987-1991 Part of the City Park Pride began as an advisory committee formed by the City of Atlanta Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs. In 1989, Park Pride Atlanta incorporated as a tax-exempt organization governed by a volunteer board of directors. Park Pride’s first Executive Director, Carolyn Henry, was paid by the City’s planning department. As originally incorporated, Park Pride ran three programs: Adopt a Park, Volunteer and the Beautification Incentive Program (BIP) a park improvement competition for City parks employees funded by the Cecil B. Day Family. Park Pride continues to run the first two programs. The Beautification Incentive Program was discontinued in 2001 when budget and staffing cuts did not allow time for projects beyond basic maintenance. 1991 The City as the Client In 1991, Park Pride entered into a contract with the City of Atlanta to manage the three programs listed above. The contract also allowed Park Pride to accept gifts on behalf of the City, an exception to the requirement that City Council approve the acceptance of all gifts. Under the contract, Park Pride would run the Adopt a Park, Volunteer and Beautification Incentive programs. In exchange for these services, the City of Atlanta agreed to provide Park Pride office space as well as financial compensation. Allison Barnett was hired as Executive Director, making her the first Park Pride employee. 1998 A New Client In 1998, Park Pride introduced its Fiscal Partners program. Through this program, Park Pride acts as the fiscal sponsor for Friends of the Park groups raising money for park improvements in their community. Park Pride charges a 5% administrative fee to accept and track gifts, provide monthly financial reports and send acknowledgement letters. This marked the first time that Park Pride had a client other than the City. 2000 PARC and Park Advocacy In 2000 Park Pride’s board adopted a strategic plan that called for the addition of a new focus on advocacy. To accomplish that objective, Park Pride brought together park advocates as “People for Parks” to work collaboratively to bring focus to the greenspace issues facing our community. In 2001 this group launched an initiative called PARC 9-1-1 (the emergency number refers to its motto of “9 Goals, 1 Visionary Mayor, 1 Great City”). PARC 9-1-1 called on Atlanta’s business, civic and political leadership to commit to a platform designed to create a world-class park system and protect the city’s natural resources. The Trust for Public Land, Grant Park Conservancy, Trees Atlanta, Olmsted Linear Parks Alliance, Piedmont Park Conservancy, Georgia Conservation Voters, Georgia Recreation and Parks Association, PATH Foundation, The Nature Conservancy and Conservation Research Institute collaborated to develop the platform, which was endorsed

by more than 60 organizations throughout the city as well as the Mayor, City Council President, and the majority of City Council. In the spring of 2002, PARC 911 released an implementation plan outlining the steps necessary to achieve the 9-point plan. Around the same time, Atlanta’s Mayor Shirley Franklin appointed a task force charged with studying the existing Parks Department and developing a strategy to optimize its effectiveness, using the PARC 911 Implementation Plan as a starting point for their efforts. As the Task Force prepared their report, the PARC 911 program geared up to assist with building support for the recommendations. With the support of a grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, the PARC 911 program was able to greatly increase the profile of park issues. Also in the spring of 2002, Park Pride held its first Parks and Greenspace Conference. The goal of the conference is to create a forum to ensure the future of Georgia’s valued greenspace. The Annual Parks & Greenspace Conference, held at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, is a great introduction to Park Pride and our work, and provides an opportunity for greenspace advocates and community partners to network and share strategies for improving parks. The information provided as well as the collaborations and partnerships developed at this conference facilitate our efforts to create a world class parks system for Atlanta. In November 2002, the Mayors Parks and Greenspace Task Force released their “Six Big Ideas” for improving Atlanta’s parks. Foremost among the recommendations was the creation of a Parks Authority to assume operation of the City of Atlanta Park System. A contentious debate ensued; ultimately due to the lack of support from the State Legislature, the effort to create a Parks Authority was dropped. In 2004, the Council created a Parks Technical Advisory Group to make recommendations to improve and better maintain Atlanta’s parks, acquire greenspace and determine if a Parks Authority was the right approach to achieve Mayor Franklin’s goal of a greener Atlanta. “PTAG” met for more than a year before dissolving, never issuing a final report. However, PTAG did make three unofficial recommendations in its draft April 2006 report:

**Pass a $105 million park and greenspace opportunity bond

**Increase the maintenance budget for the Office of Parks by $2 million per year for the next five years

**Create the Parks Foundation already authorized by the City Council

PTAG furthermore concluded that, absent the existence of a dedicated funding source for park maintenance, creating a Parks Authority would not be in the best interest of the City.

22004 A Vision for the Future Following Allison Barnett’s 2003 decision to step down from her role as Executive Director in order to transition to part time work, in May 2004, Park Pride hired George Dusenbury to lead the organization as ED. Dusenbury launched an effort to increase outreach to communities throughout the City. In 2004, Park Pride approached the Cecil B. Day Family Foundation with a request to reallocate funds previously provided to the discontinued Beautification Incentive Program in order to fund a micro-grant program to support community park improvement efforts. The foundation graciously agreed, and Park Pride introduced the Community Micro Grants program to provide matching grants of up to $500 to communities for capital improvements to public parks. To promote the program, Park Pride visited nearly every NPU within the City of Atlanta. This effort not only helped market Community Micro Grants, it introduced many communities to Park Pride for the first time. The program is now known as Small Change Grants and the cap has been raised to $2,500. In 2005, Park Pride hired a landscape architect, Walt Ray, to create a “Park Visioning” program. Through this program, Park Pride works with communities in an extensive collaborative process to develop master plans or “visions” for their parks. The program helps communities reach consensus and bring their ideas into focus. At the end of the process, communities have a plan with a prioritized list of projects with cost estimates which they can use to seek funding for the implementation. 2005 A New Focus on Advocating for Parks Having established strong relationships with community organizations and park advocates, Park Pride launched efforts to leverage these relationships to advocate for parks. In 2005, Park Pride worked with community groups to advocate for $105 million park and greenspace opportunity bonds, a nearly $3 million increase in the Parks budget and creation of the BeltLine Tax Allocation District (TAD), which will provide more than $1.6 billion to the BeltLine project. Park Pride supported parks in Sandy Springs, supporting community opposition to the proposed sale of six Sandy Springs parks by the Fulton County Commission. In 2006, Park Pride hired a Director of Community Building encourage citizens to get involved with their local parks. A 37 page support manual entitled Taking Back Your Park was created to serve as the foundation for a new “Friends Raising” Program. The manual guides groups through the process of creating a successful Friends of the Park group, providing tips on establishing goals, creative effective structure, and establishing a fundraising efforts. The Friends of the Park Program gives structure to our support of community groups working to creating positive change in public parks. The program provides central point of contact to access all of Park Pride’s programs. This structure enables us to communicate more effectively and efficiently with community groups and helps us to track and coordinate each group’s participation in the various programs.

2007 Empowering Communities Community groups eager to implement their park visions looked to Park Pride for assistance in securing funding. In 2007, with the support of the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, Park Pride created the Community Grant Program. The program, which was modeled on the successful Micro Grants program, offers much larger grants of up to $100,000. Park Pride works closely with the grantees to ensure that they raise the required matching dollars and that the projects are successfully implemented. In 2007, Park Pride successfully lobbied City Council to allow communities to establish Community Gardens in City parks. Through the popular Community Garden Program, Park Pride assists communities in establishing community gardens in city parks, offering resources including professional design, technical assistance, materials and tools and volunteers. In 2009 Park Pride marked two decades of leading the effort to create a world class park system for Atlanta. We celebrated the milestone with “20/20 Vision for the Future of Atlanta’s Parks”, partnering with 20 Friends of the Park groups to host picnics in 20 parks throughout Atlanta. 2010-A New Decade 2010 marked many significant changes for Park Pride. Guided by the strategic plan – and at the invitation of DeKalb County–Park Pride expanded its traditional geographic footprint beyond the City of Atlanta, entering into a contract with DeKalb County to provide services. Under this contract, Park Pride offers “Friends of” services, along with the fiscal partners program and volunteer programming to DeKalb’s parks. Also in 2010, Park Pride also entered into a contract with the Atlanta BeltLine to create and manage the “Adopt the Atlanta BeltLine” program. After six successful years as Executive Director, George Dusenbury stepped down when Mayor Kasim Reed asked him to take on the role of Atlanta’s Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs. During his tenure, George strengthened and expanded the organization with a particular focus on advocacy, programming and community outreach. 2011 marked many milestones including the 10th Anniversary of the Annual Parks and Greenspace Conference; adoption of a new strategic plan; the creation of Park Pride’s 20th community garden; and the completion of two dozen community-led “Park Visions” with upwards of $9 million in public and private funds invested in these parks. In 2012, Park Pride expanded our grant programs with the addition of CCommunity Building Grants ($2,500 - $50,000) funded by the Home Depot Foundation. In order to maximize the impact of this new program, Park Pride implemented a comprehensive restructuring of our grant programs. Community Micro Grants were renamed SSmall Change Grants and the cap was raised to $2500. Community Grants became LLegacy Grants and were limited to

implementation of master plans. The new structure also made grants available for the first time to Friends of the Park groups in DeKalb County as well as the City of Atlanta. In 2012, Park Pride hired Betty Hanacek in the new role of Director of Capacity Building to meet the needs of volunteer park groups that need additional support but aren’t ready to hire a staff person. The position was designed to provide administrative, fundraising and special event support to Friends of the Park groups and conservancies on an hourly basis. One example, Historic Fourth Ward Park Conservancy, contracts with Park Pride to utilize this position for their staffing needs, including support for board meetings, financial tracking, events, and social media. 22013 A New Era In August of 2013, the board named Michael Halicki as the organization’s new Executive Director. Prior to joining Park Pride, Michael was the Chief Operating Officer of Southface where he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of one of the southeast’s leading sustainability organizations. Under Halicki’s leadership, Park Pride has reached new levels of success. Park Pride led the charge on an update of the PARC Pledge that was endorsed by Mayor Kasim Reed and each member of Atlanta City Council as well as a broad mix of community supporters that included parks and greenspace groups and business groups. In 2013, the Robert Woodruff Foundation awarded the largest grant ever received by Park Pride, $1,625,000 to support community park improvements. 2014 - A Year to Remember In 2014, Park Pride marked our 25th anniversary with a series of celebrations including: “Pops in Parks” where we thanked communities by providing FREE King of Pops popsicles in 25 parks; “Pints for Parks” a festive event at Orpheus Brewing Company, and finally “The Picnic for Parks” where close to 500 of our friends and supporters joined us to share great food, drinks, entertainment in commemoration of our 25th year. Throughout the year we were able to re-engage previous friends and partners, build upon our current relationships and reach out to new supporters. Also in 2014, Park Pride awarded $800,000 in grants, the largest amount ever. And, the organization reached the milestone of 500,000 hours of volunteer service provided to parks and was named Best Volunteer Program by the readers of Creative Loafing. 2015 – Building Momentum for the Future After Park Pride’s year of celebration, an energized staff and board focused that energy into building momentum and direction for the next 25 years. The Parks and Greenspace Conference and Pints for Parks, both experienced great success in 2015. Park Pride also held the first meeting of the Alumni Network and Board, that event was followed up with a Green Salon which extended the audience to include and cultivate other Park Pride supporters.

Park Pride also turned their attention to creating a strategic plan for the next 3-5 years. Michael Halicki and the Board of Directors hired strategic consultant, Pam Sugarman, to lead the effort, first conducting 180 interviews with a broad-base of Park Pride constituents and those unfamiliar with the organization. Strategic planning continued through summer and fall in preparation for adoption in early 2016. Concurrently, Park Pride hired website and branding development agency, Brandshake Creative, to inform the direction and strategy of a new website. The Volunteer Program also tested the waters of hosting three all-call workdays, open to any individuals and their families. This “experiment” not only generated mentions in the press, but it also confirmed Atlanta and DeKalb residents’ strong interest in more opportunities to volunteer in parks. Park Pride, therefore, began to explore the feasibility of hosting regular all-call volunteer days moving forward into 2016. Park Pride hired their first Fellow to support development and communications efforts, a first step in exploring how to cultivate talent and add support to Park Pride staff across programs. Throughout 2015, Park Pride’s reputation for thought leadership within the parks and greenspace industry in Atlanta grew. As a result, the local news site SaportaReport invited Park Pride to contribute a monthly column to their Thought Leadership forum, People, Places & Parks. 22016 A New Look In accordance with the newly adopted Strategic Plan, 2016 saw the completion of Park Pride’s rebranding effort, which culminated in the official launch of a well-received new website, logo, and color scheme. Park Pride donned its fresh face and secured an expanded contract with DeKalb County, which included Park Visioning services for the first time. This addition, doubling the number of Park Visioning projects planned for 2017, demonstrated full confidence in Park Pride’s new Visioning team, Director Andrew White and Coordinator Teri Nye. 2016’s signature Park Visioning project, Boone Park West, incorporated green infrastructure improvement and workforce development through partnerships with The Conservation Fund, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Greening Youth Foundation, and others. The project received national attention and support from the Clinton Global Initiative and the National Recreation and Parks Association, who contributed $437,500 toward the $2.6 million budget. Park Pride also awarded its largest grant ever, a Legacy Grant of $400,000, to Boone Park West, with the support of the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation.

Park Pride’s Development team gained a new Associate as former Fellow Roberta Moore transitioned to full-time. With her support, Park Pride had a very successful year of fundraising, deepening engagement of its corporate audience through a new Roundtable series while continuing cultivate individual supporters through Green Salons, and celebrated Allison Barnett's 25th anniversary with Park Pride. 2016 surpassed previous years in Conference and Pints revenue, Annual Fund giving, and grants received; and Charity Navigator designated Park Pride as a Four Star non-profit for its financial health, accountability, and transparency. Part-time Volunteer Coordinator Ellen Bruenderman came on full-time as Project Manager, continuing to support the Volunteer Program and assisting with grants, fiscal partners, and other special projects. Given the growth in staff, it was no surprise that Park Pride was named one of Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 100 Best Places to Work!

2016 impact report - park pride · fabric of our cities. they are places for members of the...

Documents