A Proposal for Building the Future of a Healthier and Greener City
Fortunately for Dallas, committed citizens and corporate partners have stepped forward time and again to address many of the pressing needs of our city. Stories of success are visible each day, ranging from the cultural leadership of the Center for the Performing Arts Foundation to the medical leadership of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and the Southwestern Medical Foundation. Such organizations are in the process of enhancing life for a broad and diverse cross-section of the community and will continue to make Dallas a more desirable city for generations to come.
The time has come to efficiently and effectively address an additional unmet and highly-visible city-wide need by injecting the power and optimism of philanthropy. The City of Dallas Parks System, noted 20 years ago to be one of the top systems in the nation, has lost its luster due to a shortage of tax dollars coupled with a lack of a system-wide vehicle to both create awareness and secure charitable support from those who recognize the importance of a strong network of attractive and innovative parks that span the entire city and reach into every neighborhood.
An effective and attractive park system is important to the health and economic viability of the overall community. Parks and green space promote interaction and people's willingness to cooperate and work toward common goals, a concept sometimes referred to as "social capital." For example, University of Illinois researchers found that residents in a low-income area whose community included park-like settings were more likely to socialize with neighbors and had a stronger sense of belonging and safety than those without such spaces. Furthermore, William Poole, editor of the Trust for Public Land's Land & People magazine, states "Nationwide, easy access to parks and open space has become a new measure of community wealth-an important way to attract business and residents." Clearly, investing in the livability of a city begins with an investment in the park system.
The Dallas Parks Foundation has been created as the key vehicle to draw attention to and philanthropic support for the needs of the City of Dallas Park and Recreation Department. The needs of the department have been extensively documented through an award-winning Renaissance Plan. The plan looks not only at maintenance needs of existing facilities, but also casts a vision that brings innovation and excitement to the public spaces around which recreation and community life take place. The price tag of the plan is $1.8 billion. To make meaningful inroads, the strength of philanthropy must be harnessed with the resources of multiple bond programs, and the urgency to start the process is clearly evidenced by even a brief tour of our city parks.
Just $727,000 Will Create Half the Solution to a $1.8 Billion Problem
Interest in the quality of Dallas parks is significant, as evidenced by major charitable investments in projects such as the Downtown Deck Park, Lee Park in Turtle Creek, and the Dallas Arboretum at White Rock Lake. Still, the vast majority of the 374 parks in Dallas have no mechanism to seek meaningful financial support for their needs. Further, thousands of small 501(c)(3) organizations operating independently and inefficiently is not a viable answer to the immense needs of the park system. In recognition of the needs and the importance of a viable and visible vehicle to address them, the Dallas Parks Foundation has been established to put feet to the work of building a more functional, beautiful and inviting network of parks, with a focus on the many hundreds that currently lack the ability to secure meaningful funds.
The board members of the Dallas Parks Foundation recognize that efforts to implement the Renaissance Plan will take generations to fully implement, and must be guided by a professional staff that will start small and grow as documented successes warrant.
The initial 4-year investment to staff the Dallas Parks Foundation is budgeted at $727,000. A comprehensive budget is attached at the end of this document. To allow each dollar donated during the 4-year period to flow completely to the benefit of Dallas parks, this proposal seeks to secure the investment capital needed to make that possible.
During the 4-year period, 20% of the unrestricted funds raised will be placed in endowment managed by The Dallas Foundation, and 80% will be invested into the physical needs of the parks themselves, as indicated by the Renaissance Plan. The cash investments will be dispensed among projects selected by the board of the Dallas Parks Foundation from among approved projects submitted to them by the Director of the Dallas Park and Recreation Department.
At the end of the 4-year grant period, the operations and staffing of the Dallas Parks Foundation will have reached a maturity point allowing for funding to be supported from general revenue. Because efficiency and transparent stewardship are essential hallmarks of successful non-profits, the board has selected a cost-per-dollar raised threshold not to exceed 20 cents on the dollar once the organization becomes self-supporting at the end of year 4.
In the long-term, creating broad-based community support through an active membership program will be a key role of the Foundation. In the short-term, however, emphasis will be placed on multi-year corporate, foundation, and major individual gift commitments that are essential to creating visibility, cost effectiveness and documented successes.
To that end, a matrix of 5 key success measurements has been designed for staff, to give a framework of expectations, yet sufficient flexibility to utilize their talents and creativity to grow the work of the Dallas Parks Foundation. Those activities are highlighted below:
Year
2008
2009
2010
2011
Project
Annual Gala
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Annual Family-Oriented Event
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Number of Major Corporate Donors
4
6
8
10
Number of Major Foundation Donors
2
4
6
8
Number of Individual Donors
250
500
750
1,000
The needs of Dallas parks are immense and well-documented. Only when this proposal for the benefit of our city's parks is funded will the philanthropic partner that has been needed for decades emerge and start the multi-generational process of building a broad-based network of support that will both generate the philanthropic strength and community advocacy that will be essential to the long-term future of a parks system that fosters healthier lifestyles, commitment to the environment, a sense of community among all our city's neighborhoods, and the joy that only nature can bring.
