What is a 'Park Foundation' and why do you need one?

A 'park foundation' is the term typically used by parks and recreation departments to refer to a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity that fundraises on behalf of a municipal parks and recreation department.

A park foundation is absolutely vital when parks and recreation departments begin to take fundraising seriously. Why? Because fundraising deals with heavily sensitive donor data - contact information, giving history, personal details and information on donor interests, back and forth emails with donors, and all kinds of other sensitive information.

Municipalities are subject to state open record laws, which means that most of the communications done through and by municipal governments is considered public records. Different states have different laws on confidentiality of information and what can be redacted or withheld.

A best-practice in the world of fundraising is to uphold a 'donor bill of rights' which includes the widely accepted principle that donors can be "assured that information about their donations is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law."

This principle can only be fully assured when fundraising takes place outside of a government entity, and instead from a nonprofit entity that can make such vitally important guarantees.

There are many other reasons why park foundations are ideal vehicles for parks and recreation fundraising, such as distancing a tax-collecting government entity from non-obligatory funding requests, a structure (with a board of directors including president, secretary, and treasurer) that lends itself well to successful fundraising, a federal tax reporting structure - 990's - that provides the public with information that the public should have access to, and more.

Not to mention, of course, the funds that such entities can attract in private dollars for beloved parks and recreation programs! This is of course the most compelling reason to create a park foundation.

For these reasons and more, I am a tremendous advocate for every park and recreation department in America to have its own park foundation.

Reach out if you would like to be part of MuniGrant's new LAUNCH program where we advise on the most streamlined process to create an effective park foundation for your town or city. Within six to eight months you can have it launched and successfully implement a small fundraising campaign. And, over time, it will do things like:

• Fundraise thousands for youth sports scholarships;

• Create a new park endowment fund that the parks and rec department wouldn't have the time, capacity, or know-how to do; or,

• Raise millions in private support for a new community center.

Learn more about our LAUNCH program here: https://www.munigrant.com/parks-recreation and reach out at emily@munigrant.com to see if this is the right program for you.