Seattle Parks Foundation

Programs: Seattle parks foundation is an independent 501 (c) (3) nonprofit that supports networks of community, philanthropic, and public-sector partners to plan for, build, and sustain a thriving system of public spaces and investments across seattle. Since its founding in 1999, seattle parks foundation has raised approximately $60 million to support community-led public space projects in neighborhoods across the city; these investments have leveraged at least three times as much in public sector support. We currently serve as fiscal sponsor for some 70 community groups championing new and enhanced park space, school playgrounds, tree canopy projects, pedestrian and bike trails, stream daylighting, and myriad other projectslarge and smallacross seattle. We provide these community partners with the administrative, financial, fundraising, communications, and advocacy services they need to make our city a safer, more beautiful, and more welcoming place for all of us to live. In addition to supporting community partners across the city, we are concentrating efforts and resources on major, long-term green space initiatives in the underserved neighborhoods of rainier beach, little brook/lake city, and the duwamish river valley. We are partnering with local groups and facilitating collaboration between these communities, other nonprofits, and city agencies to advance a coordinated public space agendaone that integrates equitable planning and investment into a comprehensive approach to community development. We have also been working for several years with both nonprofit and private sector partners to lay the groundwork for a dramatically revitalized seattle center. In 2018, we will begin implementation of lake2bay, which was added last year into the citys right-of-way improvements manual. This green, pedestrian-friendly corridor will connect the new seattle center to a transformed central waterfront, the olympic sculpture park, denny park, and lake union park. In fiscal year 2017, donors to seattle parks foundation contributed over $4. 3 million to support this work. In addition, we awarded $253,000 from our community parks fund to support the urban parks activation partnership, the timber fund/occidental park pavilion, a pilot year for the little brook youth corps and a plan for daylighting little brook creek in lake city, and link2lake in rainier beach. We also used the community fund to match gifts to our community partners of up to $2,500 to encourage donor participation in givebig, a national day of giving.