Rosemary Cameron

1. PROFITABLE NONPROFITS:
How to Raise Funds and Fans for
Parks and Recreation
Presented by Rosemary Cameron

2. Rosemary Cameron
Public Affairs and Fundraising
Consultant
Who’s talking?

3. • Have you ever served on a nonprofit
board?
• Do you volunteer for or donate to any
nonprofits? Give some examples of these
nonprofit organizations.
What’s your experience with nonprofits?

4. • Tried and true nonprofit models
• Benefits and pitfalls of establishing a nonprofit
• Requirements for forming a nonprofit
• Why donors prefer giving to nonprofits
• Alternatives to forming a nonprofit
• Basic fundraising techniques
Here’s what we’ll be focusing on:

5. •In your chat box, please share the name
of any nonprofits that are currently
providing support for your
agency/department.
What type of nonprofits already support
your park agency/department?

6. Nonprofit Models for Parks and
Recreation Agency Support
• Foundations
• Friends Groups
• Operating Entity
• Umbrella
Organization/Fiscal
Sponsor Organization
• Land Trust

7. Regional Parks Foundation
The Regional Parks Foundation was established in 1969 to
support the East Bay Regional Park District. The Foundation’s
mission is to support our Regional Parks through fundraising
that provides broader public access, resource protection and
preservation, education and recreational programs, and the
acquisition of parklands. One of the top priorities is to
ensure that underserved populations have equal access to the
East Bay Regional Park District’s parks, trails, programs, and
services.

8. The Preservation Foundation is the charitable partner of the
Lake County Forest Preserves. It supports the growth,
development and sustainability of our region’s natural lands and
cultural heritage.
Preservation Foundation
of the Lake County Forest Preserves

9. Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation
The FOPR bridges the gap between the City of
Oakland’s Office of Parks and Recreation’s funding
and the public’s need for safe, clean, and well
maintained parks and recreation centers.

10. The Friends of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage
County exists to advance the vision of the Forest Preserve
District through philanthropic endeavors.
Friends of the Forest Preserve District
of DuPage County

11. Entertaining, Educating, and Enriching
through Powerful Live Performances
Poway Center for the
Performing Arts Foundation

12. Established in 1976, SRI’s mission is to
sponsor, promote, and initiate
recreation and cultural and educational
activities for the residents of the
Southgate community
Southarea Recreation, Inc.

13. Partners of Parks
Partners of Parks
A Nonprofit Corporation Supporting Long Beach Parks,
Recreation and Beaches
Partners of Parks is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life
for residents of Long Beach by supporting recreational,
environmental, educational, and cultural programs at parks,
recreation facilities, and beaches

14. San Francisco Parks Alliance
The mission of the San Francisco Park Alliance (SFPA) is to
inspire and promote civic engagement and philanthropy to
protect, sustain, and enrich San Francisco parks and green
open spaces.

15. POST protects and cares for open space,
farms, and parklands in and around Silicon
Valley
Peninsula Open Space Trust

16. The Conservation Foundation is a non-profit land and river
protection organization founded in 1972. The support of more
than 3,500 members and 500 volunteers helps us carry out our
mission to preserve and restore open space and natural lands,
protect rivers and watersheds, and promote stewardship of
our environment in DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will Counties,
Illinois.
The Conservation Foundation

17. Foundations/Friends Groups/Nonprofits
What do they all have in common?
• Inform
• Involve
• Mobilize
Passive
Volunteers
Small
Dependent
Active
Paid staff
Large
Independent
• Conduct programs/events
• Raise funds
There’s no one model that’s right for every agency and community.

18. How a nonprofit can benefit a park &
recreation agency…
• Provide public support for all aspects of Department programs
• Act as the focal point for stimulating private sector support
• Act quickly, aggressively, and without political impediments
• Hold funds beyond the fiscal year and outside the general revenue and
budgetary process
• Use foundation gifts as matching funds for government grants
• Provide access to programs and grants other foundation funds that are
not available to government agencies

19. How a nonprofit can benefit a park &
recreation agency…
• Allows use of nonprofit postal rates, which saves on
bulk mailing costs
• Make advance and capital purchases outside the
lengthy bid process and handle emergency purchases in
a timely manner
• Be a visible advocate for the organization with regard
to the governing authority, the general public, and the
private sector
• Provide funding to a campaign to support a
city/county/special park district ballot measure

20. • Use it to fund PR expenditures, such as buying tables for
community events
• Builds relationships between public agency and
business/corporate or other community leaders
• Provides funding for “scholarships” for low income
program participation
• Allows focus on a single important project or program
that already has, or could have, broad-based community
support
Nonprofits can help build community
support and involvement too!

21. Now that you’ve looked at the benefits a
nonprofit can deliver to parks and
recreation….
Share a few of the ways a nonprofit could help
YOUR department/agency?
What does your department/agency need?

22. Do you really need to form a nonprofit?
•No! Gifts to public agencies are tax deductible.
•But, some donors don’t want to give to a public
agency.
Why do you think that is? Write your answer in the
chat box.

23. • Perception that charitable contributions cannot be
dedicated to a specific purpose
• Perception that gifts will “get lost” in the General
Fund
• Public agencies are not easily, quickly, and graciously
able to say “thank you”
Donor “psychology”

24. What motivates you to donate to
a nonprofit?
Type your answer(s) in the chat box.

25. What’s the #1 rule of
fundraising?

26. The #1 rule of fundraising is…..
People give to people!

27. A few other fundamentals of fundraising
• Clarity of purpose-define the project or program
for which funds are to be raised
• Know your community values/interests-needs
are perceived differently by different people at
different times
• What motivates donors?
– Charitable nature-to help where it is needed
– Participation in a winner
– Recognition
– Tax deductibility of gift

28. What is Required to Form a Nonprofit?
1. Have a clear idea or mission of what you want to accomplish
2. Recruit a dedicated group of interested volunteer/board members
3. Have realistic goals for success
4. Develop a commitment to success by staff, and a clear understanding of support
needs
5. Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws
6. Have a good bookkeeping or financial person
7. Understand the challenges of operating a nonprofit as to the administrative
requirements (record keeping, financial reporting, IRS rules, etc.)
8. Have a good attorney
9. If you start this as a “staff driven” organization, make sure there is one person in
charge that has this as their main job

29. • Staffing and/or active and sophisticated volunteer efforts
• A fundraising plan
• Formal procedures and ongoing record keeping (policies,
procedures, meeting minutes)
• Financial record keeping/book keeping
• Annual audit
• Errors and Omissions insurance for board members at
minimum, possibly other liability insurance
What’s required after a nonprofit has
been established?

30. • You must overcome the perception that tax dollars
support public agencies and asking for donations is
inappropriate
• Staff time involved
• Legal/accounting issues
• The funds you raise may not justify the level of effort
involved
What could possibly go wrong?

31. • YES! Fiscal Sponsorship
• Resources:
www.fiscalsponsorsdirectory.org
www.grantspace.org
www.councilofnonprofits.org
www.sff.org
This sounds like a lot of work – is
there another option?

32. Within your group, brainstorm ideas
for parks and recreation projects that
would be good candidates for
fundraising in your community.
List 2 or 3 of your ideas in the chat box.

33. Questions?

34. Contact Rosemary:
ROSEMARY CAMERON
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONSULTING
rlcameron@comcast.net
415-218-5180