April 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 52

F i scal B l u es

grass and pick up trash every 14 days, it will soon transition to
a three-week cycle. With the closure of rec centers will come
the end of some summer programs. Close to half of Houston's
39 swimming pools will be closed this summer, with several that will never reopen come better times. Twenty-five of
the 400 sites where parks and recreation administers federally funded summer feeding programs will either cease or
be shifted to such entities as churches and various nonprofit
agencies.
" It's going to be a dramatically rough summer for us, " Turner says. " It's the first real cut that truly resulted in cutbacks in
customer service. "
There are occasional upsides to Houston's situation, if that's

what one could call them. Trash pickup (or " de-littering " as the
city terms the service) in its parks will see some help from courtordered community service programs, where some 500 people
clean up parks and green spaces.
Turner notes that his department is far from alone in the city in
its budget travails. In all, Houston city agencies are being asked
to cut $130 million, which is leading his agency to team with other
departments to deliver services in ways that weren't even under
consideration a few years ago. Turner says parks and recreation,
the health department, and the library all share the same customers and therefore they should be able to share synergies. He describes their first meeting in March as a " good start. "
His department is also fortunate to be working with

Corporate Connection
In California and Texas, two agencies perfect the art
of cultivating their business communities.

n Modesto, California, a
shining example of corporate sponsorship sits right across the street
from the city's park department offices: the Gallo Center for the Arts, paid for
by the Modesto-based E & J Gallo Winery. Touring Broadway troupes regularly
grace its stage, as do children's productions, '80s tribute bands, and international folk groups. While the Gallo Center is a
county-owned (rather than a park-owned)
facility, its prominence in Modesto has
served as a constant reminder to city residents of the power of corporate dollars.
And, for Modesto parks and recreation development director Andy Johnson, the Gallo
Center was, as he puts it, " an inspiration. "
Indeed, Johnson pursues corporate money-as well as private sponsorships and
grants-with the focus and perseverance of
the truly inspired. Among his agency's fundraising accomplishments, he cites its landing the AmGen Tour (a bike race modeled
after the Tour de France), as well as securing sponsorships from Kaiser Permanente,
Save Mart (a supermarket chain with corporate offices in Modesto), Foster Farms Dairy,
and a number of smaller local companies.
" We look for everything, from $500 to
$25,000, " Johnson says. Those efforts help
pay for such programs as " Leisure Bucks "
(providing recreation center passes for disadvantaged residents) and Boys' and Girls'

50 Parks & Recreation

Apr i l 2 0 1 1

club scholarships. But, he adds, the corporate sponsorships do not come as a result of just knocking on office doors. They
are the results of a carefully followed plan
that begins with " putting together a committee that has keys to the community. "
Johnson stresses that his work begins
with " amassing a major contact list of the
who's whos in the community. " One important method of building that contact list is
presentations to the local Rotary and other service club chapters. Engaging with local service organizations not only opens up
direct access to possible corporate sponsors; it also opens the door to relationships
with those who may, for the time being, wish to become stakeholders through
in-kind donations or offers of skilled labor (e.g., playground equipment removal
or concrete work). Once a company has a
stake in the local park infrastructure, Johnson points out, it is more likely to get involved in sponsorship opportunities later.
The contact list grows through other
means as well. " All cities have access to utility bills, " Johnson says. Modesto's parks
and recreation department put out a message to all utility bill recipients to " [I]nvest in
Modesto. " The message included a donation
link (through the partnering Stanislaus Community Foundation). While the donations
from that appeal did not represent a huge
dollar amount, Johnson adds all respondents

www.NRPA .ORG

to his " list of donors who care. " In his eyes,
each donor contact is one more person who
may just have a key to the community.

No Such Thing as a Cold Call

Steve Marshall, director of the El Paso (Texas) Zoo, and Renee Neuert, director of its
charitable foundation (the El Paso Zoological Society), collaborate in following some
of the same principles as Johnson. " There
is no such thing as a cold call, " Marshall insists. " There is a relationship that must be
cultivated first. " But as leaders of a specialized kind of public facility, they are able to
pursue corporate sponsors with a clearly
branded " product " : the beloved city zoo.
And in an economically depressed community like El Paso, corporate sponsors
and partners have become increasingly important-both for daily zoo operations and
for continued education and outreach to
area youth and families. The municipally owned zoo has successfully partnered
with the 501(c)(3) foundation to accomplish such diverse projects as an economic impact study, a new zoo marquis,
a renewable-energy research station, and
a water-conservation education center.
" We are a good neighbor here in El
Paso, " Marshall says. " And our good will
is worth a lot of money. " Banking on the
good will of the zoo means attempting to
quantify and communicate to potential

April 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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