October 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 54

CO N S E R VA N C I E S

the eastern and southern sections
of Louisville.
" What I am most proud of in our
project is that we're seven years into
the hard work and we have a very
strong partnership with the city, "
Jones says. " They did not bring a lot
of money into the capital side, but
the city did bring land to the table.
And they've also been helpful politically and in other ways.
" I think it is important for people
to know it's a true partnership, " Jones
continues. " Both sides are contributing
in significant ways, whatever and however that may be. "

A 21st Century Approach
About the time
Rademacher
was transitioning from her
role with Louisville's Olmsted conservancy, another
public/private
p
Jones p a r t n e r s h i p
was forming to
o aacquire
cqui
uire
ire lland
an on the outskirts of the city for development into
parks. 21st Century Parks began seven
years ago with Dan Jones as its chairman and chief executive officer.

Natural environments are important
elements in the Parklands in Louisville,
Kentucky.

21st Century Parks builds on the
work of former Lt. Governor Steve
Henry and the Future Fund Inc.,
and a partnership with Louisville
Metro government and Louisville
Metro Parks. Today, the Parklands
encompasses nearly 4,000 acres in a
continuous corridor just beyond the
Olmsted system around which Louisville has grown. Its current project
is the Parklands of Floyds Fork in
52

Parks & Recreation

In just over six years, 21st Century
Parks raised more than $120 million
- $38 million federal, $11.5 million
state and city, and close to $70 million in private and philanthropic donations.
" And Louisville is not Miami in
population or wealth, " Jones says.
" So, it is possible. "
Jones says they were able to connect so well with potential donors because of their initial decisions. It all
comes down to clarity, Jones advises.
" You must have a very clear vision
- absolutely crystal-clear focus, " he

| O C T O B E R 2 0 1 3 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

says. " This is what we are doing -
we are fixing up this park. Or this is
a capital campaign for maintenance.
" We hired a great development director we jokingly call our drill sergeant, " Jones continues. " She ran
the campaign. We had a group of cochairs, and we had about 40 steering
committee members whose job was
to introduce us, so we could go out
and present this project and make the
ask. We call it peer-to-peer fundraising, and it's very effective. But it needs
strong leadership. "
Jones says that in the past, Louisville has attempted its own efforts at
raising funds for park development
and operation for other parks in the
city, but it hasn't had much success,
something Jones attributes to some
very specific reasons.
" People pay their taxes, so they
don't really want to write another
check to what they perceive as another city agency, " he says. " To really
make the project have legs, it has to
be clear that it's not just a project of
the current administration, because
new administrations come with a
new set of priorities.
" So my advice would be, if you're
going to do this, do it like Central
Park did it: an independent 501(c)
(3) with its own board and its own
leadership, " he says. " If you don't
have that independence, you'll have a
hard time raising money, and it will
be unclear to people whether or not
this is truly a long-term initiative or
whether it's some sort of project of
the current administration. "
Jones says his biggest lesson came
not from the government side of the
partnership but more on the execution of the model.
" There needs to be a stage of
work that is between the idea and
the actual execution, " he explains.
" It's not just the strategic plan. It's
a high level of detail in the sense of

October 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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