Rural Areas and Small Towns Might be Missing Out on the Benefits of AgencyFoundation Relationships The differences between agencies and communities with and without foundations point to another potential missed opportunity. In general, foundations and friends groups are more common in more populated urban and suburban communities; they typically support park and recreation agencies that offer more amenities and enjoy larger operating and capital budgets. As such, smaller communities may be missing out on the benefits provided by a vibrant agency-foundation
relationship. While some smaller agencies and communities without a park and recreation-specific foundation can call on other, more general, community-based organizations, parks and recreation in these communities has to compete with other worthy causes for attention and support. Given the benefits of agency-foundation relationships, agencies serving smaller communities may wish to work toward establishing a park and recreation-specific foundation. As the agency-foundation relationship potentially becomes more important in the years to come, this may mean that the disparity between agencies with and without foundations could continue to grow.
Park and Recreation Agencies Tend to Serve Larger Populations, Offer Greater Amenities and Have Larger Operating Budgets (Mean Values)
Population served Acres of parkland managed Parks and facilities managed Annual operating budget
Agency Supported by a Foundation 302,640 6,088 46 $14.1 million
2020 AGENCY-FOUNDATION RELATIONSHIP REPORT
Agency Not Supported by a Foundation 120,177 1,340 24 $6.9 million 15
PHOTO COURTESY OF DEB ENGDAHL
Children play at the spray park playground at Keith Mione Community Park in Mundelein, Illinois.
