Background

Portland Parks Foundation grew out of a visioning process completed by a team of private citizens and Portland Parks & Recreation staff, and adopted by Portland City Council on July 12, 2001. The plan was the most comprehensive master plan for parks and recreation since the Olmsted report in 1903.

The resulting Parks 2020 Vision Plan acknowledged, "Current public funding does not meet all of Portland's needs for park and facility improvements, parkland acquisitions, and programs and services, nor always allow the degree of excellence that residents desire."

The Vision document recommended the creation of a parks foundation, a private, nonprofit organization designed to engage the community in support of Portland parks. In collaboration with Parks Commissioner Jim Francesconi, the team formed the Portland Parks Foundation to promote philanthropy in response to the established and historic level of community, corporate, and individual support for Portland Parks & Recreation and its programs.

The document laid out a plan for the Foundation to pursue three major goals:

1. to provide additional funds for new projects, system planning, and future innovations in park recreation programming
2. to help acquire land to meet future recreation needs and promote habitat restoration in parks
3. to assist with scholarships to increase participation of underrepresented individuals and groups

Today, Portland Parks Foundation is thriving, having successfully raised more than $10.5 million since the hiring of its first Executive Director in 2002. It is the only organization that raises funds for the entire Portland parks system and invests those funds effectively through its close working relationship with Portland Parks & Recreation.