AUSTIN PARKS FOUNDATION

We will ensure that Austin has a top 10 U.S. park system in the next 10 years, as determined by the Trust for Public Land. We aim to fill the city's park funding gap by leveraging volunteers, philanthropists, park advocates and strategic collaborations to develop, maintain and enhance our parks, trails and green spaces

1) We Engage – We promote ownership and leadership of parks throughout the city by connecting people to resources, partnerships and education to develop and improve our local parks. We do this through:
o Volunteer Work Days: It's My Park Day, National Trails Day, National Public Lands Day, etc.
o Adopt-A-Park Program
o Park Improvement Education Series

2) We Invest – We financially support projects large and small across the city because of the generous gifts we receive from the local community. With these funds, we are able to ensure our parks, trails and green spaces are dynamic and adaptable to the ever-changing needs of our community, and that the needs of parks and all park users are equitably met. In 2016 we do this through our:
o ACL Music Festival Grants Program: Impact Grant. Community Grants and Neighborhood Grants
o Republic Square Renovation Project

3) We Activate – We encourage use of public space and create programming to engage people in parks throughout the city. We do this through:
o Movies in the Park
o Fitness in the Park

We Innovate – We build creative solutions to Austin's urban sustainability questions and we support strategic pilot projects like:
o Future Forest Project
o Goat Grazing
o Habiturf
o City of Austin Lifeguard Recruitment

4) We Advocate – We lend our voice to issues that are important to our community and we believe in participating in public discourse to protect, sustain and enrich Austin parks, trails, and green spaces.
o Leader in the Great Austin Parks (GAP) Advocacy group
o Member of Go Austin/ Vamos Austin (GAVA) coalition for the 7844 and 7845 neighborhoods

Austin Parks Foundation (APF) is dedicated to improving the quality of life for the people of Austin and Travis County by strengthening the region's parks system, which spans more than 29,000 acres. A non-profit established in 1992, APF fills the city's funding and resource gap needed to develop, maintain and enhance the
area's 300+ parks, trails and green spaces.

APF fosters innovative public/private partnerships and since 2006, has given over 145 grants totaling more than $2 million in service to the greater Austin community. APF is known for its annual flagship volunteer event, It's My Park Day, and is a presenting partner and beneficiary of the popular Austin City Limits Music Festival at Zilker Metropolitan Park.

With partnership and investment at the forefront of our work, and thanks to the generosity of our donors, sponsors and partners we are able to work toward our mission and goals.

We have accomplished some key wins for our community including the renovation of two flagship parks. One, Dove Springs District Park, is in a neighborhood with the highest childhood obesity rate in the area. We were able to help install a brand new, state-of-the-art playscape, and our work continues there as part of the GAVA physical activity sector. The others, Vic Mathias Auditorium Shores, is now more accessible to all park-users, and includes a more sustainable landscape. Additionally we were instrumental in the redevelopment of Austin's most historic park - Republic Square - and managed both the fundraising and construction phases to bring a revitalized green space to Austin's densest neighborhood. We also successfully rallied the community and advocated for a 10% increase to the city's Parks & Recreation budget, and helped pass 2 bond initiatives which granted $230.5 million for park improvements, land acquisition and facility support.

We still have much to do. Our work on multiple high-impact capital projects like St. John Neighborhood Park, Colony District Park, and the EastLink trail (to name a few) has just begun, and many other strategic projects are on the horizon.