January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 35

The many ways parks and recreation can secure funding
By Kelly Schmidt
T
raditionally, funding for park and recreation departments
comes from respective agency general funds and revenue generation
through program fees, permits, rentals, vendor and concessionaire
partnerships, as well as event sponsorships. Those
of us who have been in the park and recreation field for a longer period
have come to realize that our traditional resources for funding operations
just aren't what they used to be. Costs associated with service delivery are
outpacing cost recovery, causing the reliance on general funds to be greater
than ever. An increase in labor costs, inflation and materials costs are
the leading pressures forcing agencies to seek alternative funding sources
for the services they provide, the parks they maintain, and the parks and
amenities they develop.
Like skilled fishermen, today's
park and recreation professionals
are learning to cast their funding
lines at just the right spot in the
financial waters and to use a variety
of techniques to catch the right
fish. Sometimes we troll the deep
seas when searching for grants. A
public-private partnership is more
akin to fly fishing, where we seek a
regular cadence with our partners.
Even a passive source of funding
may require a simple " trap, " such
as a sales tax. The goal is the same
no matter which technique we use:
be patient, know where to look and
land that trophy fish.
Let's apply various techniques in
the sport of angling to the leading
alternative funding sources for park
and recreation departments and their
respective agencies. Let's go fishing!
Grants: Deep-Sea Trolling
Deep-sea trolling,
like most line
fishing techniques, delivers a sense
of excitement and thrill when
there's a tug at the end of the line.
It's the same feeling when selected
as a grant recipient, particularly
after spending countless hours
picking the exact pole and gear,
location, time of year and casting
your line - along with 150 other
anglers adjacent to you doing
the same. Everyone hopes for the
" big one " but barely gets a nibble.
Meanwhile, the adjacent reel on
the boat squeals with excitement as
it yields a trophy fish.
Grant applications take a considerable
amount of time, preparation,
resources and patience toward
an endeavor that may or may not
pay off. Applications sometimes
require multiple cycles of casting
(aka, submissions) before efforts
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | J ANUAR Y 2 0 2 5 | Parks & Recreation
35

January 2025 – Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2025 – Parks & Recreation

January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Intro
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Cover1
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Cover2
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 1
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 2
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 3
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 4
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 5
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 6
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 7
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 8
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 9
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 10
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 11
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 12
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 13
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 14
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 15
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 16
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 17
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 18
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 19
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 20
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 21
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 22
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 23
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 24
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 25
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 26
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 27
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 28
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 29
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 30
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 31
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 32
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 33
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 34
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 35
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 36
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 37
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 38
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 39
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 40
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 41
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 42
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 43
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 44
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 45
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 46
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 47
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 48
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 49
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 50
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 51
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 52
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 53
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 54
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 55
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 56
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Cover3
January 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2025
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
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