PLATINUM2023

PARKS ALLIANCE OF LOUISVILLE

Great Parks for All!

aka Louisville Parks Foundation   |   Louisville, KY   |  https://www.parksalliancelou.org

Mission

The Parks Alliance of Louisville drives equitable investment in our public parks to elevate the wellbeing of our entire community.

Ruling year info

2006

President/CEO

Ms. Brooke Perry Pardue

Main address

PO Box 5755

Louisville, KY 40255 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

20-4372292

NTEE code info

Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution (C12)

Parks and Playgrounds (N32)

Community, Neighborhood Development, Improvement (S20)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2022, 2021 and 2020.
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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Louisville has seen decades of systemic disinvestment in public parks in low-income, black neighborhoods. The scores of neighborhood parks in these communities can improve the mental, physical, emotional, and environment health of the neighbors they serve. We have developed an equitable and transparent, 15-year action plan to ensure parks AND neighborhoods with the greatest needs receive the earliest investment.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Parks for All

In 2021, the Parks Alliance of Louisville, with initial funding from Louisville Metro Council, launched a city-wide park equitable investment initiative to create a roadmap for future public park investments. This comprehensive and data-driven analysis will ensure public parks and neighborhoods with the greatest needs are prioritized for the earliest investments. In 2022 we will begin a public awareness campaign about the value of our public parks, and gather community input from across Louisville to hear from residents what they want to see in THEIR public parks in capital improvements, repairs and maintenance, and programming.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Children and youth
Family relationships
Health
Economically disadvantaged people

The Parks Alliance of Louisville has partnered with residents and public, private, and non-profit entities to transform seven city blocks of mostly vacant lots in the California Neighborhood of West Louisville into a 20+-acre public park. The land was acquired by MSD through a FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant and is permanently conserved as greenspace—but is unusable to the public in its current state. With just 1% of California land dedicated to parks and open space, this project fills a critical gap in walkable access to outdoor recreation and fosters environmental equity for the residents of this historically disinvested community.
In 2022, following extensive community feedback, we are prepared to construct Phase 1 of the project bringing a play space, outdoor classroom, great lawn, exercise paths, and a picnic pavilion to a neighborhood that has waited more than a decade for these improvements.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Children and youth
Family relationships
Health
Economically disadvantaged people

Where we work

Affiliations & memberships

National Association of Parks Foundations 2021

Greater Louisville Inc. 2021

Center for Nonprofit Excellence 2021

Louisville Sustainability Council 2020

City Parks Alliance 2022

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of new grants received

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Majority of grants received for the Alberta Jones Park Project (formerly the Maple Street Greenspace Project) and the Parks For All Match Challenge

Number of attendees present at rallies/events

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of new donors

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

We now have a plan to drive equitable investment in our public parks by local government and philanthropic funders. We have a 15-year action plan to ensure we address the parks with the greatest need first. The goal is Great Parks for All. Every Louisvillian, regardless of zip code, will have access to quality greenspace.

Goals:
1. Dedicate more financial resources to deliver fundamental park and recreation services
2. Allocate financial resources to equitable investments
3. Equitable invest in existing assets
4. Improve and ensure equitable maintenance practices
5. Provide equitable distribution of funding for community center operations
6. Develop a plan for long range capital investments that build on increased funding
7. Frame a coordinated strategy amongst Louisville Parks and Recreation and park non-profits

Parks For All provides a comprehensive roadmap for Metro government, the philanthropic community, and other stakeholders. It enables smart, data-informed decisions to ensure parks and neighborhoods with the greatest needs and most dense populations are prioritized for the earliest investments in the recreational amenities and programming residents want.

In 2023 we will launch the public information campaign and community outreach portion of the initiative, educating the public on the value of public greenspace and listening to their wants in the way of park capital projects, repairs and maintenance, and programming.

Now, we must form a true alliance of partners committed to writing a new chapter for Louisville that ensures equitable investment in ALL our public parks.

As a leader in our public parks system, and with initial investment of $200,000 from the Metro Council, we have already engaged a nationally recognized consultant team to bring their expertise to Louisville. We will be just the third city in the country to do this in-depth assessment of the history of disinvestment, and design an actionable strategy to mitigate historic disinvestment.

We have completed the Parks For All initiative. We have published the results on our website, and should have final recommendations by Spring 2023. We will work with our Parks and Recreation Department to engage the communities around the priority parks to determine what they want in the way of park capital projects, repairs and maintenance, and programming.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback

Financials

PARKS ALLIANCE OF LOUISVILLE
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

PARKS ALLIANCE OF LOUISVILLE

Board of directors
as of 02/09/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Sandra Dodge

Ashley Rountree and Associates

Term: 2026 - 2022

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 2/9/2023
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 02/09/2023

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.