SAN MATEO COUNTY PARKS AND RECREATION FOUNDATION
Inspiring people to care for, learn about and enjoy parks
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Overview
Sine 1999, the San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Foundation has raised almost $9 million in contributions to support a variety of programs and projects in San Mateo County Parks. $2 million was raised to help purchase the coast bluff, Mirada Surf, to allow the California Coastal Trail segment be completed. To further community involvement in the parks, we provide an annual grant to support the volunteer and interpretive programs. Supporting improvements for the youth facilities, grants were provided for playgrounds and improvements at a day-camp site. We also funded new recycling stations in the County Parks and improvements to the Sanchez Adobe Historic Site. Recognizing the importance of native habitats, funds are continually granted for efforts to remove non-native invasive weeds, replant and restore areas and restore fish habitat. Environmental education is a high priority for the community, so we fund a program to provide a teacher's resource guide to the County Parks and supporting materials such as field guides. A major focus for the Foundation is establishing interpretive centers to support the on-going programs in Edgewood County Park and Natural Preserve and Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. Other efforts this year include working with the community to secure a long-term funding source for all parks in San Mateo County.
Environmental Youth Field Trips
Connecting children to the magic of parks by the age of ten is critical if we want to spark a lifelong love of nature and open space. However, transportation is often a costly barrier preventing schools and after-school programs from reaching our parks. Bus trips can cost up to $1,000 a trip. The Parks Foundation covers the transportation cost, connects groups to docents and/or rangers, offers Spanish-translation when needed and provides lunch for longer outings.
Grassland Restoration at Edgewood Preserve
Restoring Edgewood's grasslands to their former floral beauty and species diversity is a challenge that cannot be handled by a small County Parks department alone. A strong cadre of volunteer leaders have come together to lead restoration efforts at Edgewood, with support from the Parks Foundation, Friends of Edgewood and other community partners. Overarching goals are to reduce invasive grasses and increase native plants, grasses, and wildflowers in Edgewood’s grassland acres; support recovery of listed plant species and the butterfly; and inspire, educate and engage the community in biodiversity conservation.
Bicycle Sunday
Every Sunday (except on holiday weekends), 4 miles of Cañada Road is closed to car traffic and opened up to cyclists, runners and roller-bladers who may enjoy a safe and beautiful location in which to partake in some non-motorized fun!
Enhancing Equitable Access to Parks
The Parks Foundation wants to break down the barriers that prevent people from knowing about and accessing the parks. We do this in a variety of ways:
+ Accessibility upgrades to paths of travel and restrooms
+ Annual park passes for check out in every library in San Mateo County
+ Funding for bilingual interns at SMC Parks
+ Translate self-guided tour brochures into Spanish and Chinese
+ A mini-grant program for BIPOC-led organizations to improve park access for their communities (e.g. Brown Girl Surf in Oakland gets a grant for their Mirada Surf surfing school)
San Mateo County Park Poster Project
In celebration of the San Mateo County Park Foundation’s 25th anniversary and San Mateo County Parks’ centennial, the Parks Foundation want to engage the arts community to design posters that capture and celebrate the essence of each park. This is a new program and the first three parks we are seeking posters for are: 1) Memorial Park - a popular camping spot in the redwoods with Pescadero Creek flowing through it; 2) Fitzgerald Marine Reserve - home to a teeming community of marine life which make their home in that area between low and high tide and 3) Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve - whose serpentine grasslands are famous for their magnificent springtime wildflower display.
Memorial Park Improvements
In the lead up to Parks Centennial which began the 4th of July in 1924 when Memorial Park opened to campers for the first time, the Parks Foundation has been making steady improvements to the park:
+ environmental upgrades to the visitor center
+ refurbished and accessible restrooms at the visitor center
+ new ADA picnic areas
+ Accessibility upgrades to the flow around the visitor center
+ supporting the 'Crumb Clean' campaign to protect the endangered seabird, the marbled murrelet
Upcoming: upgrades to the Nature Center
Where we work
External reviews

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Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild 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
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SAN MATEO COUNTY PARKS AND RECREATION FOUNDATION
Board of directorsas of 06/30/2023
Amy Jensen
Peninsula Open Space Trust
Term: 2022 - 2023
Justin Knowles
Oracle
Korrine Skinner
Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District
Susan Eliot
Benetech
Joe Pfeister
Denodo
Amy Jensen
POST
Bev Talbott
Retired - Apple
Jessica Meng
Delfi Diagnostics
Katy Coonan-Rhoades
Volunteer - for people with disabilities
Larry Stites
Retired accountant
Mary DeLong
Volunteer - Beach Watch
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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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? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
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? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? No -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
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: