Our purpose:
To help provide financial support to the Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Department
Who We Are:
The Fort Wayne Park Foundation (Park Foundation) is a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1974 by a group of business leaders and philanthropists who recognized the importance of our park system to our community. Wanting to make it easy for citizens to make financial gifts to support the parks, the Fort Wayne Park Foundation was established to solicit and accept tax-deductible gifts from individuals, foundations and corporations designated for specific parks or programs or for its general fund.
Although the parks are funded by the City of Fort Wayne, the Park Foundation provides extra dollars to support park projects and programs that may require additional funding.
Since its origin in 1905, the Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Department has built and maintained Fort Wayne’s beautiful park system for everyone in our region to enjoy. But it takes a financial commitment from our community to keep those parks well-maintained, safe, and constantly evolving to meet the changing needs of our residents. The Park Foundation gives everyone in our community the opportunity to contribute to the beauty of our park system.
What We Do:
Our mission is simple: The Park Foundation’s sole purpose is to help provide financial support to the Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation Department. Raising and stewarding private funds for the maintenance, equipment needs, upgrades and programming for our parks and for the creation of new parks is our mission and it is why the Park Foundation was established more than 40 years ago.
Why We Do It:
Year after year, our community ranks the park system and its 87 parks as one of the most treasured community assets. From small neighborhood pocket parks providing play spaces for local children and families, to large legacy parks such as Foster and McMillen and everything in between, we love our parks! As Fort Wayne grows and changes, our parks must grow and adapt to meet the ever-changing needs of our community. Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation is committed to creating and maintaining both beautiful green space for passive enjoyment as well as facilities for tennis, golf, swimming, running, biking, team sports, and youth development. The Park Foundation shares that commitment.
The Park Foundation works to provide resources to financially assist the Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation Department. Our generous donors often want to support park(s) that are special to them and/or specific programs such as those offered at the Lifetime Sports Academy. The Park Foundation makes it easy for you to designate your support to the park or program of your choice or to our Build the Future Fund to address the greatest needs.
The park system is not only important to the people in our community, it’s also important to area businesses and to companies who are considering Fort Wayne as a potential home. Business leaders choose to be in vibrant communities which provide attractive amenities to employees. A superior park system is critical to attracting talent to our area and is an important asset for economic development.
How We Do It:
The Park Foundation solicits and accepts gifts from area individuals, businesses, and foundations for our 17 endowment funds that are designated for specific parks or programs. The income earned on those funds is distributed to the Parks Department for its designated use.
In addition, we ask for support for our Build the Future Fund which enables us to support specific projects or programs in any of the 87 parks. As unexpected opportunities arise, the Build the Future Fund gives the Park Foundation the opportunity to step in and help the Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation Department … responding quickly when necessary.
Today, through the generosity of its donors, the Park Foundation maintains assets close to $10,000,000 in 17 separate endowment funds. The income earned on those endowed assets helps keep our parks safe, beautiful, and up-to-date. In 2017, over $400,000 was granted to the Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation Department for various parks and park projects.
While this may seem like a lot, maintaining and improving our parks takes much more than that, and every contribution makes a difference. The Park Foundation has worked side by side with Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation to make our park system so important and special to our community. Through your support we can bring great things to our parks. We take great care in making sure that we honor all donors’ wishes and carefully steward the funds with which we are entrusted. We will continue to do so for many years to come.
