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2015 Annual Report WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE

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2015 Annual Report WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE Minneapolis Parks Foundation 2015 Annual Report WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE 2015 Annual Report DIRECTORS’ LETTER Dear Friends, IN 1872, the noted landscape architect Horace Cleveland made Equity and innovation are community values the Parks his frst speech to the civic leaders of Minneapolis, laying out Foundation advanced in 2015 through our Next Generation a vision for the Twin Cities’ parks so compelling that the out- of Parks™ Lecture Series, which included inspiring conversa- lines are now indelibly drawn into our shared sense of place. tions with creative placemakers Gil Penalosa, founder of the From the Grand Rounds biking trails that make Minneap- 8-80 Cities movement; Roger Cummings of Juxtaposition Arts olis one of the world’s great cycling cities, to our walkable and Kristine Miller and Tom Fisher of the University of Chain of Lakes, to the natural gorges and gathering spaces of Minnesota College of Design; and landscape designer Kate Minnehaha Falls, the foundation for nearly everything that Orff, winner of the 2014 Buckminster Fuller Institute Chal- sets our park system apart was set in motion 140 years ago. lenge. Civic-minded discussions with these thought leaders At that moment in history, fewer than one in 10 people on remind us of the powerful role that parks play in building Ithe planet lived in a city—yet these prescient urban planners community health, economic vitality, and the sense of owner- and business leaders anticipated a future when that ratio ship and belonging that give residents roots. We share the would be reversed, and the parkways and green spaces they Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board’s founding vision for sketched would be more than mere amenities, but essential a future in which everyone in our city lives within walking to our civic life. distance of a safe and vibrant public park—a goal we support- ed in 2015 through the grants to neighborhood park projects A century later, the future they predicted is upon us. As our you see on these pages. built environment grows more urban and the pace of life picks up, Minneapolis’s thriving public parks provide a refuge from Just as we were given a gif by those who created our park screens and schedules, and wide-open spaces that invite 21.4 system 140 years ago, now it is our turn to give inspiration, million visits each year, welcoming people from every walk voice and resources to ensure our system of parks and public of life. Our parks provide the common ground that draws our realm serves the next century. We see our work at the Minne- communities together, and drives our quality of life. apolis Parks Foundation as part of a true public parks renais- sance, as we reconsider how shared spaces from sidewalks to This is why we are pleased to share the important progress greenways can also provide paths to opportunity for all of our the Minneapolis Parks Foundation made in 2015, committing residents. Your confdence in our work and your generous to a new strategic plan that will focus our philanthropic in- support is making it possible. Thank you! vestment and private sector resources over the next fve years. The Parks Foundation embraces this once-in-a-generation op- Sincerely, portunity to establish a continuous public riverfront along the Mississippi River. We are proud to be the lead philanthropic partner behind the RiverFirst Initiative, launching a capital campaign to leverage private support for two high-priority projects—Water Works and the 26th Ave N Trail Link & Pier. Though the chance to rediscover the Mississippi is certainly compelling, this $15 million campaign is also driven by the Parks Foundation’s mission to ensure that every improvement of the Minneapolis parks system is made with a spirit that values equitable access for all of our city’s residents, and an innovative approach to everything from community engage- ment to implementation and sustainability. Tom Evers Sarah Harris Executive Director Board Chair 2 Minneapolis Parks Foundation PARK GRANTS Minneapolis Parks Foundation 2015 Annual Report TURNING ON THE FUN: Kids in Near North Minneapolis wanted play bubblers included among wading pool improvements at Bethune Park, but the extra pool features weren’t in the budget. PHOTOS: © MINNEAPOLIS PARK & RECREATION BOARD & RECREATION PHOTOS: © MINNEAPOLIS PARK Your contributions to the Minneapolis Parks Foundation made it possible to provide for fun new water features now making a big splash at Bethune Park. DIVING IN: In 2015, the Parks Foundation made a grant to support the Minneapolis Swims effort to turn the Phillips Aquatics Center into a state-of-the art competitive swimming and diving facility with a robust learn-to-swim program. Located in the heart of Phillips—within walking distance of 50 K-12 schools—the new Aquatic Center will serve our city’s most racially and ethnically diverse neighborhood by reopening and revitalizing a community pool that’s been closed since 2008. PHOTO: © MINNEAPOLIS SWIMS INVESTING IN NEIGHBORHOOD PRIDE: Leveraging private support for the public good is part of our mission at the Minneapolis Parks Foundation, which received a $100,000 donation for the future Northeast Recreation Center from long-time parks supporter Barbara Lupient. “We can’t thank Barbara Lupient and the Lupient Family enough for their generous support of Northeast Park,” says Tom Evers, Executive Director of the Parks Foundation. “Their pride in the neighborhood where Mr. Lupient grew up and the family’s commitment to its long-term vitality is a model for philanthropic investment in our city’s parks.” 3 EQUITY AND INNOVATION In 2015, the Minneapolis Parks Foundation brought expertise and new community engagement strategies to advance a world-class park system Safe, pedestrian-friendly streets, smart public transit, and responsive public offcials are all part of the mix when it comes to making Minneapolis more vibrant, but creative placemaker Gil Penalosa believes there’s one essential ingredient that can bind communities like no other. “The measure of a great Scity,” he says, “is how it treats its most vulnerable residents, the young, the old, the disabled and the poor— and this is seen in the availability of parks and other public spaces for everyone to use. An internationally recognized thought leader on the power of well-designed public spaces, Penalosa, the CEO and Founder of 8 80 Cities, visited Minneapolis in 2015 as the closing speaker of the Next Generation of Parks™ Lecture Series. It’s Building a model of rainwater reuse strate- just one of the programs the Minneapolis gies at Water Works is one of the projects Parks Foundation employs to advance Research Assistants in Practice Jonathan equity and innovation within the city’s Fillmore and Christopher Tallman took on world-class parks system. in 2015. (Not pictured: Kelly Watters) “We want to keep advancing forward- thinking ideas that challenge us to think of-its kind effort differently about our city, not just in terms launched in 2015 of design and access, but also in terms to bring design of expanding our imagination about how expertise and we accomplish these goals together,” public sector know- says Tom Evers, executive director of how to making the the Minneapolis Parks Foundation. “As RiverFirst Initiative and a community, Minneapolis is great at a reality. MPF tapped the 26th Ave coming up with really big and bold award-winning N Trail Link & Pier. ideas. At the Parks Foundation, landscape architect “These are key Minneapolis we see ourselves serving and urban designer riverfront park initiatives that hold as a bridge that can move Bruce Chamberlain (left) to the power to transform, forever, the those plans from vision take on the inaugural two-year city’s embrace of its river corridor,” to implementation.” appointment, which will focus says Chamberlain, the immediate Another resource in that primarily on the design and past-Assistant Superintendent for strategy is the new Minneapolis implementation of RiverFirst Planning with the Minneapolis Park and Parks Fellow program, a frst- Initiatives including Water Works Recreation Board. “I’ve learned that you need more than just the momentum of the community at large, you also need relationships on the ground level that can help align lots of groups toward the same goal.” —2015 Research Assistant Han Do 4 Minneapolis Parks Foundation Minneapolis Parks Foundation 2015 Annual Report the momentum of the community at large, you also need relationships on the ground level that can help align lots of groups toward the same goal. I’ve been very impressed by the Parks Foundation’s strong desire to make sure the parks are equitable and serve every community.” Public spaces can only realize their full creative potential when every community is part of the process, says environmental designer Samuel Ero-Phillips: “Having Kate Orff kicked off the Next Generation city planning happen to you feels very of Parks™ Lecture Series in April 2015 different.” That’s why the Minneapolis with a discussion about urban design and Parks Foundation, with support from the climate dynamics. Minnesota Twins Community Fund, also initiated a new partnership with Ero- To support that work, the Minneapolis Phillips’ Environmental Design Studio Parks Foundation also continued its apprentices at Juxtaposition Arts to commitment to the Research Assistants create community engagement events in Practice program, an innovative around aligning future riverfront parks MPF joined forces with community part- partnership with the University of with north Minneapolis neighborhoods. ners, including The Loppet Foundation’s Minnesota Department of Landscape Anthony Taylor, to lead Gil Penalosa on Architecture that invites promising “As an architect, I’ve been very a cycling study of North Minneapolis’s graduate students to gain practical interested in fnding ways of connecting relationship to the Mississippi River.
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