City of Burbank
Parks and Recreation Department
Memorandum
Date: February 12, 2015
To: Parks and Recreation Board Members
From: Judie Wilke, Parks and Recreation Director
Subject: ESTABLISHMENT OF A PARK ENDOWMENT FUND – STEP 2
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Parks a nd Recreation (P&R) Board (Board) no longer pursue the establishment of an endowment fund but rather support the proposal as outlined in this report to create funding mechanisms to finance park related programs and capital projects.
BACKGROUND
At the Bo ard’s August 9, 2012 meeting, the Board requested that staff determine the viability of establishing a park endowment fund to f inance park related programs, capital projects and provide underserved residents with access to a variety of recreation opportunities. On October 11, 2012 , staff provided the Board with information regarding the establishment of an endowment fund (Exhibit A).
The Board was advised that t ypically endowment funds are utilized by non -profit organizations and academic institutions such as colleges and universities to finance a portion of an organization ’s operating or capital requirements. Endowment funds are often integral to the financial health of these organizations. The Board was also informed that the establishment of an endowment fund is not a new concept to the City of Burbank (City). Prior to the dissolution of the Redevelopment Agency, the City administered the Youth Endowment Services (YES) Fund and has tried to establish other endowment funds such as the Burbank Community Fou ndation (BCF). Overall, staff agrees with the Board that the establishment of an endowment fund would be benefic ial to the Burbank community. However, to ensure its success, additional resources including staffing would have to be allocated to this new program.
Overall, the Board supported the idea of creating an endowment fund but recommended that staff seek City Council direction prior to investing any additional staff time towards this endeavor. Therefore, at the October 25, 2012 joint meeting between the City Council an d the Board, a similar report was presented. The City Council also liked the idea of creating an endowment fund but reco mmended that a more simp listic funding mechanism be developed to finance park related programs and capital projects.
DISCUSSION
As directed by the City Council, staff no longer pursue d the establishment of an endowment fund. Rather than creating a new program or funding mechanism, staff looked at existing programs or funding mechanisms that would not require additional resources. In an effort to achieve the overall goal of establishing a program that is similar to an endowment fund, staff decided to do the following: enhance the City’s existing Scholarship Program to provide financial s upport to underserved residents to engage in recreational opportunities; establish a donation mechanism via the Department’s online class registration system to fund programs and capital projects ; and create a business to business program to garner sponsorships to offset programmatic cost s and capital projects.
Scholarship Program
The first part of staff’s plan has been implemented. As part of the , Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 - 2014 Budget P rocess, staff submitted a proposal to enhance the City’s existing Scholarship P rogram to provide reside nts who are in need of financial assistance the opportunity to engage in recreational opportunities. Since the mid-90's the Department has offered scholarships to Burbank Youth under the age of 18 to cover enrollment fees for camperships, recreation classe s, and sports programs. Since then, the Program has expanded to include Skate park passes; Aquatics activities; and Summer Camp activities and programs. Moreover, to enhance the level of support provided to the community staff increased the scope of the program to include older adults (55 and over) who may also be in need of financial assistance.
Specifics regarding the program were presented at the Board’s March 14, 2013 meeting (Exhibit B). Notably, during the FY 2013 -2014 Budget P rocess the Council inc reased the programs budget by $10,000 annually from $10,000 to $20,000 to provide greater assistance to residents in need of financial assistance and access to more recreational opportunities. Since the expansion of this program, a total of 30 residents ha ve been placed in 61 diverse recreation programs.
Web-based Donation Program
The second part of staff’s plan includes the development of a funding mechanism via the Department’s web-based parks and recreation management software program to fund future capital projects and programmatic costs. In 2014, the Department migrated to a new online registration system (eTrak). This program has allowed the Department to better manage enrollment and offering s of recreation classes, sports leagues, facility rentals and the ability to track and report a variety of data. One of the modules offered in this new program is the ability to collect donations from program registrants to be used for scholarship and/or capital programs.
Many agencies have implemented simil ar programs. Notably agencies such as the City of Santa Clarita have implemented the S.C.O.R.E program which stands for Supporting Children’s Opportunities in Recreation Events. S.C.O.R.E is a scholarship program that is funded completely by the generosity of residents and businesses. As program participants register for a class or activity prior to checking out , participants are given an opportunity to provide a nominal donation of $2 or another amount as specified by the participant towards the S.C.O.R.E program.
Staff believes that implementing a similar program would be just as successful in Burbank.
On average the City receives approximately 16,000 total registrations annual ly. If 25-50% of our existing participants participated in this program and do nated on average $2.00 a transaction the City could potentially receive an estimated $8,000 - $16,000 annually.
These funds could be directed towards enhancing our existing scholarship program or fund other department related program and capital needs. The details of this program still need be vetted out , but the D epartment has the resources available to implement this component.
Sponsorship Program
The final part to staff’s plan is to implement a business -to-business program in which strategic partnerships are formed with local business to garner sponsorships both in -kind and monetary to offset a variety of programmatic and capital costs. The City has a stable and vibrant business community who already graciously donates to a variety of Department prog rams. However, it is staff’s goal to be more strategic with our current sponsorships and to seek new partnerships for other programs. Staff is optimistic that working with existing business partners and extending efforts citywide to the business community will generate sponsorship dollars to fund other D epartment related program and capital needs . Notably, the details of this component also need to be vetted, but the Department has resources available to implement this component.
FISCAL IMPACT
As previou sly discussed , due to the fact that the establishment of an endowment fund would require additional resources staff does not recommend that the Department moves forward with this proposal at this time. The fiscal impact of staff’s new proposal as outlined above is unknown at this time. H owever, staff believes that implementing the aforementioned programs will positively impact the General Fund as additional revenue sources will be generated which could be used to offset existing services or fund new programs/projects. Staff does not believe that any additional staffing resources will be needed at this time.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends implementing this three -part approach which includes the following: 1) enhancing the City’s existing scholarship pro gram; 2) establishing a donation mechanism via the Department’s online class registration system; 3) and creating a business to business program, all of which meet the goals of an e ndowment fund. If in the future the City is in a financial position to allocate additional resources to an endowment fund, such a funding mechanism could always be reconsidered.
EXHIBITS
A – October 11, 2012 Board Report
B – March 14, 2013 Board Report