Park Improvements

The Phoenix Parks Foundation takes a hands-on approach to park improvement through initiatives that bring together the resources needed to create and sustain change in parks that are overused and under funded. Through a mix of volunteer labor, in-kind donations from local contractors, cash donations and grant dollars, the work of the Foundation has resulted in many success stories. These include renovations and improvements to several neighborhood parks in need, such as Arcadia, Moon Valley and Encanto parks.

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Public/Private Partnerships for Special Projects

The Phoenix Parks Foundation recognizes the financial challenges of the Parks & Recreation Department, and presents an opportunity to gain support for special park projects that cannot be fully addressed by the city budget.

Gifts to the Foundation support special projects, studies, plans, environmental review, and other programs in the City of Phoenix, helping to close funding gaps and providing leverage that allows the City to take advantage of special opportunities.

Special parks projects supported by the Phoenix Parks Foundation include Cancer Survivor Park, Fiesta of Lights, Japanese Frienship Gardens, Fabulous Phoenix Fourth, Irish Cultural Center, Camp Colley, Latino Institute, Phoenix After School Centers (PAC) and Tovrea Castle at Carraro Heights.

Current Initiatives

Trail Maintenance Fund (TMF): The primary purpose of the Phoenix Parks Foundation TMF is to provide safe and accessible trails throughout the unique terrain of the Phoenix Sonoran Preserve. Proper maintenance ensures our trails are accessible to all by minimizing human impact and maximizing safety.

The City of Phoenix Parks & Recreation Department maintains over 200 miles of trails in the city. Each year, these trails provide some 7 million hikers, bikers, and equestrian users recreational activities and the opportunity to explore the natural wonders of nearly 35,000 acres of pristine Sonoran desert.

Your contribution to the Phoenix Parks Foundation allows you to participate in a unique partnership model for protecting and maintaining large natural open space within an urban environment. Through your gift, you become a steward of one of the largest urban land preserves in the country that offers a wide variety of recreational and educational activities.

Phoenix Afterschool Center (PAC): PAC is an affordable afterschool recreation and enrichment program provided by the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department. Under the supervision of professional recreation staff, elementary school children participate in a variety of age-appropriate activities that are fun, healthy, and instructive. PAC's focus is to serve Phoenix children in neighborhoods of highest need, where access to safe and affordable afterschool options is not otherwise available.

In the past two years, reductions to the Parks & Recreation general fund budget reduced PAC afterschool services from nearly 100 sites serving more than 10,000 children to 30 locations serving 2,200 children.

In 2011 Circle K Corporation became PAC's first corporate sponsor with a committment of $36,000 to the Phoenix Parks Foundation to restore PAC at Sunnyslope Elementary School.

Your corporate or individual contribution to the Phoenix Parks Foundation assists Parks and Recreation with its goal for PAC kids to be happy, healthy, make friends and learn new things--key ingredients that help children to become the healthy, positively engaged adults who are Phoenix's future.

Mini-Grant Program: The Phoenix Parks Foundation Mini-Grant program provides a method for rewarding the dedication and community involvement of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department (PRD) employees in the development and care of our parks and preserves.

The intent of the program is to provide small amounts of seed money for small scale community park improvements or innovations developed by in-line staff in PRD. Applications are submitted directly by PRD employees and may include projects suggested by park users, identified through interaction with fellow City of Phoenix employees, or those developed exclusively by the individual PRD applicant.

These funds are available for materials, supplies, contractors and other assistance. Mini-grants are reviewed and selected by the Phoenix Parks Foundation for final approval and authorization of funds. The intent of the Mini-Grant program is to assist the development of small projects; therefore, the maximum amount for individual grants should not exceed $2,500. 

Examples of previously submitted proposals include an ADA pool lift at Washington Park, camping equipment for Adaptive Recreation Services, new computers for Eastlake Park Community Center, and a youth activity scholarship at Desert West Community Center.