The Benefits of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy
December 14, 2009
The motivating desire of the BOPC is to see the Olmsted parks continue to improve through restoration so the city also improves.
We are an avid supporter/believer that parks can be an engine for economic development for the City and the region. The Urban Design Project at UB has been able to document positive changes in assessed values of property around 5 of the Olmsted parks (all except MLK) in the last 5 years since the Conservancy took over management. 3 Have risen ahead of the city’s average (Delaware 76%, Front 45%, and Riverside 12.24% compared to 10% for the city). Frederick Law Olmsted after completing Central Park in NYC tracked real estate values around the park for 17 years to justify the $13 million spent on developing the park. In that span he found values increased by $209 million from 1856 to 1873.
Well maintained parks are active parks. Research has shown that people under 65 years old living near a park are healthier and have on average $250 less per year in health costs. The savings doubles for those over 65. This alone could have a major impact on the city. There are reports showing a decrease in childhood obesity, diabetes, and other conditions in those people who live near or are regular users of a park.
Well maintained parks attract “knowledge base” workers. They attract business development which helps create jobs. And parks attract tourists while historic parks attract heritage tourists. These are people who are interested in the history of a site. They tend to stay longer and spend more money than an average tourist.
Grants
The BOPC has built a very good track record with attracting grant money and reporting on the use of the grants. Currently we have been awarded approximately $4.5 million ready to be invested in the parks, however just over $3 million is on hold until a parks agreement is finalized. One agency that controls $750,000 of the grants awarded has added that they need to see at least 10 years of contract stability before they will proceed with the award.
Poverty Reduction
The Conservancy is very interested in serving the underserved. We have actively engaged the workfare program through Erie County to train those interested in the green collar jobs available through the parks as well as providing valuable life skills experience. Since 2004 we have trained over 1000 workfare clients, over 300 in the last year. Several have been recommended to the PIVOT program, a subsidized job training program. From there we have hire a number as seasonal zone gardeners with a few of those moving up to be Senior Zone Gardeners. These now are the supervisors of their areas and are training workfare and other PIVOT people. This is essentially free labor in the parks through the Conservancy. This program works to take people off the welfare rolls and train them for meaningful employment.
Since workfare is a NYS run program run through the county these programs are not available to the city. As a non-profit the Conservancy could work out a separate agreement with the County to keep these workers in the Olmsted parks.
These programs have allowed the Conservancy to hire a workforce that is 40% diverse.
We have merged the Inner City Youth Fan Club for Golfing into our programming. This is a program for inner-city youth to teach them golf which also teaches them life skills. The founder of the program, Major Hank Williams Jr., Retired, has documented that 80% of the kids that have gone through the program have gone on to college and graduated. With BOPC fundraising support this 15 year old program will go away.
Through an MOU with Joyce Wilson Nixon and her National Inner City Youth Organization, we were able to expand their summer tennis program from MLK to Delaware Park in conjunction with Microbiz to offer Nets to Net Worth. This program taught basic financial skills to tennis participants like how to open a bank account, how to balance a checkbook, and how to budget your money. This would go away without BOPC support.
Fundraising Support
Since 2004 the Conservancy has raised approximately $8 million to match dollar-for-dollar our government support, including:
• $1 million through foundations and grants
• $1.1 million through fundraisers including FLO Gala, Party for the Parks, Picnic in the Park and the Olmsted Open Golf Tournament
• $425,000 from corporate and business donations including from M & T Bank,
HSBC, Bank of America, Verizon and BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York
• $1.1 million has been raised since the contract began through our generous board of trustees
• $664,000 for Olmsted ReLeaf, after the October 2006 storm
• $1.2 million in Capital Campaign funds
• $132,000 from our Membership Campaign
• $725,000 from major donors and our Annual
Plan for the 21st Century
This is the 20 year master plan to restore, rebuild, and complete the Olmsted park system in Buffalo. It contains 300 projects totaling $428 million. The BOPC has started to find the money to fund these projects and is committed to finding most if not all of the money to complete the plan. Where else can you find an advocate to help rebuild and restore a major cultural asset. We have set a goal of raising $30 million in 5 years and are on a track to meet or exceed that goal.
Volunteer Support
Volunteers add a great component to the parks. In 2009 we have accounted for over 6000 hours in volunteer support for the Olmsted parks. That is the hourly equivalent of 150 additional full time workers. At an average $15/hour that’s a savings of $90,000 in labor costs not including benefits. We would most likely not be able to attract as many volunteers if we were not managing the Olmsted parks. |
