$375,000 in Grants Awarded to Eight Nonprofits Working to Expand Access to Parks and Green Spaces in U.S. Cities

Today, 10 Minute Walk, a national effort led by The Trust for Public Land, announced $375,000 in funding to eight nonprofits across seven major metropolitan areas. These grants will help bolster local efforts to ensure that 100% of people in U.S. cities have access to parks or green space within a 10-minute walk of home by 2050. This marks the second round of funding for this “partnership fund,” which supports grassroots efforts in cities committed to this 100% goal. To date, 10 Minute Walk has awarded more than $2.1 million to nonprofits and city leaders in close to 50 cities across the country working to improve parks and green space.  

“Hundreds of cities are embracing the power of parks to transform quality of life and spark connections that help people, economies, and entire communities thrive,” said Benita Hussain, director of 10 Minute Walk. “We recognize the critical role that community organizations play in making parks and green space more accessible for their residents, and we are thrilled to support these eight organizations in their efforts to make parks possible.”

10 Minute Walk works with local leaders across the U.S. to raise awareness around the importance of parks and green spaces for improving the health of their cities, and to make parks top of mind with the people who are planning the future of cities. The campaign has gained support and commitments from almost 300 mayors to bring parks and green space within a 10-minute walk of home of residents, as well as dozens of nonprofits that are doing crucial work in local communities to advance this goal.

“Activation of our green spaces is crucial to our efforts to create safer and more vibrant neighborhoods, which lead to more jobs and better educational opportunities,” Mayor Lovely A. Warren said. “The 10 Minute Walk is a campaign I am proud to support, and I would like to thank them along with the Ibero-American Development Corporation for their investment in Don Samuel Torres Park. This effort, combined with upcoming renovations to the park and the La Marketa development, will bring new life to not only North Clinton Avenue, but our entire city.”

“We are deeply excited about the opportunity to innovate in our neighborhood park through the Partnership Fund,” said Miguel Melendez of Ibero-American Development Corporation. “This funding will allow residents in the El Camino Neighborhood of Rochester to transform and co-create new approaches to activate a prominent neighborhood park along a major city corridor.”

The grants support a wide variety of projects to help enhance access to parks and green space, from creating public art projects in Dallas’ schoolyards to launching a park ranger pilot program in Rochester, New York that seeks to combat gang activity, drug use, and violence. They include:

Boston, Massachusetts

The Fairmount Greenway Task Force, a collective of 10 community nonprofits, will collect community feedback and data, assess park opportunities, and pilot projects along the nine-mile Fairmount Greenway, a developing corridor that connects several historically underserved Boston neighborhoods. ($45,500)

Cleveland, Ohio

Recess Cleveland, a wellness nonprofit, will perform outreach through pop-ups, libraries, and other community spaces, all to create a community engagement process and guidebook for the City of Cleveland to use as it expands its parks and green space. ($30,000)

Dallas, Texas

Community arts nonprofit 29 Pieces, will develop public art programs on six schoolyards, to engage residents, youth, and teachers as the City aims to turn playgrounds into afterhours public parks across Dallas. ($60,000)

Kansas City, Missouri

The Kansas City Museum will lead outreach efforts around parks in the city’s Historic Northeast Neighborhoods and will support including equity in the City’s Comprehensive Plan and the Park Department’s Strategic Plans. ($45,000)

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Community space and shelter Hope Community will work with the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board to improve its 2020 budgetary process to meet the needs of underserved communities, while also leading trainings for residents on how to be more involved in local policymaking. ($20,000)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation will hold community workshops that teach residents about grassroots advocacy and will appoint six “Equity Champions” to work on the city’s signature Rail Park project and green space efforts. ($40,000)

Rochester, New York

The Ibero-American Development Corporation will pilot a community “park ranger” program and support arts and beautification projects in the area surrounding Don Samuel Torres Park, to combat gang activity, drug use, and violence. ($36,000)

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Five of Saint Paul’s District Councils, formal neighborhood organizations that engage residents and collaborate with government, will be funded to increase their expertise around how well existing green spaces serve residents and to ensure parks remain a core priority for future District Councils’ work.  ($50,000)

The 10 Minute Walk and these grants have been made possible by generous support from The JPB Foundation.

# # #

About the 10 Minute Walk

10 Minute Walk is a campaign dedicated to improving access to safe, quality parks and green spaces in cities—large and small—throughout the U.S. Together, we’re working with leaders to create a world in which 100% of people are within a 10-minute walk of a park or green space by 2050. Led by The Trust for Public Land, in partnership with National Recreation and Park Association and the Urban Land Institute, we drive commitments from city leaders working to achieve this vision and transform their communities by elevating parks and green space. Read more here.

About The Trust for Public Land

The Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. Millions of people live near a Trust for Public Land park, garden, or natural area, and millions more visit these sites every year. Read more here.