There’s a new wrinkle in the quest for a foundation to support Arlington County’s parks.
As Arlington’s Park and Recreation Commission considers the possibility of creating a nonprofit foundation for Arlington parks, Paul Gilbert, executive director of NOVA Parks, urged members to consider his organization’s experiences.
Gilbert noted that NOVA Parks attempted to create a separate foundation in 2004, but it ultimately proved to be too big a challenge.
“That went dormant for a while. We just recently got rid of it,” Gilbert told members of the Park and Recreation Commission at their July 15 meeting.
In its place, the regional park authority now works with the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia. The foundation handles money for various NOVA Parks funds, charging a set fee to provide administrative and investment services.
“It works well,” Gilbert said.
He suggested Arlington officials look into a similar partnership, either with that foundation or the Arlington Community Foundation.
“Either of those would be great options,” he said. “Rather than invent a new wheel, find the wheels that are around you, and use them.”
NOVA Parks currently has about $58 million in its financial portfolio managed by the regional community foundation. An Arlington-centered foundation likely would start from scratch to fundraise in support of county park facilities.
Any final decision likely would be up to the County Board. Members of the parks commission have treated the matter as an open-ended discussion, with no timeline to reach consensus.
“We are sort of noodling over this and trying to figure out what the best thing is,” commission chair Jill Barker said.
Gilbert connected with the Park and Recreation Commission after reading ARLnow coverage that the panel was considering a route similar to that taken in Fairfax County.
The Fairfax County Park Foundation was established in 2000. Since its creation, the foundation has provided more than $17.5 million in park support, including more than $2.2 million in fiscal year 2024.
While the organization does its own fundraising, Fairfax County traditionally has funded the salary and benefits of an executive director and two support staff.
Some of that funding was reduced for the fiscal year that began July 1, although Fairfax supervisors opted to phase in the cuts rather than do them all at once.
Gilbert, who has led NOVA Parks for two decades and plans to retire by the end of the year, said he appreciated that Arlington officials were making inquiries on the topic.
“It’s great that you’re looking at all those options,” he said. “We all want more resources for parks.”
