Dozens of neighborhood groups that lost money when the Parks Alliance nonprofit collapsed this year will be made whole through nearly $2 million in philanthropic funding that was announced Thursday.
The rescue fund comes after the Parks Alliance imploded in June amid allegations of financial mismanagement. Around 80 organizations that had stored their money with the Parks Alliance lost donor funds, putting projects like trail restoration and park renovations in limbo. Some of the groups lost tens of thousands of dollars.
Mayor Daniel Lurie, philanthropists, and a coalition of the affected groups collaborated to restore the funding via an effort labeled the San Francisco Neighborhoods and Parks Fund.
The San Francisco Neighborhoods and Parks Fund is supported through donations from Baker Street Foundation and Crankstart and was organized by Third Plateau, a philanthropy advisory and social impact firm.
“I’m very grateful for our city, philanthropists, and the local community coming together,” said Rasheq Zarif, who oversees the Buena Vista Neighborhood Association, one of the groups affected by the Parks Alliance’s dissolution. “This is really magical.”
The Parks Alliance’s unraveling began when its CEO, Drew Becher, quietly resigned in February amid allegations of financial mismanagement. A leaked email reported by the San Francisco Chronicle revealed that the once-prestigious nonprofit had misused at least $3.8 million. The total amount lost by community groups is estimated to be between $2.3 million and $2.5 million, according to Zarif.
The district attorney’s office opened a criminal investigation into the alleged mismanagement in May, at which point Lurie cut off city funding to the Parks Alliance. The organization folded the following month and announced it would start an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors process to identify groups that had lost money from the closure. Zarif, who organized the rescue fund with Ildiko Polony of Sutro Stewards, said the community groups are not counting on receiving funding through that arrangement.
The rescue fund will be administered by an organization called Contina Impact. Zarif said community groups can expect to receive money by Thanksgiving.
Lurie said the “mismanagement of the Parks Alliance violated the public trust and jeopardized projects that are important to our communities.”
He added, “Now, because of the individuals who stepped up to create the San Francisco Neighborhoods and Parks Fund, these vital projects have the funding needed to move forward — fulfilling the promises that were made to our neighborhoods.”
Projects that could benefit from the money include GreenTrustSF’s native gardens in the Dogpatch and Central Waterfront; Friends of Esprit Park’s new community programming; Friends of Lakeside Village’s transformation on Ocean Avenue between 19th Avenue and Junipero Serra Boulevard; 22nd Street Jungle Stairs’ restoration of hillsides and stairs between Diamond and Castro streets; and Glen Park Greenway’s volunteer team to restore vegetation, create a foot path, and establish native grassland and chaparral.
“The San Francisco I know and love is at its best when leaders in our public and private sectors come together, roll up their sleeves, and get to work,” said Susan Hirsch, principal at Third Plateau.