Enterprising Minds

Revenue strategies from some of Illinois' most entrepreneurial agencies

BY ANN M. LONDRIGAN

These "enterprising agencies" have something in common. They believe their programs and facilities have great value: value that's worth paying for or partnering with. And, lucky for us, they're not guarded about sharing their entrepreneurial revenue strategies.

Run, Rusty, Run

The Lake County Forest Preserve District sells permits for use of its four Dog Exercise Areas, bringing in more than $50,000 annually to defray operating and maintenance costs for the sites.

These dog-friendly areas are "wildly popular" says Andrew Kimmel, CLP, director of Environmental Education and Public Affairs for the district, located in northeastern Illinois and serving 585,000 people and managing nearly 21,000 acres of public land.

"Many communities have growing concerns about dogs off-leash in public spaces, and some have passed restrictions on walking dogs in parks," says Kimmel. "This provides a positive alternative at a reasonable cost." How much, then, to let Rusty run in up to 45 acres of fenced-in open space and woodlands, with fenced-in parking as well to keep him safe from street traffic? The district charges $25 a year for the first dog registered and $5 for each additional dog. Permit-holders receive a sticker to put on their cars and a special tag for the dog. Owners must show proof of rabies vaccination in order to buy a permit.

A daily fee is offered at $2.50 per dog. People who live outside Lake County pay $50 for the first dog and $10 for each additional dog or $5 per day.

Says Kimmel: "We surveyed all permit-holders to find out what kind of amenities they liked about the area and what else they would like to see. We also asked how far they were driving to get some sense of who was using it. We used that information to determine the location of additional exercise areas. "We look at non-tax revenues as a means to provide additional services to people rather than as making money."

Ventures in Corporate Conscience

What's the saying? Anyone can have a great idea, but the one who can make the idea a reality is the real genius.

Andy Kimmel shares one such idea—"Preservation Partners"— brought to fruition by the Lake County Forest Preserve District at a cost of $70,000 annually, using no tax dollars.

Says Kimmel: "Historically, junior high and high school students are a very hard- to-reach group, so we created this program to have these students adopt a forest preserve. They come to their preserve on a regular schedule for conservation projects and supplement their visits with educational materials that link to their curriculum.

"They understand what it takes to manage natural areas, restore habitats, and

November/December 1999 /27

prevent invasive species from taking over."

Enter G.D. Searle Company, the pharmaceutical company that invented NutraSweet. Its corporate headquarters is in Skokie but many of its senior-level people live in Lake County.

"We were working with Searle on smaller projects when we proposed this to them," says Kimmel.

"We knew from Searle's other participation that they have a big concern about environmental science and science careers for youth. They also like to link what they are doing environmentally within their company to improving their community."

Started eight years ago with four schools and a $20,000 donation from Searle, "Preservation Partners" has grown to involve 20 schools. That adds up to an average of 400 kids a year giving between 3,000 and 4,000 volunteer hours to the forest preserve.

The annual donation from Searle, now at $35,000, is matched with regional, state and federal grants for environmental education or habitat restoration. Proceeds from the district's annual plant sale makes up the difference, so that no tax dollars are used for the program.

"Our board supports looking for alternative funding opportunities wherever we can," says Kimmel. "If we can find a way for programs to use non-tax funding, we try to do that.

"That's been the boards budget policy for nearly a decade. Partnerships with Searle and other corporations have allowed us to greatly expand the number of programs and variety of services we offer to the public."

Bread and Butter

Robert Porter, director of the Lemont Park District, considers fees and charges "bread and butter" for his agency and for at least half of Illinois' 345 park districts and forest preserves. However, 15 to 20 years ago it was a different story. "When I started at Lemont in 1975, they were 97 percent dependent on real estate taxes," says Porter about his 17,000- population community located in the southwest Chicago suburbs.

"Now, 54 percent of revenue is other than taxes. We doubled our income stream over and above taxes."

Porter says fiscally "aggressive" agencies are in the "50-percent-up club," with at least 50 percent of revenue derived from sources other than taxes. For example, the Skokie Park Districts ratio is 70/30 (70 percent non-tax revenue and 30 percent from taxes). The Park District of Highland Park's is 60/40.

He cites other revenue streams such as partnerships, corporate development and sponsorships as effective, especially for larger districts that are home to larger companies. However, in Lemont, which has just four banks and mostly mom-and- pop businesses. Porter says fees and charges are the "big ticket."

"Fees are a philosophical approach plus a financial return," Porter says. "If (patrons) are putting their money somewhere in a physical sense, then there is more expectation or obligation to buy-in to the program.

"Also, you can get a better attendance pattern. 'I paid for this, I gotta go to this.'"

Making News, Saving Money

In Lemont there's a lot of hype around town for the quarterly park district brochure, thanks to the Lemont Reporter, the local weekly newspaper.

Saving the park district $20,000 annually, the newspaper pays 100 percent of the cost for producing, printing and mailing the 40-page brochure, four times a year with 10,000 copies distributed to newspaper subscribers and 2,000 extras for the counter.

"(The newspaper) goes to businesses and asks them to take out an ad," says Porter. "It's overwhelmingly desirable because that brochure stays on the kitchen counter for several weeks.

"Placement of the ads is critical. The banks like the back cover. The dental people will be in the kiddie section. The auto guys end up in the adult section."

The park district has total control of the content of the brochure and restricts certain companies from advertising (e.g., no head shops, pure liquor stores and the like).

According to Porter, the newspaper sells 50 to 150 advertisements for each brochure and makes a profit.

"Our registration went up 40 percent because (the newspaper circulation) pushed it into other counties," says Porter. "And we now have a better awareness pattern for our programs and events."

An Ingenious Swap

What a reporter from the Pioneer Press called an "ingenious swap," Connie Newport, director of the Park District of Highland Park calls a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

They're talking about an intergovernmental partnership with many parts to the whole.

Part 1: The park district conveyed a half acre to the city and granted an easement on it so the city could realign a dangerous intersection near the Edens Expressway. The city also used this land to fix a flooding problem with some storm-water work.

Part 2: The park district gave the city one-third of an acre on the same property so the city could build a new fire station to replace two aging fire stations.

Part 3: The city paid for and built the park district's new $5 million water park to replace its 30-year-old pool, a money-pit.

Part 4: On its own property, the city built a state-of-the-art golf learning facility and miniature golf course, worth $ 1 million, which the park district manages and the city receives net revenues of approximately $200,000 a year.

"The city spent $6 million, plus the costs of the fire station, but they solved several problems and they got their own revenue stream," explains Newport about the complex deal, which received tremendous input and support from this north Chicago suburbs 30,000 residents.

"(The city) solved a safety issue and a storm-water issue and saved money by consolidating two fire stations into one."

So, who's idea was it?

"It just evolved once everybody started

28/ Illinois Parks and Recreation

talking about these issues," says Newport. "The park board and the city council get the credit for having the vision. Vision works as long was everybody wins."

Nearly three years later, the pool facility has gone from a deficit of $40,000 to a surplus of $140,000. Attendance is up from 30,000 to 130,000 a year.

With at least one very good friend on the city council in former park board member Peter Koukos, Newport says:
"(The partnership has) really solidified our relationship. It's opened up some doors."

Forced Entrepreneurialism

"When your debt service is cut off, it's time to be creative," says Connie Newport, whose agency last year received $100,000 cash for a 15,000-square- foot skate park in exchange for an exclusive 10-year contract for district-wide vending. The need for a skate park in Highland Park surfaced years ago. Both the police and the chamber had raised the issue. The park district began paving its paths, but the challenge wasn't there for the kids. "We knew that Coke and Pepsi, especially, were giving exclusives," says Newport. "The U of I has an exclusive with Coke, and we said 'You know we're not that big, but let's try.'"

So they developed an RFP and met, separately, with Coke, Pepsi, Sprint and others. Each time, a diagram of the proposed skate park was shown with the company logo (e.g., "Coca Cola Skate Park"), attached by Velcro.

Ultimately, the deal was struck with Mark Vend, a longtime vendor for the park district.

"We're one of their biggest clients and, obviously, this gave them the opportunity to lock us up for ten years," says Newport.

"The field has been talking about corporate sponsorship, revenue from outside of tax money.

"We have no bonding authority. To us it's a reality."

What's in a Name?

A lot of money, believes Steve Hartman, director of the Skokie Park District, located in a northern Chicago suburb. Last May, the park district hired a corporate sponsorship manager to seek and negotiate naming rights, marketing rights, exclusive sales and endorsements for its facilities, parks, events, and you name it.

"Park districts don't recognize the fact that they have value to corporations, if your district has realized success and has a high citizen approval rating," says Hartman.

"Traditionally, local ABC individual or company says they'll give you $100,000 and the park district says 'We will name a building or park in your name for the life of the facility.'"

"What happens is that the park district gets a one-time benefit while the company gets a lifetime benefit from the donation. That's where the value is out of balance."

Since May, Skokie's corporate sponsorship program has realized $100,000 in in-kind donations and $50,000 in cash sponsorships for festivals and events. But Hartman says they won't feel successful until they have corporate names and that, like a successful foundation, will take longer than six months.

Corporate deals are in the works for the district's children's museum (the Exploratorium), sports park and water park. A name sponsorship for the Exploratorium, for example, is priced at $45,000 a year for five years.

"We didn't arbi- trarily assign a dollar figure to these values," says Hartman. "We used a company called International Events Group...experts on the value of sponsorship. They did an inventory for us, told us what would sell. They valued our properties, gave recommended forms of contracts and leads."

"It was the best $32,000 we've ever spent."

"You have to spend money to make money. When we are successful, this program will be worth $2 to $2 1/2 million over five years in sponsorships to the district."

Currently, the district raises 70 percent of its revenue from non-tax sources, which is up from just 35 percent six years ago.

About the future, Hartman says: "I think it's possible, if you mix your facilities right and you generate some of this outside revenue, agencies like ours can be on a completely pay-as-you-go basis. We would not have to collect taxes in order to operate."

ANN M. LONDRIGAN
is the publications director for the Iliinois Association of Pork Districts and editor of Illinois Parks & Recreation magazine.

November/December 1999 /29