The Parkway is fortunate to have a good array of advocacy groups which the community continues to rely on to develop the ideas and strategies that will allow us to preserve, protect, and strengthen the Parkway in perpetuity, and we continue to look for that type of leadership from the new Parkway Coalition.
An excerpt.
American River Parkway banks on coalition of the committed
By Ryan Lillis -- Bee Staff Writer Published 12:01 am PDT Tuesday, July 11, 2006
It has been 45 years since the first nonprofit organization dedicated solely to sticking up for the American River Parkway was formed.
Since then, the groups involved with the Sacramento urban park that draws an estimated 5 million visitors a year have fought off threats ranging from development to budget crises to invasive weeds.
But it wasn't until about two years ago that the three largest charities charged with protecting the Parkway's future pooled their resources. With combined revenue of more than $600,000 taken in from membership dues and fundraising, the coalition considers itself the strongest defender of the 23-mile-long preserve that runs from Discovery Park near Old Sacramento to Nimbus Dam.
"The parkway is probably the reason a lot of people move to Sacramento," said Annemarie Vincent, executive director of the American River Parkway Foundation, a group that coordinates volunteer programs in the parkway. Its yearly revenue has nearly quadrupled since 1999, according to tax filings. "We've received some grants and worked with the county and are beginning to take more responsibility."
The latest sign of cooperation among the three nonprofits -- a union that also includes the Save the American River Association and the American River Natural History Association -- is a new volunteer center near the Parkway's William B. Pond Recreation Area entrance.
Completed last month by the American River Parkway Foundation with mostly volunteer workers and materials -- and at the budget-friendly price of $350,000 -- the 1,700-square-foot building is a meeting destination for volunteers and the nonprofit groups.
