Program areas at APF
Park improvements: during 2022, apf made park improvements both large and small. Three of the largest park improvement projects during the year were: govalle neighborhood park, pomerleau neighborhood park, and ballfield lighting. See schedule o for more detail on these three projects. Other smaller park improvement projects included funding for brownie neighborhood park, zilker eagle train, zilker trailhead, and court rennovations.
Park adopter support: funding was awarded to park adopter groups for improvements in their neighborhood Parks. Apf oversees all projects and pays contractors directly. Examples of 2022 funding provided to park adopters incldues projects at highland neighborhood park, gullet school park, alderbrook park, reed park, parque zaragoza neighborhood park, west Austin park, and north oarks community garden. Other grants awarded included funding for zilker botanical conservancy, cities connecting children to nature program, and a rollery derby structual feasability study.
Park activation, programming, volunteerism & park maintenance: apf engages the community and fills the gap in public funding by providing vital maintenance to keep the city's Parks in good condition. Apf's park activation and programming includes it's my park day, where thousands of community members come together to improve and maintain their Parks; the Parks summit and parkscast series, providing an open forum for discussion between experts and stakeholders on important topics; fitness in the park, offering free aerobics, dance and other fitness classes; the adopt-a-park program, where community members become the stewards of their neighborhood Parks and have the option of opening a sponsored fund account to efficiently fundraise and reinvest in their own community Parks.
Other program expenses include $1,592,026 of maintenance costs in zilker park related to the Austin city limits (acl) festival. The acl festival is the largest annual park activation program held by Austin Parks Foundation and brings tens of thousands of local residents and visitors from all over the world into one of Austin's premier Parks each year.