Financing and Acquiring Park and Recreation Resources

Today's park and recreation agencies provide many more services, maintain substantially larger acreages of land, and experience more vandalism and crime problems than ever before. The declining availability of tax-supported revenue sources and escalating costs place park and recreation managers under intense pressure to obtain the financial resources necessary to sustain the level of service expected by clientele groups, a diverse and demanding public, and elected officials. Therefore, managers of park and recreation facilities, like their counterparts in business, must design and implement strategies to do more with less. One way to confront their fiscal challenges in the current economic climate is to take a proactive, entrepreneurial stance--transforming problems into opportunities. Crompton, an authority on the subject for over thirty years, describes in a clear, accessible manner, how today's park managers can apply both traditional and innovative methods of securing funds--highlighting the benefits and pitfalls of each. Written for upper-level undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals currently in the field, the text is broad in scope yet targets practical details. It covers everything from multiple budgeting techniques to communicating the benefits of park and recreation services and positioning them effectively to secure financing. Readers will learn how to identify alternate sources of money to acquire "three factors of production": property; labor; and physical materials, facilities, and equipment, as well as skills to forge partnerships with other organizations that are well positioned to invest in park and recreation facilities and services.