Tacoma Parks Foundation

Name

Tacoma Parks Foundation

Legal name

Greater Metro Parks Foundation

Website

https://tacomaparksfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Fundraising Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

Keywords

• Charitable fundraising services
• Youth development programs
• Parks recreation philanthropy
• Community foundation giving
• Nonprofit donor services

Headquarters

HQ city

Tacoma

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: The foundation raises funds through individual charitable donations via online portal, checks, and other payment methods. Donations support parks and recreation programs, youth development, capital projects, and the Innovation Fund.
2. Planned Giving & Estate Planning: Legacy gifts through wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations allow donors to support the foundation in their estate planning. Donors can designate gifts to specific programs like Summer Late Nights, Beyond the Bell, Club B, or the Innovation Fund.
3. IRA & Retirement Plan Gifts: Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from IRAs for donors 70½ or older, up to $100,000 per year. Also accepts beneficiary designations from retirement accounts.
4. Securities & Stock Donations: Donors can transfer appreciated securities (stocks, bonds, mutual funds) directly to avoid capital gains taxes while receiving a charitable deduction for the full fair market value.
5. Matching Gifts & Workplace Giving: Corporate matching gift programs where employers match employee donations. Also includes payroll deduction options and corporate partnerships/sponsorships.
6. Donor Advised Funds: Donors can recommend grants from their DAF accounts to Tacoma Parks Foundation. Supports include Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, and BNY Mellon DAF direct giving.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Tacoma Parks Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that serves as the official charitable partner of Parks Tacoma. It raises tax-deductible donations to fund youth development programs (Beyond the Bell, Club B, Summer Late Nights, Summer Camps), senior programs, and capital projects, while operating an Innovation Fund that provides flexible, unrestricted support to address emerging community needs. The foundation offers multiple giving vehicles including memorial bench sponsorships, donor advised funds, stock transfers, IRA qualified charitable distributions, and planned/estate giving.

Product overview

Tacoma Parks Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that serves as the official charitable partner of Parks Tacoma. The Foundation operates a portfolio of youth development programs including Beyond the Bell (K-5 after-school activities), Club B (middle school programs), and Summer Late Nights (high school evening program), alongside comprehensive Summer Camps featuring adaptive recreation, sports, STEM, nature, and arts programming. The organization's giving infrastructure includes the Innovation Fund for flexible community support, plus multiple tax-efficient giving mechanisms: Donor Advised Funds, stock/bond gifts, IRA/retirement plan donations, legacy/estate planning, and matching gift workplace giving. Capital projects like the Peck Community Sports Park represent major community investments supported by Foundation fundraising.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Memorial Bench Program Philanthropic program allowing donors to honor loved ones by sponsoring park benches with personalized commemorative plaques, with participation starting at $6,000. Gifts are tax-deductible.
• Innovation Fund Unrestricted funding initiative that provides flexible financial support for parks, programs, and centers, allowing rapid response to emerging community needs. Donors can contribute online, by check, or through other methods.
• Beyond the Bell After-school activity program offered at every elementary school K-5 across Tacoma Public Schools, providing youth with supervised, enriching activities during out-of-school hours.
• Club B After-school activity program for middle school students (grades 6-8), offered at all Tacoma middle schools Monday-Thursday.
• Summer Late Nights Free drop-in evening program for middle and high school students launched in 2023, providing safe spaces for youth to connect, eat dinner, and enjoy activities during summer evenings at Mason and Meeker Middle Schools.
• Summer Camps Full-day summer camp programs including Adaptive and Specialized Recreation Camps, Mini Camps, Sports Camps, Art/Dance/Theater Camps, STEM Camps, Nature Camp, and Counselors in Training (CIT) program. Financial assistance/fee-waivers available; 1 in 5 families needed assistance in 2026.
• Senior Programs Programs for older adults including social gatherings, recreational opportunities, and Senior Hubs at People's Center and Eastside Community Center.
• Donor Advised Funds Charitable giving option allowing donors to set aside assets for recommending grants to Tacoma Parks Foundation over time with tax-deductible contributions. Accepts DAF direct giving through Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, and BNY Mellon platforms.
• Gifts of Stock, Bonds, Mutual Funds Tax-efficient charitable giving option enabling donors to transfer appreciated securities (stocks, bonds, mutual funds) directly to avoid capital gains taxes while receiving a charitable deduction for the full fair market value.
• Legacy and Estate Planning Planned giving options through wills or trusts including specific gifts, contingent gifts, and designations to named funds like the Jack C. Wilson Active Kids Fund, Zina Linnik Project Fund, or Eastside Youth Development Endowment.
• IRA/Retirement Plan Giving Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD) for donors 70.5 or older, allowing direct transfers up to $100,000 per year from IRAs, plus beneficiary designations for retirement accounts.
• Matching Gifts and Workplace Giving Corporate matching gift programs and payroll deduction options that allow employees to maximize charitable contributions through employer-sponsored giving campaigns, plus corporate partnerships and sponsorships.

Quantifiable outcome

• 697 families and 2,658 kids served through summer camps in 2026
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered primary and core.

• Parks TacomaprimaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerParks Tacoma (formerly Metro Parks Tacoma) is the primary beneficiary of Tacoma Parks Foundation fundraising. TPF serves as the official 501(c)(3) charitable partner of Parks Tacoma, which manages 80 parks, 5 community centers, and comprehensive recreation programs. Founded in 1907, Parks Tacoma provides creative, recreational, and educational programming for all generations in Tacoma.
• Tacoma Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTacoma Public Schools partners with TPF and Parks Tacoma on youth development programs including Beyond the Bell (K-5) and Club B (middle school), offered at all Tacoma elementary and middle schools. Programs run Monday-Friday after school hours.
• YMCA of Pierce & Kitsap CountiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYMCA partners on Summer Teen Late Nights and youth programming. Vincent Barron serves as Senior Program Director, Center for Community Impact at YMCA and is TPF Board Vice President.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of TacomacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoys & Girls Clubs partners on Summer Teen Late Nights and youth programming, providing summer programming for SPS students with philanthropic funding support.
• GreentrikecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreentrike is a community partner in the Summer Late Nights coalition, contributing to youth programming and safe spaces for Tacoma teens.
• Point Defiance Zoo & AquariumcoreOthersPart of the Parks Tacoma system - a world-class zoo and aquarium that TPF supports through fundraising efforts.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Cincinnati Parks Foundation: Independent foundation raising funds for Cincinnati Parks, with comparable programmatic support, endowment, and youth initiatives tied to a single municipal parks system.
• Chicago Parks Foundation: Independent 501(c)(3) supporting Chicago Park District programs, capital projects, and youth initiatives — a larger-scale but structurally equivalent municipal parks foundation.
• Seattle Parks Foundation: Independent 501(c)(3) that raises private funds for Seattle Parks and Recreation, the closest geographical and structural equivalent to Tacoma Parks Foundation serving a neighboring Pacific Northwest municipal parks system.
• Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy: Fundraising and stewardship partner for Pittsburgh's city parks, with comparable capital-project fundraising, endowment building, and youth programming focus.
• San Francisco Parks Alliance: Nonprofit partner supporting San Francisco Recreation and Parks, with similar equity, volunteer, and capital-project fundraising programs at a peer city scale.
• Portland Parks Foundation: Community-supported nonprofit that funds Portland Parks & Recreation programs, capital projects, and equity initiatives — directly comparable model, mission, and city-scale scope.
• Baltimore Parks & People Foundation: Nonprofit that supports Baltimore's parks and recreation programming with strong equity and youth-development focus, paralleling TPF's mission and beneficiary profile.

Regional players

• Greater Tacoma Community Foundation: Multi-purpose community foundation serving the same Tacoma/Pierce County geography; while not parks-specific, it competes for the same local donor pool and offers overlapping DAF, planned-giving, and grantmaking infrastructure.

Broad incumbents

• Friends of the High Line: Conservancy-style nonprofit raising private funds for a major urban public space; while focused on a single park, it shares the equity, capital, and donor-advised giving infrastructure model.
• The Trust for Public Land: National nonprofit that creates and protects parks and green space; comparable in mission around equitable park access and land conservation, though operating at a much larger geographic scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tacoma-parks-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tacoma Parks Foundation