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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 1995 0802 CC REG ITEM 11GTO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: ITEM CITY OF MOORPARK AGENDA REPORT Parks and Recreation Commission Christine Adams, Director of Community Sery July 18, 1995 (Meeting of August 2, 1995) MOORPARK, CAL FC City Council Mee in; of 199 0 IVA At the Joint Meeting with the City Council on May 10, 1995, the Council directed the Commission to move forward with the gifts catalogue program, specifically in developing guidelines for recognition. The development of the Catalogue itself will follow. The Commission discussed guidelines at their meeting of July 17, 1995, and after discussion, recommended the following to be considered by the City Council. As part of the discussion, staff provided three scenarios for the Commission to consider, as examples of different types of donations and contributions to the community. The purpose of including these scenarios was to demonstrate that each gift or contribution is unique, and may not always fit into established guidelines. Example 1 David Brown was born on July 1, 1983. He is exactly the same age as the City of Moorpark. He was recognized in conjunction with the City's 10th Anniversary. Following that anniversary, his family contacted me, and asked to plant an 11th Apricot Tree in the grove near Arroyo Vista Park as a gift to the City. The family is still interested in providing the tree, but as there were no guidelines in place, staff has asked that the donation be deferred, and the family has agreed. Example 2 The Moorpark Kiwanis Club wants to treat and seal the wood play equipment at Peach Hill Park on an annual or semi - annual basis. They have indicated that they want some sort of permanent recognition at the park if they do this. 'Z10 Example 3 Carol Kelly's son Shane was killed in an automobile accident last year. She reserved Arroyo Vista Community Park for a one year anniversary memorial service on June 20 at the park, under the large walnut trees. She has offered to buy a park bench and have it placed under the trees with a plaque. There are no plans for benches to be located in that area. However, staff offered to meet with Mrs. Kelly and identify the locations that are already planned for benches and select one of those locations. Mrs. Kelly would also like to attach a plaque to the bench. The City should recognize private donations, large or small. Recognition can spur others to contribute or lead to future donations from the same source. The scope of the recognition program should fit the size and type of gift, and the spectrum could include signed certificates presented at City Council meetings, or whatever fits the desire of the community. Every gift of $20.00 or more could be acknowledged with at least a letter of thanks from the City. City recognition for donations, either monetary, or of equipment or service equaling the dollar amount, such as volunteer work at a City event, can be handled in the following manner: - Under $100 • Thank you letter prepared by appropriate staff and signed by the Mayor and Parks and Recreation Commission Chair. • A certificate acknowledging the gift. $101 -$499 • Thank you letter prepared by appropriate staff and signed by the Mayor and the Parks and Recreation Commission Chair. • A framed certificate acknowledging the gift. • A small "thank you" gift, such as a City pin, paper weight, or coffee mug. (When a gift is given by a group rather than an individual, the City shall give one gift per group.) • A small size name plate on a permanent donor board located at 0?11 Arroyo Vista Recreation Center, under the Category of "Friend ". $500 - $999 • Thank you letter prepared by appropriate staff and signed by the Mayor and the Parks and Recreation Commission Chair. • Engraved plaque • A small "thank you" gift, such as a City pin, paper weight, or coffee mug. • A medium size name plate on a permanent donor board located at Arroyo Vista Recreation Center, under the Category of "Sponsor ". - $1000 - $4999• Thank you letter prepared by appropriate staff and signed by the Mayor and the Parks and Recreation Commission Chair. • Engraved plaque with presentation occurring at a Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting and /or a City Council Meeting. • A small "thank you" gift, such as a City pin, paper weight, or coffee mug. • A large size name plate on a permanent donor board located at Arroyo Vista Recreation Center, under the Category of "Patron ". $5000 - Over • A large size name plate on a permanent donor board located at Arroyo Vista Recreation Center, under the Category of "Benefactor ". • Other recognition could be determined by City Council on a case by case basis. The Commission further recommended that those park items which are deemed appropriate by staff, (that is, an identified number of benches or trees in each park), for placement of name plates or markers on the item, be listed on a separate page in the proposed Gifts Catalogue. Staff does not support this final recommendation, as name plates or markers of any type on park furnishings or trees, as this will be an increased maintenance cost which the City is not prepared to cover at this time. Staff further recommends the following inclusions in the recognition guidelines: 1) Capital items for parks shall be ones that are consistent with approved park plans. 2) Those individuals or groups making annual and /or multiple donations shall be recognized once annually, and shall receive one (1) identification on the donor board. 3) The total contribution in cash donations or in -kind services, if both are given by a single group or individuals, shall be acknowledged as one contribution. An Ad Hoc Committee of the Parks and Recreation Commission will be working with staff to develop a draft catalogue for the Council to review. Prior to that, staff is providing the following information to the City Council, as background on the value and development of a catalogue. PURPOSE OF GIFTS CATALOGUE A gifts catalogue provides the following: a) It increases public involvement. It is a tool for increasing public awareness and support. A greater sense of involvement with the City will hopefully, result in higher participation and interest. b) It provides a service to potential donors. A gifts catalogue provides people the opportunity to fulfill their basic motivation to do good. Catalogues allow donors to know where their gift is going and to select a gift with which they can identify. c) It increases awareness of the needs of the Community Services Department among prospective donors. A catalogue links an agency and its potential donors. It stimulates donations by increasing awareness of the department. Donors must be convinced of the department's successes and the level of community satisfaction must be mentioned and reinforced. Gifts catalogues also provide the community with information about the short and long term goals of the department. Even though a specific gift, such as the construction of a park, may not be donated, the fact that it is listed in the gifts catalogue reinforces the department's 0"ZI commitment to provide a facility that the community wants. d) It offers tangible gifts to potential donors. A strong selling point for a contribution to parks and recreation programs is that nearly all of the offerings in a gifts catalogue are tangible. Staff must emphasize the fact that evidence of a gift is visible not just at the time it is given, but also in the future. "The gift that keeps giving." GIFTS CATALOGUE DEVELOPMENT STEPS a) Develop a List of Department Needs - List should be extensive. The idea is to provide a full range of gifts from which to choose. The catalogue should attract differing size contributions. Hopefully, the person who can only make a small donation today may be able to donate more in the future. b) Desian and Production - The gifts catalogue must be attractive and professionally done. A well - designed catalogue represents quality and promotes a good department image. Adequate staff time must also be invested in both the preparation and management to ensure and seek donations. Prices should not be listed in the catalogue, but on an insert sheet that can be updated as needed. Staff estimates an initial cost for printing of the first issue of the catalogue would be $2,500. Developing the layout of the catalogue in -house may reduce this initial cost as well. Updated insert sheets would be a minimal cost. c) Promotion - A promotion strategy should be developed even before the catalogue has reached the design stage. The promotion strategy involves plans for distribution, publicity before and after the catalogue is distributed, recognition of donations and follow -up solicitation. Crucial to the success of the gifts catalogue is its acceptance immediately after distribution. The timing of the gifts catalogue release is especially important. The holiday giving season has proven to be very successful in other communities. d) Distribution - The distribution strategy should ensure delivery of the catalogue to a pre- selected target audience. Since a mass mailing is not financially feasible, we could utilize displays in libraries, schools, banks, and other retail establishments, as well as advertising for the catalogue in other City sponsored publications (quarterly recreation brochure, assessment district mailing, etc). After the initial distribution, staff will look for every opportunity to personally put 000214 the catalogue in the hands of prospective donors. A number of different cover letters should be developed for various target audiences. It is recommended that the staff member most likely to receive and respond to these inquiries is the Director of Community Services. e) Recognition - Discussed previously in this report. f) Evaluation and Revision - The gifts catalogue should be viewed as an ongoing program - not a one -shot effort. One city's efforts took three years to receive a donation. There is no guarantee that the initial outlay of funds for the catalogue will be recovered through donations, but the City's donation program should be reviewed in three years to determine if the City has been successful in this endeavor. The measurement of the overall effectiveness of the gifts catalogue is not revenue nor the total amount of resources raised, but on the combination of the number of responses to the gifts catalogue and the exposure of the City's parks and recreation programs and facilities through this program campaign. AD HOC COMMITTEE TASKS 1. Who is the target audience and how do we reach them? 2. What gift items will be included. A draft list is attached for the Council's review. 3. What will be the theme of the catalogue? Design format? 4. Is there a large enough segment within the community who have money to donate and would be willing to support a gift catalogue? 5. Is the City or another organization able to appropriate money to a program that may not show any rewards for maybe three years? 6. Is the City willing and able to appropriate enough money to produce a quality catalogue. A cost breakdown of anticipated start up funds is listed below. 7. Who will be in charge of this endeavor? There will be a lot of staff time involved on a year round basis to do an adequate job of promoting the catalogue - is this something that we can devote enough time to? FUNDING OF GIFT CATALOGUE PROGRAM Funding for the donor board, publication of a Gift Catalogue, and recognition gifts is not currently in the budget. Staff 000ZI 3 recommends that the Council consider appropriating $5,700 as outlined below, as start up funds for the gift catalogue program. A donor board can be purchased immediately, and the other funding can be used as the format and design of the catalogue is finalized. Estimated Costs Gifts Catalogue - 500 copies $2,500 Including artwork, color, design, printing, etc. Certificates $1.50 x 100 $ 150 Recognition Gifts $2.50 x 100 $ 250 Small Plaques (7" x 911) $15 x 20 $ 300 Name Plates $10 x 100 $1,000 Donor Board $1,500 TOTAL $5,700 RECOMMENDATION (ROLL CALL VOTE REQUIRED) 1) Adopt recommended guidelines for recognition of donations as outlined in subject report; 2) Appropriate $8,000 from General Fund Reserves to 01.4.148.629 (Special Supplies and Services) for Gifts Catalogue program.