Fiscal Year 2024-25 Annual Update

Dear Friend of the Trust,

Volunteer Park is one of Seattle’s most treasured gathering places — and Volunteer Park Trust exists to keep it thriving. Since 2013, this community-led nonprofit has brought neighbors, donors, and Seattle Parks & Recreation together to restore landscapes, raise funds for improvements, and host free events like the Summer Series concerts, the Halloween Pet Parade, and Holiday in the Park.

This year we are taking extra steps to make our operations more transparent and to show more clearly how your donations fuel the work of Volunteer Park Trust. As part of this effort, every new project listed on our website now includes its initial budget, final expenditures, and any special funding sources. Another element of this commitment is producing this annual report — the first of its kind for the Trust.

Fiscal Year ’25 (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025)

Volunteer Park Trust operates under the fiscal sponsorship of the Seattle Parks Foundation, which provides us with nonprofit 501(c)(3) status so your donations remain fully tax-deductible. But the partnership is more than paperwork.

The Foundation acts as our bank — receiving all donations, paying invoices, and reviewing expenditures. They also handle payroll for contractors or part-time staff, and provide operational guidance to us and more than 120 grassroots organizations citywide. In return, we pay a shared cost for this administrative support. Our fee is 10% of all revenue including donations, grants and sponsorships, plus any credit card processing fees from online donations. While we are not required to produce our own annual report, we felt it was important to share this about our last fiscal year directly with you. (You can find the Foundation’s latest report here. )

FY25 Revenue

Our total revenue for the year was $406,000, supported by:

  • A one-time estate gift of $200,000 from a longtime donor

  • More than $71,000 in community donations

  • $10,552 in grants from the city’s 4Culture office, supporting operations and free community events

  • $124,000 in sponsorship revenue, appearing here as Donations, and primarily supporting the Summer Series concerts

The chart below shows revenue by size of donations and/or type:

Chart of donations by size and/or type

Highlights from the Past Year

Thanks to your support and our dedicated volunteers, we accomplished so much together in Volunteer Park last year:

Events & Community

  • Hosted our popular Summer Series concerts and other annual celebrations, including the Halloween Pet Parade and Holiday in the Park

  • Engaged 1,600+ volunteer hours — the equivalent of more than 200 full workdays given back to the park

Stewardship & Gardens

  • Partnered with the park’s maintenance team to improve garden beds and landscaped areas through monthly Second Saturday Work Parties and twice-yearly Restoration Days

Capital Projects & Improvements

  • Resurfaced gravel walking paths around the lily ponds, improving drainage and accessibility

  • Launched a new Tree ID program with signage on major trees, led by our Emerging Leaders Committee

  • Installed a new welcome sign on the stone monument at the park entrance

  • Developed plans for a new water fountain and bottle filler near the Amphitheater (anticipated construction late 2025 or early 2026)

  • Initiated an engineering study of the southwest corner (Prospect Ave.) to improve safety and accessibility, with design options coming in the next phase

FY25 Expenses

Volunteer Park Trust remains overwhelmingly volunteer-driven. Our committee chairs, Steering Committee, and I all serve without pay. The only paid contractor is a part-time administrative and operations coordinator, and the support provided by Seattle Parks Foundation staff. Most events and projects also rely on some contract staff or construction management, which are included in each project’s budget.

Expense breakdown (Programs and Capital shown separately in chart):

  • Operations coordinator and administrative costs: 10.3% of revenue

  • Administrative/fiscal sponsorship fees: 10%

  • Development/fundraising: 4.1%

  • Programs and Capital Projects: 76%

Chart of expenses by type

By keeping our operational overhead low, 76% of all revenue goes directly to projects and programs in the park. And even the operational costs also benefit the park, allowing us to continue to offer volunteer opportunities, community engagement and manage our projects.  In years without a major estate gift, our donations average $80,000–95,000, and Summer Series sponsorships about $110,000 — both of which reduce shared costs to the Parks Foundation proportionally.

Our end of year cash balance of $522,321 includes the entire estate gift to use for future park projects, as well as existing funding for upcoming projects and our operational reserve.

Closing

Only through your generosity do we achieve so much for Volunteer Park. Beyond financial support, we always welcome new volunteers to join our committees and events. If you’d like to get more involved, you can sign up through our website, connect with us in person at any event or email our coordinator, Hannah, at info@volunteerpark.org.

With gratitude,

John Flinn
Chair, Volunteer Park Trust