NYC Parks and Open Space Partners

We are conducting the first annual survey of NYC Parks and Open Space Partners coalition members in order to get a better understanding of the existing members and their needs, value currently being delivered by the coalition, and opportunities for improvement. We will utilize the information collected to report to our funders and partners, identify priority work areas for 2025, and assess how we can improve our services.

Please have one person complete the survey for each organizational member by Monday, December 23. To answer some questions, you may require assistance from your organization’s finance, human resources, and/or executive department. We suggest that you preview the survey in advance here

to gather required information before starting the assessment. You are welcome to make a copy and draft answers in advance.

Please email adminposp@cityparksfoundation.org with any questions.

Organizational Profile

Organization Name

Year Founded

EIN Number

Phone Number

Website

Facebook Page URL

X (formerly Twitter) Page URL

Instagram Page URL

Information about Primary Contact for this Organization

First Name

Last Name

Role within the organization

Position Title

Work email

Work telephone

Organizational Size and Scope

Staff, Board, and Volunteers

How many paid full-time equivalent staff members make up your organization as of 12/1/2024?

How many paid part-time or seasonal staff members make up your organization as of 12/1/2024?

(For example, if your organization considers 40 hours a week to be full-time, an employee who works 20 hours a week is 0.5 FTE.)

Does your organization have a board?

Yes

No

How many members?

Is there a board give/get?

YesNoNot sure

Generally, a give/get policy requires board members to donate a certain amount or raise a specific amount for an organization through fundraising.

What is the annual $ commitment?

$

Total number of volunteers you anticipate engaging in 2024?

Total number of volunteer hours anticipated to support in 2024?

Total number of program participants you anticipate engaging in 2024?

Is the majority of your organization's leadership made up of people who are Black, Indigenous, or other People of Color? (e.g., BIPOC Executive Director, or 51% BIPOC Board, or 51% BIPOC senior staff).

Yes

No

Area Served

Name of primary open space, or description of area served

Street Address, Line 1

Street Address, Line 2

City

State

Zip Code

Please use Beta.NYC to search for your Community District.

What Community District does your organization primarily serve? If your organization operates in multiple locations across community districts, please select Not Applicable.

Please refer to the MOCEJ map to answer the following question.

Does your organization primarily serve open space/s located in an Environmental Justice area? Please respond yes if 50% or more of your work serves an open space or spaces located within an Environmental Justice area.

Yes

No

Note, if the primary site of your work takes place in an open space surrounded by a mix of Environmental Justice and non-Environmental Justice areas, please base your response off of the majority of the surrounding areas.

Total acreage of open space served by your organization:

How many open spaces does your organization program, steward, or advocate for?

One	More than one

To the best of your knowledge, what entity maintains jurisdiction over the land that you steward, advocate for, or program?

If other, please identify.

To the best of your knowledge, what entity or entities maintains jurisdiction over the land that you steward, advocate for, or program? (Check all that apply)

Assessment of POSP Services

When did you join POSP?

Please rate on a scale of 1 to 7: Your organization’s overall experience as a POSP member in 2024 (Extremely dissatisfied (1) to Very satisfied (7))

Which committees and taskforces does your organization serve on and/or regularly participate in? Please check all that apply.

Please rate the services/resources selected in terms of how useful they have been to your organization from 1-7, 1 being not useful at all and 7 being extremely useful.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Training and Workshops
Grants from City Parks Foundation
External grants suggested during POSP calls
Nonprofit New York Membership
Collaborative Fundraising Program Participant
Networking Events
Coaching
Coalition or Committee Meetings
Peer Support

What have you found to be the most beneficial about being a member of POSP?

Which barriers does your organization encounter in participating in POSP? Please check all that apply.

If other, please specify.

Discovery

Workforce Development Needs

What specific skills or certifications are most critical for young adults, or program graduates entering the parks and environmental sector? Please choose all that apply.

Talent Acquisition: What are your primary sources for talent acquisition? Do you actively recruit from educational institutions, partner with specific programs or offer internship opportunities?

Talent Gap: What positions are the most challenging to recruit for, and in which areas would additional support be most helpful to improve your hiring efforts?

Working with the City

Do you work with city agencies regularly?

Yes

No

Please rate each of the following policy issues from 1-7 based on what you think is most important for POSP to address: (1 being not important, 7 being very important)

Other: Please Specify

Do you have a license agreement or maintenance agreement with a government entity?

Yes

No

Please share the name of the government entity.

Please upload a copy of your agreement.

What benefits of the license agreement are most important to you?

What have you found challenging when seeking or renewing a license agreement? Please select all that apply.

Finding a lawyerThe cost for legal servicesTime it takes to complete the paperworkThe number of persons / agencies required to approve agreementNot applicable, I have not found the process challengingOther (please specify below)

If other, please specify.

Have you sought or plan to seek a license agreement within the next two years?

Yes

No

What benefits of the license agreement interest you most?

What have you found challenging when seeking a license agreement? Please select all that apply.

Finding a lawyerThe cost for legal servicesTime it takes to complete the paperworkThe number of persons / agencies required to approve agreementNot applicable, I have not found the process challengingOther (please specify below)

If other, please specify.

Do you work with NYC Parks?

Yes

No

Please Rate

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Timely approval of permits
Lack of indemnification
Negotiating fair license agreements
Securing timely funding contracts
Onerous insurance requirements and/or lack of indemnification
Timely hiring
Flexibility to hire based on needs
Lack of sufficient maintenance
Lack of sufficient Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP)
Other

If other, please specify and rate below.

Has participation in POSP made it easier for you to do business with NYC Parks?

YesNoNot applicable, have not been a member long enough to know yet

If yes, please tell us more.

Successes and Opportunities

Please have your organization’s participating POSP member complete this section.

What successes have you accomplished recently that you would like to share with POSP?

What challenges are you encountering that you would like support in from POSP?

How can POSP become more effective at its work?

We are looking to grow and strengthen the coalition, expanding our pool of knowledge and range of experiences for collective benefit. We would like to ask for your help connecting with more open space-focused nonprofits across the five boroughs. We are especially looking to invite more park and open space-focused organizations that are serving environmental justice areas (see map).

Do you know of any park and/or open space organizations that may be interested in joining POSP?

Yes

No

Invite

Please share their information below so we can invite them to POSP. You can add multiple organizations by clicking the "add another organization" link below.

Organization name:

First name:

Last name

Email or phone number

Do you have any other feedback you’d like to share at this time?

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Licensing / Maintenance Agreement:
Insurance
Permits and regulatory liability
Underfunded parks
Concessions
Capital process
Other: