Private-sector money is untapped resource. (@ Issue).

Public park facilities, and recreation programs of high quality and diversity, are as important to our communities as they were in decades past, yet many traditional funding sources have dried up and budgets have been cut. Innovative ways to finance facility development, maintenance and programming must be considered and developed.

What are these innovative funding sources that so many of our leisure agencies are missing out on? Quite simply, it's private-sector assistance, i.e. raising private money for park and recreation agencies for the public good. The leisure field is guilty of missing out on hundreds of millions of dollars by not going after funding from individuals, corporations and foundations.

Call it philanthropy, call it charitable giving or call it private-sector assistance; private funds are there for the taking. Although about 75 percent of all giving can be credited to individuals, each year about $25 billion is distributed by foundations alone. Of this, the leisure field could qualify for more than one third of these grants.

Funds that are earmarked to assist cultural arts, recreation, children and youth, the aged and the handicapped, and even economic development, all apply to our profession, so we could be eligible for more than $10 billion from this source. The sad fact is that our agencies are currently receiving less than one-half of 1 percent of this amount.

Individuals have historically been reluctant to donate money to governmental units. They will, however, donate to a trust fund or foundation. Therefore, whether an agency has autonomy or is a department of local government, it is necessary to set up a 501(c)(3) organization to be successful in receiving gifts.

Fundraising plans can include an annual fund with restricted or unrestricted goals, major gift campaigns, endowment gifts, planned giving, special events, friends' organizations, special-interest groups, and the use of businesses and corporations for marketing partnerships. Every community, regardless of its size, can customize some or all of these programs to its benefit.

Private dollars can be generated for parks and recreation facilities and programs if public agencies are willing to commit themselves to developing and implementing a structured private-sector assistance program. These resources will not appear overnight, so acquiring private support must be looked upon as a long-range project.

Worls is chief executive officer of The Oglebay Foundation, in Wheeling, W.Va. He was CEO of the Wheeling Park Commission from 1972 to 1999. Worls will moderate the forum "New Paradigms in Funding for Parks and Recreation" at the NRPA Congress in tampa this October. For more about this and the other "Achieving Our Vision" forums, see p. 58 of this issue.