Our Board

The LPF board is made up of community leaders and individuals passionate about Louisville’s parks and are dedicated to help keeping our City’s parks a destination for nature and recreation.

Strategic Plan

The Louisville Parks Foundation completed a comprehensive Strategic Plan in March 2018. Our Strategic Planning Committee and Board of Directors worked for several months to identify strategies and measurable objectives to achieve our mission, and committed to revisiting the plan on an ongoing basis to ensure we respond to internal and external changes. In keeping with that commitment, the plan was updated in 2019, to acknowledge our progress, and establish new goals.

history

The Louisville Metro Parks Foundation, LLC, (LMPF) was formed as a 501(c) non-profit in December 2005, to support the public parks and community programs not funded by other local non-profits. The initial focus of the Foundation was as the fiscal agent for land acquisitions for Jefferson Memorial Forest and the Louisville Loop, a role that concluded in 2011.

 In 2012, the Foundation completed its first project in an existing park, a walking path in Breslin. This success began a new focus for the Foundation, raising funds for playgrounds in three West Louisville Parks. Fundraising toward this goal was in its infancy until the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau brought Louisville Jack O'Lantern Spectacular (JOLS) to town in 2013. LMPF agreed to partner with the producers of the show and became the recipient of the proceeds.

In the spring of 2015 (after the second JOLS), there were sufficient funds to install a fully-inclusive playground in California Park, which is utilized by the California Community Center and Wheatley Elementary School. In 2017, the Foundation installed the final two playgrounds from the initial plan, one in Lannan Park, and one in Russell Lee Park. 

 As the proceeds from JOLS grew, the Foundation grew too. The board added members, developed new Mission and Vision Statements, updated the By-Laws, created a new logo, and made the decision to "do business as" the Louisville Parks Foundation (LPF).   

By Fall 2017, it became clear the Foundation needed full-time leadership. A President/CEO was hired in November 2017. The initial project for 2018 was to develop a Strategic Plan to create a clear path to even greater success and increase the impact LPF can have on the community.

Projects over the last three years include five artificial turf soccer fields in three South Louisville Parks, a nature play area in West Louisville, expansion of the Cochran Hill Dog Run, a Skate Spot and shade structure at Breslin Park, and a program to provide weekend food for children who attend summer programming at Metro community centers.