The Bainbridge Island Parks Foundation is now the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation, accenting its position as a leader in the planning and funding of local public trails.
“Public trails are at the nexus of outdoor recreation, community health, sustainability and climate resilience,” said Mary Meier, Parks & Trails Foundation executive director. “Adding ‘trails’ to our name affirms our commitment to an island where ample trails link neighborhoods, parks, schools, culture and commerce, open and accessible to all.”
The nonprofit Parks & Trails Foundation enjoys a close partnership with the Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Recreation District, the island’s local public park agency.
Where the Park District owns island parks and runs recreation programs with its taxing authority, the Parks & Trails Foundation raises private donations and grants for projects that would otherwise go unfunded. Gifts to the Parks & Trails Foundation, a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization, give donors a tax benefit.
In 2021, the Foundation channeled more than $1.7 million in private funding to local park and trail projects, including the purchase of 10 acres to expand Strawberry Hill Park.
“What we do for park users, the Parks & Trails Foundation extends and amplifies through its network of private donors,” said Terry Lande, Bainbridge Metro Park District executive director. “They’re a multiplier for parks and trails. Many projects just wouldn’t be possible without their efforts.”
The organization was chartered in 1998 as the Bainbridge Island Parks Foundation, as a small community grantmaker. Since hiring its first full-time executive director in 2014, the Foundation has rapidly expanded its capacity and work on an array of park, trail and stewardship programs.
The Foundation led the successful $600,000-plus campaign for the new KidsUp! playground, and raised substantial funding for the Founders Courts pickleball center, among many recent projects. A $1 million gift through the Foundation allowed the 10-acre Strawberry Hill Park addition, for a new bike park and expanded dog park.
The Foundation has grown into a leader in trail planning and development, through its partnerships with the Park District, the City of Bainbridge Island, and other organizations.
The Foundation recently granted $50,000 to the City of Bainbridge Island, to help develop a master plan to continue the Sound to Olympics Trail from Winslow north to the Agate Pass Bridge. The STO is envisioned as a spine linking up with smaller neighborhood trails, to promote safe, non-motorized travel around the island.
To date the Foundation has secured 21 trail easements islandwide, helping build out a local public trails network now 42 miles long.
The Foundation is securing more new trail easements islandwide, to complete the long-sought Winslow-to-Gazzam Lake route and a number of smaller, neighborhood connectors.
The Foundation also supports the Summer Trails Crew program for trail construction and maintenance.
“Our very first fundraising event was the Trillium Trail Run, so we’ve been committed to trails all along,” Meier said. “Now we’ve put it in bold – trails connect us, and we’re bringing more trails to the community.”
The Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation is located in the Marge Williams Center, 221 Winslow Way W. Suite 104, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.
