We welcome Rebecca Bachman to the Minneapolis Parks Foundation as our Institutional Giving Manager. Rebecca will manage the grant portfolio and find opportunities in corporate foundations and government grant-making to support Minneapolis parks.
Rebecca began her career in philanthropy directing the Minnesota Independent Film Fund, an experimental collaboration between The McKnight Foundation, MN Film Board, Northwest Airlines, and IFP/Film North. She then became Development Director of the Cedar Cultural Center, followed by many years on staff or consulting as a development professional for social service and arts nonprofits in the Twin Cities.
Get to know Rebecca better by reading the short Q&A below!
How will your role as the new Institutional Giving Manager help support the Minneapolis park system?
First of all, I feel fortunate to work with our seasoned, top-notch development professionals on the complex capital projects we’re involved with. My role is responsibility for foundation, corporate, and government grant-making to the Minneapolis Parks Foundation, as well as corporate sponsorship. This is primarily for the RiverFirst Capital Campaign to support Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board capital projects, as well as growing our event programming.
What gets you most excited about the parks?
I doubt I could possibly consider living in a city without a solid public park system! And because I’ve been a runner for over 30 years, wherever I’ve lived during that time I’ve intentionally lived close to a public park or to park system trails. So whether its Chicago (Lake Michigan), NYC (Battery Park/Hudson River), Miami (Peacock Park), or Washington D.C. (Rock Creek Park), I’ve been a dedicated, enthusiastic neighborhood user of those cities’ public parks. I’m quite sure that stems from growing up with access to all the wonderful amenities of the Minneapolis public park system.
Which do you prefer – beach, trails, or playground?
My family resides in Minneapolis and we’re avid “everyday” users of the MPRB bike and walking trails, dog parks, parkways, and area beaches.
Most importantly, what is your favorite Minneapolis park?
Well…my favorite no longer exists, and that was the Minneapolis Tennis Club at Parade Stadium. It was a public tennis facility with red clay courts, something that was rare outside the East Coast. Maintaining the clay courts was extremely labor intensive though, so the Tennis Club was constantly in danger of losing its park board funding. In fact, a group of us (Tennis Club members) lobbied the Minneapolis City Council at City Hall to keep the courts open, but to no avail. Now there’s an indoor hockey arena on the site…!
Today I would say my favorite park is either Meadowbrook Golf Course or the Grand Rounds. Tomorrow it could be the Mississippi River or Theodore Wirth Park. In other words…I have no favorite.