California State Parks Fundraiser

Santa Cruz, CA - Dances and dinners and movies and art shows — these aren’t the first activities that come to mind when one thinks about California State Parks. But under the strain of the parks department’s budget crisis, nonprofits like Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks have gotten more creative in the ways they market and in their fundraising efforts for the natural spaces they support. Standing on a bluff at Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park, the Friend’s executive director Bonny Hawley recalled a recent CD release party and parks fundraiser her group threw on the Mission grounds for local electro-pop band Audiafauna. “It was great,” she laughed. “We had about 200 people here dancing and listening to music with this amazing view of downtown. You’d be surprised by how many people who live nearby had never even been here before.” Past events at the Mission similar to this one – a mole and Mariachi festival, outdoor movie screenings, a photography show – have not only helped the group as fundraisers but have also brought in new visitors who didn’t previously have the parks on their radar, Hawley said.   www.fundraising-ideas.org