Charitable Giving to Parks and Green Spaces: Public and business opinion in Leeds, UK

Public parks are vital features of our cities that provide numerous benefits for people, communities and the environment. Given the scale of ongoing fiscal constraint to public services and at a time when the future of public parks in the UK is at a critical juncture, what role can and should charitable giving play in sustaining and revitalising parks? This research explored public and business attitudes to charitable giving to parks and green spaces in Leeds, UK.

The research was undertaken as part of the national Rethinking Parks programme. The research explored views towards a charitable fund for parks and green spaces - the Leeds Parks Fund - to engage residents and businesses.

in co-producing improvements to parks. The findings are based on online surveys with 1,434 residents and 141 business leaders and focus groups and interviews with 45 business and civic participants.

The research found that the public and business community have complex views about the role of charitable donations and varying dispositions to donate warranting more thorough consideration by local authorities, Parks Foundations and others as they seek to attract voluntary donations.