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Title:
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Electronic Donation Portal to Support Tree Planting
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Title
Electronic Donation Portal to Support Tree Planting
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to implement an electronic donation portal to allow donations from the public to fund planting of new trees in City rights-of-way and City-owned properties. Further request to authorize the City Treasurer to accept, and the City Controller to disburse, all funds related to this item.
Report
Summary
City Council adopted the Tree and Shade Master Plan (Master Plan) in 2010 as a roadmap to create a healthier, more livable and prosperous 21st-century desert city. In addition to public education programs and urban forest management best practices, the plan included an ambitious goal to double the tree and shade canopy to 25 percent by 2030. Recently, the public and the City are renewing efforts on the Master Plan goals alongside a growing concern about rising temperatures and the urban heat island effect - particularly in neighborhoods with both vulnerable populations and a more limited tree canopy.
City departments have developed creative ways to fund new tree planting projects to meet the 2030 goal, including: actively seeking grant funds; selling carbon offsets; partnering with utilities; and seeking assistance of AmeriCorps VISTAs to work on neighborhood tree planting projects to increase the number of trees planted. Although these efforts have resulted in a sharp increase in the number of trees planted each year, it is far short of what is needed to reach a 25 percent tree canopy. To meet the tree canopy goal, approximately 10,000 new trees need to be planted each year--more than double the current rate.
Formation of the Tree Donation Portal
When staff surveyed the community prior to adoption of the City’s 2050 goals, it identified remarkable public support for the tree canopy goal. Of 1,240 respondents, 92 percent agreed with the statement that "…the 25 percent tree and shade canopy goal is a good idea." Over 50 percent of the respondents indicated that they would be willing to donate to a tree campaign. Given the strong public support, staff explored examples of other city tree donation programs and websites and found several examples including onetreeplanted.org and the National Forest Foundation's tree donation program.
The City of Phoenix has accepted public donations by check for many purposes in the past (including for trees), but the City has not had a donation campaign specifically for trees or with the ability to accept electronic payments for these types of donations. Based on examples from other donation sites, the City has set up a donation webpage (phoenix.gov/plantatree) and worked with the Finance Department and the City's vendor, Chase Bank, to set up, at no cost, a secure electronic payment portal. The new donation portal can accept deposits and track donations into a dedicated fund from which funds can be allocated to specific projects in the following program categories:
Tree donations designated for parks or street right-of-way will be transferred to the Parks and Recreation or Street Transportation department budget/cost centers, respectively, and used for specific tree planting projects selected by the Urban Forest Implementation Team (UFIT) prioritizing tree planting in heat-vulnerable neighborhoods and pedestrian corridors. The UFIT is a City staff committee that includes representatives from the Planning and Development, Water Services, Neighborhood Services, Parks and Recreation, and Street Transportation departments, as well as the Offices of Sustainability and Environmental Programs; and
Donations designated to neighborhoods will be administered by the Neighborhood Services Department's "Love Your Block" program. Funds will be distributed monthly or quarterly to "Love Your Block" as donations become available. The "Love Your Block" program will manage the funds through a neighborhood grant program in partnership with the Citizen Forester program and the AmeriCorps VISTA program.
The portal allows donors to direct their donations toward any of the program areas listed rather than select specific projects. The website includes a disclaimer indicating the City cannot guarantee when the trees will be planted, but does list recent and upcoming tree planting projects. There is also a comment box on the donation page where users can propose future projects. Individuals and organizations will also be able to apply to "Love Your Block" to receive neighborhood grants as part of the program.
Management of a New Tree Donation Program
Initial management of the program will be led by the Office of Sustainability in partnership with the receiving departments listed above.
Financial Impact
The program will accept electronic donations from individuals and businesses from $5 up to $25,000, specifically for purchase and planting of trees.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Managers Karen Peters, Mario Paniagua and Inger Erickson, and the Parks and Recreation, Neighborhood Services and Street Transportation departments, and the Office of Sustainability.