Your Donations Create Better Parks for a Brighter Community
Together we can create a healthier and more vibrant Des Moines community for all by preserving, enhancing and advocating for parks, trails and recreational programs.
This holiday season, we’re celebrating our park system’s special role in enriching the Des Moines community. Through Parks Are For Everyone, your generosity helps fuel year-round park experiences and opportunities for recreation, creating a happier and more vibrant community for all. We have a year-end goal of $30,000 and would love your support!
The Voices of Des Moines Parks
Tyler Weig
"Des Moines’ parks and trails have shaped my daily life, my routines, and my sense of community, and they’ve been a meaningful part of what makes this city feel like home."
Read more here.
Laura Rhemer
"We’re really lucky here in Des Moines to have amazing parks and trails that are so well cared for, supported, and updated. As a parent, that consistent quality has been the most valuable thing for us."
Read more here.
Michael Zimmerman
"I really believe that the opportunity to be in nature and to find adventure in the everyday is the best thing that the trails can offer."
Read more here.
Margaret Wright
"The investment that was made in the courts here at Evelyn K. Davis has brought children back to the park and has provided a safe place to be."
Read more here.
Help us reach our goal of $30,000 raised by the end of the year! Gifts of any size make a difference.
Your donation makes a difference! While gifts to the Friends of Des Moines Parks support the overall mission of enhancing Des Moines parks and recreation, donations toward the examples below do not guarantee that specific items or programs will be funded directly. They illustrate the meaningful impact your generosity can have across our community.
Access to Recreation
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$50 provides a free swim lesson or a youth sports registration for a child who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to participate.
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$50 sponsors a week of art supplies for summer day camp at a neighborhood park.
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$150 covers a family season pool pass for low-income residents, ensuring everyone can cool off and connect.
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$250 supports 25 DMPS students to attend a class Cemetery Tour to learn about the historically significant individuals who helped make Des Moines the city we all know today
Adaptive Sports & Recreation
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$35 provides equipment and t-shirts for an adaptive athlete.
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$75 supports transportation and coaching for participants in adaptive sports programs.
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$150 funds a full season of participation for one adaptive athlete, helping everyone experience the joy of play.
Beautification & Sustainability
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$25 provides a half-acre of seed for native flowers and grasses that support pollinators in our parks.
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$75 replaces an American flag in our cemeteries and parks.
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$150 supports a season of care for a flower bed along our trails or at Gray’s Lake Park.
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$100 provides up to 7000 annual flower petunia seeds to be purchased and then grown into plants in the city greenhouse to beautify parks.
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$300 provides a new replacement swing for a child to use in a city park.
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$500 supports a shade tree added to a park or trail corridor
Major Impact
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$500 supports the Fall After-School Program craft supplies
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$2,500 sponsors/provides a $10/coach thank-you gift card to all of our volunteer coaches throughout the entire year (227 coaches in 2025)
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$5,000 supports new accessible park amenities such as a drinking fountain.
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$5,000 supports continued Park-N-Play (mobile recreation), bringing the fun to the neighborhoods that lack close access to parks
