The Rooted & Resilient campaign is about creating a sustainable future for Memorial Park Conservancy to provide the city of Houston and its residents with a world-class urban greenspace accessible to all for generations to come.
Memorial Park has been a cherished part of our community: a place where Houstonians come to be active, unwind, connect with nature, and spend time with loved ones—and it’s at the very center of it all. Memorial Park is deep in the heart of Houston. Today, Memorial Park welcomes nearly 4 million visitors annually, drawing people from over 170 zip codes across Greater Houston. From the iconic 3-mile Seymour Lieberman Trail to the 30 miles of nature paths, golf course, tennis courts, pool, and fitness facilities, the Park offers something for everyone. In one of the nation’s most diverse cities, Memorial Park serves as a vital common ground where all Houstonians can connect with nature and each other.
As Houstonians, we take pride in our city’s rich history and resilience. While illuminating our past, we must also look ahead to embrace change, welcome new opportunities, and prepare for the future. Our diverse community and enterprising spirit have helped Houston thrive.
This same spirit drives the Rooted & Resilient campaign for Memorial Park Conservancy. Together, we can build on Memorial Park’s remarkable past to create a future full of promise. Houston’s founding families instilled a legacy of giving. As we now carry that legacy forward, we invite you to help us ensure that Memorial Park remains a resilient green space that will live beyond us all.
Memorial Park is your park. Join the Conservancy in investing in its future—and in the future of Houston.
In 2011, Memorial Park suffered a devastating drought that accelerated the loss of thousands of trees. In response, Memorial Park Conservancy committed to a bold new vision for the Park’s future. In 2013, a publicprivate partnership was formed between the Conservancy, Houston Parks and Recreation Department, and Uptown Development Authority. Together with Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, they developed a visionary Master Plan—one that balanced capital improvements, long-term conservation, and sustainable operations. In 2015, Houston City Council unanimously approved the Master Plan, and in 2016, the City entrusted the operations and maintenance of most of the Park to Memorial Park Conservancy.
In 2018, a $70 million catalyst gift from Kinder Foundation launched the Ten-Year Plan, accelerating the implementation of key Master Plan projects by 2028. Thanks to the continued generosity of numerous donors, fundraising continues to bring this vision to life.
The Ten-Year Plan is infusing new energy into Memorial Park. Houstonians flock to Clay Family Eastern Glades to picnic and watch wildlife in Hines Lake, take in views atop the Kinder Land Bridge, stroll along the Cyvia & Melvyn Wolff Prairie, wind through shade-filled bridges on the Seymour Lieberman Trail, enjoy a coffee at the new café, or chase personal records on the Cullen Timing Track.
And there’s more to come. The Memorial Groves project will be a moving tribute to the Park’s origins as Camp Logan, honoring the World War I soldiers who once trained on this land. Further enhancements to the western portion of the Seymour Lieberman Trail will bring much-welcomed shade and a series of open, grassy lawns.
These projects reflect a Park that is not only growing but evolving to meet the needs of all Houstonians.
Innovative ecological restoration is at the core of the Master Plan. Through creating green infrastructure that acts as an absorptive “sponge,” conserving forest that combats the urban heat island effect, mitigating stormwater to curb erosion, reintroducing native habitats, and promoting healthy ecosystems, Memorial Park is reconnecting with the land’s natural heritage.
The Master Plan and its accelerated Ten-Year Plan projects together promote connectivity and resiliency, restore damaged ecologies to provide higher function for the Park and the city, help manage storm water, provide new cultural and recreational amenities, and tell the historical narratives of the people and the land through landscape design. An investment in Memorial Park’s capitals improvements is more than a gift to green space. It’s a commitment to Houston’s future.
Memorial Park is powered by people, for people. Unrestricted, current-use funding supports the critical day-to-day maintenance and operation of 1,100 acres of Memorial Park. These gifts help us care for every mile of trail, every acre mowed, each landscaped area thriving with native blooms, and yes—every restroom cleaned and trash can emptied. A healthy operating fund allows our staff to be better prepared for disaster recovery and emergency repairs, but also to offer the free and lowcost inclusive programming that has made this Park a growing hub for our community.
Houston and Memorial Park continue to thrive, even in the face of nature’s toughest challenges. For over 100 years, the Park has stood strong, continuing to adapt and inspire.
Philanthropic investment in Memorial Park’s operations ensures we can preserve what we’ve built while continuing to innovate. With your support, we can restore native habitats, remove invasive species, and elevate the Park experience for all who visit.
Together, we can protect this treasure for the next 100 years and beyond. #2 GENERAL OPERATIONS
$30 MILLION
Sustaining an urban park the size of Memorial Park is not a passive act. It requires competency and consistency—evident in the thoughtful daily care by our committed staff. Your gift to our general operations directly supports the essential upkeep of Memorial Park, helping to preserve the beauty and function of the Park. Your support allows us to hold community events and maintain trails, facilities and natural habitats, ensuring the Park remains an enriching space for all of Houston.
— Chris Ballard President & CEO
Our master plan is rooted in sustainability. To meet the growing demands of caring for this vital green space, we need more than annual support; we need a reliable, sustainable source of long-term funding. Endowment funds are critical to ensuring that Memorial Park continues to be a place for recreation, education, and well-being for the next 100 years.
At the heart of the Rooted & Resilient campaign is the Memorial Park Conservancy endowment: an essential cornerstone for long-term vitality.
A strong endowment empowers the Conservancy to plan boldly for the future, take advantage of emerging opportunities, and leverage annual giving to address more immediate needs. It ensures we can meet today’s needs while preparing for tomorrow’s challenges. It also signals to donors and partners that Memorial Park is built to last.
Most importantly, an endowment offers passionate supporters a chance to create a lasting legacy. Your gift becomes part of something enduring—helping to preserve, protect, and enhance Memorial Park for generations to come.
Memorial Park has been a meaningful place for three generations of my family— as it has been for thousands of Houstonians. The Park’s recent transformations have significantly enhanced its beauty, accessibility, and impact across our city. Our family chose to support the endowment to help ensure that this extraordinary green space remains vibrant, ecologically healthy, and accessible for generations to come.
— Jill Jewett Rooted & Resilient Campaign Committee member, current MPC Board member
Wetlands Boardwalk, Clay Family Eastern Glades
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Donors who share our vision for what Memorial Park means to Houston understand how vital it is to protect and preserve this treasured space, today and for generations to come.
We must safeguard what we have while building resilience for the future. That means restoring native ecosystems, maintaining our transformative new spaces, and responsibly planning for the millions of Houstonians who find a haven in Memorial Park’s urban wilderness. It takes bold commitment to care for this land, its stories, and its future possibility.
Your support of the Rooted & Resilient Campaign ensures that Memorial Park—your park—will continue to grow and evolve to meet the changing needs of our diverse Houston community. Your gift will make an immediate and lasting impact on Houston’s flagship urban park.
Together, we can ensure that this place—so meaningful to so many—remains a vibrant, welcoming sanctuary for all.
Please join us in making Memorial Park a living legacy for Houston.
Memorial Park exists because of visionaries and fierce protectors who believed in the civic value of public green space. We—along with you, our donors—are now stewards of this legacy. Walk with us together into Memorial Park’s next century, and you’ll be sharing an immeasurable treasure with future generations. What greater generosity could there be than ensuring this beloved ‘third space’ continues to restore, heal, and inspire beyond our own horizon?
— Holli Clements Vice President of Engagement
Memorial Park Conservancy accepts gifts of cash, stock, qualified charitable distributions, and estate commitments. Each giving option has its own tax and financial implications and advantages, which we would be happy to discuss with you and your family.
CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE
Russell Brown
Janet Hobby
Jill Jewett
Sis Johnson
MEMORIAL PARK CONSERVANCY LEADERSHIP STAFF
Chris Ballard, President & CEO
Holli Clements, Vice President of Engagement
Monica E. Clem, Senior Director of Development
Suzanne Formanek, Senior Director of Park Operations
Heather Wyatt, Chief of Staff
Janelle Bludau, Director of Marketing & Communications
Rocio Feusier, Controller
Chelsea Kuzniar, Director of Annual Giving
Helene Sims, Director of Events & Outreach
At 1,500 acres, Memorial Park is nearly twice the size of New York’s Central Park. It is distinctive nationally for its size, location and composition as an urban wilderness and active recreation park.
Memorial Park is so named because of its history as Camp Logan, a World War I training camp between 1917 and 1919.
Memorial Park was established in 1924 in memory of the 70,000 soldiers who trained at Camp Logan. With approximately 30 miles of natural and surfaced trails, the Park’s 600-acre urban wilderness is one of the largest centrally located urban forests in the country.
Memorial Park Conservancy is the non-profit organization that operates the Park, raises funds for its care, and delivers the projects of the Memorial Park Master Plan.
For more information on giving to the Rooted & Resilient Campaign, please contact:
Holli Clements Vice President of Engagement