Why

Holliday Park, one of Indianapolis’ oldest parks, covers 94 acres and offers amenities such as a destination playground, 3.5 miles of trails, historic ruins, and a nature center. It serves not only the surrounding neighborhoods but a broad community with popular events like the summer concert series and a seasonal ice-skating rink. Despite its attractions, Holliday Park faces significant challenges in improving its infrastructure, increasing park usage, and enhancing visitor experiences. Recently, the Friends of Holliday Park worked through an organizational restructure, shifting from a working board with 26+ members to a governing board closer to 13 members. This also came with the transition from the Friends of Holliday Park to the Holliday Park Foundation. Once the transition was complete, it was identified that a Strategic Plan was necessary to move the Foundation towards their goal of managing Holliday Park via a conservancy model.

HOW

Zec Eight Insights was retained to create an actionable workplan as part of the Holliday Park Foundation’s larger Strategic Plan effort. Specifically, Zec Eight Insights worked with staff to organize and prioritize goals and objectives. This included existing programs and projects, capital improvement strategy, and potential long-term hiring/staffing possibilities. Zec Eight Insights then worked with staff to determine the most appropriate time limitations for established goals and objectives.

What

The final technical report identifies a work plan for sustainable growth by highlighting the need for unified management and strategic planning, expanding capacity, and moving toward more sustainable funding methods. The work plan is categorized into operational and experiential strategies.

Reference
Adam Barnes, Executive Director
Holliday Park Foundation
(317) 475-9482
abarnes@hollidaypark.org
6363 Spring Mill Road
Indianapolis, IN 46260