by Gabe Greschler, Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez & Han Li : via sfstandard email
Phil Ginsburg was in the hot seat Tuesday at Manny’s cafe as owner Manny Yekutiel hosted the longtime Parks and Recreation Department head for a discussion about the state of his agency. But it wasn’t long before the conversation turned to the Parks Alliance, the “friends of” nonprofit that for years raised money for city parks before abruptly folding this month, leaving donor funds unaccounted for.
At one point during the hour-long conversation, Friends of Alta Plaza Park member Anita Denz, who was in the audience, said a $50,000 gift that had been bequeathed to her organization was among the missing funds, prompting yells from other attendees.
“What happened?” Yekutiel asked Ginsburg about halfway through the talk. Ginsburg explained that he thought investigators would not find anything “nefarious” in terms of how money was used at the Parks Alliance, and mentioned the pandemic as a likely factor in the nonprofit’s financial instability.
“And how did they get there? I think recklessness from the leadership and neglect from the board,” Ginsburg said. The Parks Alliance board pointed the finger at former COO Justin Probert, who was fired in February 2024, accusing him of “financial malfeasance” in a document that was obtained by The Standard.
When asked what might happen to the neighborhood groups that may have lost money in the Parks Alliance’s collapse, Ginsburg said there are early conversations about inviting donors to help make them whole.
Ildiko Polony, who leads one of the groups affected by the nonprofit’s implosion, said there is an idea brewing to create another Parks Alliance-type organization. Other nonprofits, including San Francisco Beautiful, are encouraging organizations like Polony’s to be absorbed by theirs.
“They’re like preventative medicine,” Polony told Power Play of the city’s parks. “Parks and nature need to be invested in.”