The Power Of Place

Minneapolis Parks Foundation Executive Director, Tom Evers, explains the challenges of operating through a pandemic

Everything changed in March.

Before the economic uncertainty, virtual meetings, and social isolation, Tom Evers and his team at the Minneapolis Parks Foundation thought they were heading into a long weekend on March 12. That weekend has lasted nearly five months and required the foundation to reshape how they did business in the non-profit sector.

“March and April were largely spent on adaptive planning; there’s no normal right now and pretending it’s normal doesn’t help,” says Evers, the foundation’s executive director. “We have such a great staff and this is a time to let your staff determine how they achieve their goals.”

Since the pandemic began, Evers has led his team through the trials and challenges of coronavirus.

“Income has been heavily impacted by this,” he says. “It’s difficult to say what business will look like in the future.”

While the pivot to working from home has been a nuisance, the biggest impact has been limiting the personal interactions that are the foundation’s bread and butter.

“A lot of our work is engaging with people directly on the land. Obviously, it's better when you can bring people into the space physically but it’s good to at least get them to see the project,” Evers says. “But the power of actually being in the place can be so impactful—without that, the personal connection is harder to build.”

So as Evers guides his team through the foggy new normal of the parks and recreation landscape, he holds out for the days when he can sit down and share a coffee with someone, or enjoy a meal without the added stress of the pandemic. He can see it on the horizon as more and more people enjoy the parks and find ways to recreate safely together.

“A lot of economic uncertainty and so I think parks have never been more important to civic society,” Evers says. “Fortunately, our current projects began construction back in October, and with the pre-construction legwork already finished, we’re still on schedule.”