How would I increase OSA revenue?

By Dorsey Moore

Ideally organizations should have a diverse set of revenue streams to reduce the budgetary impact if one revenue stream is eliminated. Over 90% of OSA's operating revenue comes from Benefit Assessment District #1. The Open Space Authority should develop a financial strategic plan that would include a diverse spectrum of revenue sources.

Ideally organizations should have a diverse set of revenue streams to reduce the budgetary impact if one revenue stream is eliminated. Over 90% of OSA's operating revenue comes from Benefit Assessment District #1. The Open Space Authority should develop a financial strategic plan that would include a diverse spectrum of revenue sources. Detailed below are my suggestions for new revenue options.

Benefit Assessment Fee and Taxes New Benefit Assessment Fee + Ideally, OSA will be able to go back to voters in 2014 with a new (or revised) benefit assessment fee (or property tax assessment) to provide long-term anchor funding for the agency. The new benefit assessment fee would ideally have a cost of living adjustment built in to ensure that the fee keeps up with inflation. Recent polling by OSA demonstrates favorable support for the agency; however, achieving a Prop 218 mandated two-thirds of voter approval in the current economic climate will be a tall order even with a strong economy. A non-OSA group needs begin work on this campaign as soon as possible.

State Bond Initiatives Unfortunately, the era of big California bond initiatives may be over. Regrettably, OSA has not had the political clout to be included as a line item recipient in some major park and water bonds over the last twenty years such as Propositions 12, 13, 40 or 84. OSA should work with State Legislators more closely to ensure that the organization is included by name (and dollar amount) for future bond initiatives. Additionally, OSA should engage the services of a lobbyist to make certain that the organization is included in future initiatives.

Grants The Open Space Authority could make a greater effort to diversify its funding base through grant funding. Detailed below are some suggestions.

Public Grants + OSA has received some funding from public agency grants (i.e., Coastal Conservancy) for isolated projects. Additional effort should be put in this area.

Foundation Grants - OSA has had some success in raising funding from foundations (e.g., Moore Foundation), but it has been the exception rather than the rule. A coordinated regional strategy with other public land agencies will help share the workload of preparing these proposals.

Program Related Investments and Venture Philanthropy + Some forward thinking foundations are experimenting with making better use of their endowments by loaning their capital out in the form of program related investments and other venture philanthropy investments that allow community benefit organizations to access capital to support ventures that will generate earned income returns. These types of investments may provide capital for earned income ventures.

Corporate Grants + While generally not easy to secure as public grants, OSA could explore opportunities to seek local corporate funding for ventures that support their corporate goals and policies. For example, Kaiser and Whole Foods have policies to source fruits and vegetables from within local areas to reduce the food miles traveled of the resources they use in their operations. Google, Facebook and other firms have similar policies.

A prerequisite in increasing grant funding is to hire (or contract with) grant writing professionals. From my experience as a fund developer, this is worthy investment that more often than not provides a high return.

Earned Income Public agencies are generally not well known for their ability to generate earned income through market rate ventures that promote sustainable use of resources. However some opportunities exist that may not only help protect land, but create local jobs as well.

Land Use Activities - While not always readily apparent, there may be opportunities for OSA to earn income from property it owns in fee simple. Some ideas include leasing out farmland to the emerging specialty crop local farmers. In many ways this is not too far off than OSA's current process of contracting with local ranchers for cattle grazing. OSA could collaborate with existing community based organizations that fund and support micro-enterprises such as Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA), California Farmlink and Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF).

Administrative Functions + While not a significant source of funding, OSA has the opportunity to assume some administrative roles that relate regional issues of importance that tie to the organizational mission. One administrative opportunity includes the Habitat Conservation Plan and the other includes managing agricultural land mitigation.

Monetizing Eco-System Services OSA owns and manages significant resources (natural capital) that provide non-trivial amounts of eco-system services. The challenge is twofold: 1) how to monetize real economic value to the multitude of ecosystem services, and 2) how to arrange to receive payment for those services. Hopefully, as more thought and research is completed on this issue, OSA will be able to benefit from the monetization of eco-system services.

California's AB 32 and the subsequent launch of carbon cap and trade program will hopefully provide some opportunities for public agencies such as OSA to receive revenue from verifiable projects related to carbon sequestration. As I write this there are a number of agencies and organizations vying to be included in bills before the legislature so that they can be named (or designated) as beneficiaries to access the funding.

Non-Profit Fund Development Organization Given the challenges and limitations of operating a little known, under-resourced public agency, it would be beneficial for OSA to have a non-profit organization that could carry out fund development activities on behalf of the organization. This is common practice with other similar agencies. Perhaps the best local example of this is Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST). Clearly, POST is a one of a kind organization, but other agencies (e.g., County Parks) have had some success with having sister fund development agencies as well.

Collaboration with Other Organizations Perhaps one of OSA's main challenges is its budget size; a $4 million dollar annual budget doesn't go very far much these days. By joining forces with organizations, special districts and agencies with common or related community goals, OSA can leverage its resources to have a greater impact. OSA has had some success with this in the past, but this should be a standard operating practice. OSA is not the only agency that struggles with this issue however.