The mission of the Cornell Outdoor Education Program is to develop leadership and team skills, empower individuals to move beyond self-imposed limitations, and to promote environmental awareness and responsibility. In serving this mission, COE has grown dramatically over the last ten years but future growth is limited by increasing financial constraints of the department. Working with the COE and its alumni Advisory Board, Park Fellows developed a program plan for delivering COE services to private corporations. This program offering will not only expand the stakeholder served by COE but will also increase the revenue support necessary for continuing to grow and expand other programs. The Alternatives Federal Credit Union is a non-profit, community development financial institution owned by its members and insured by the federal government.
Capital is in short supply for businesses owned by people of modest means.
Even if some businesses are able to obtain a financial loan, often they are pressed to begin making payments immediately. Thus there is a need for providing long term investment support with a flexibility of not having to make payments before the business is up and running. The Park Fellows have assisted the AFCU in developing a plan for launching a venture capital fund to support this need. This fund will also be focused on serving businesses likely to expand and create more jobs in the community, and that are socially and environmentally responsible. The Ithaca Downtown Partnership is a consortium of business and community leaders focused on promoting the economic development of downtown Ithaca.