Our mission
Friends of Lindale Park funds community improvement in the Lindale Park and Near Northside neighborhood: neighborhood events, playground and public space upgrades, and beautification. Sponsorships and donations pay for it.
We are a charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
What we fund
Our purpose, as written in our founding documents, is to promote the civic beauty, historic character and community life of the neighborhood. In practice that covers five kinds of work:
- Public events. Gatherings open to the whole neighborhood, paid for through business sponsorships and individual gifts.
- Capital improvements. Playgrounds and playground equipment, shade structures, tree plantings, public art, parks and esplanades.
- Beautification. Care for the green spaces and common areas that people walk past every day.
- History. Documenting and commemorating how Lindale Park came to be what it is.
- Youth and family programs. Activities that give kids and parents a reason to meet their neighbors.
Our area is Lindale Park and the surrounding residential communities of the Near Northside. Money raised for the neighborhood is spent in the neighborhood.
Why we started
Lindale Park is growing, and we wanted to create an organization to better serve our community in ways existing organizations cannot. Our unique 501(c)(3) tax status allows us full tax deductions for donations, access to grants, and corporate matching funds.
We wanted a dedicated way for sponsors and neighbors to fund work: a tax-deductible gift and project-based fundraising for specific events or projects. Local businesses can sponsor an event, and neighbors can give a few dollars toward a tree or a playground.
How we work
We keep the organization small and the books plain. Each project has its own line in our records, showing what came in and what went out, and we will publish that when the project is done.
We are starting with one project and doing it well. Once we have shown how we handle one event from fundraising to final accounting, we will take on the next.
Our first project: Halloween on the street
On October 31, 2026, we are hosting a Halloween trick-or-treat event with a street closure. Council Member Mario Castillo's office is funding the 16 officers who keep the street safe and is paying HPD directly. We are raising a $2,000 community goal for the rest of the cost, from neighbors and local sponsors. If you would like to help, you can give here, and if you run a business and want to sponsor, write to us.
Our board
Friends of Lindale Park is run by volunteers who live here.
- Tom ReevesPresident
- Jeff EricksonTreasurer
- Regie AhmadSecretary
How we work with the Lindale Park Civic Club
The Lindale Park Civic Club has served the neighborhood for many years through member programs, community events and work with the city. Friends of Lindale Park is a separate organization with its own board and its own accounts. We were formed to add something the neighborhood did not have: a charitable organization that can accept tax-deductible gifts and apply for grants, for projects that benefit everyone who lives here.
The two organizations have different legal structures because they do different jobs. Each structure fits its work, and the two sit side by side.
In practice, neighbors can do both. Joining the Civic Club supports its programs and its voice at City Hall. Giving to Friends of Lindale Park pays for a specific event or project, with a receipt for your taxes. Each organization keeps its own money, and gifts to Friends of Lindale Park stay with Friends of Lindale Park.
Questions about how a gift will be treated on your return are best put to a tax adviser.
Contact us
Questions, ideas for a project, or an offer to help: write to [email protected]. A neighbor will answer.