Park Pride, a nonprofit organization of Atlanta, Georgia, was organized in 1986 by Betsy C. Baker (1938- ), commissioner of the City of Atlanta Department of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs, in response to a limited departmental budget. The organization was formed to help encourage citizen support of parks through volunteerism and foster corporate support through donations. Though initially a largely volunteer effort, Park Pride's first executive director, Carolyn Henry Rader, was a city employee. The founding board president was Atlanta activist, Tally H. Sweat. The organization incorporated in 1989 and hired its first full-time employee, Allison Barnett, in 1991. Park Pride operates under the governance of a board of directors and executive committee and strives to engage communities to activate the power of parks. The organization partners with communities and provides grant funding to help build parks and community gardens while promoting, preserving, and improving the quality of city of Atlanta and unincorporated DeKalb County parks. Park Pride has won numerous awards including several Cox Conserves Hero Awards. Annual conferences, volunteer programs, Friends of the Park meetings, and matching grant programs are part of the ongoing work of Park Pride.