---
title: "Program Evaluation: Proving Impact to Your Mayor"
description: Elected officials need proof, not participant counts. Three metrics, an evidence package and answers to the three objections you will face.
image: https://www.recreationhq.net/hubfs/blog-images/photo-program-evaluation-proving-impact-mayor.jpg
---

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# Program Evaluation: Proving Impact to Your Mayor

RT Recreation HQ Team 

· Jan 22, 2026

![Staff presenting metric charts on a wall screen to two seated decision makers in a bright meeting room](https://www.recreationhq.net/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-images/photo-program-evaluation-proving-impact-mayor.jpg?width=1520&name=photo-program-evaluation-proving-impact-mayor.jpg)

Your programs are strong and your community values them. But when budget season comes and an elected official asks "what do we actually get for the recreation investment?", do you have an answer that lands? As a general rule, evidence lands best when it is packaged in a language elected officials use.

## What mayors and council members care about

Elected officials are accountable to constituents and to fiscal stewardship. The questions they tend to ask are about cost efficiency (what does each dollar produce?), constituent satisfaction (are residents getting services they value?), and economic development (does recreation contribute to tourism or workforce retention?). As general advice, a raw count of participants served may give decision-makers less to act on than data framed as "cost per resident served compared with a benchmark" which gives them something to act on. For a fuller walkthrough of the meeting itself, see [making the case to city council](https://www.recreationhq.net/playbook/making-case-city-council-recreation-budget).

## Three metrics that move budget decisions

**Cost recovery rate vs. a benchmark.** NRPA's 2024 Agency Performance Review found that [the typical agency recovers a quarter of its operating expenditures from non-tax revenue](https://www.nrpa.org/siteassets/research/2024-agency-performance-review.pdf), with a median of 25.2 percent. If your department is at 18 percent, show the gap and a plan to close it. If you are above the median, show that. Both framings help: one shows a path, the other shows achievement. Our guide to the [25 percent cost recovery benchmark](https://www.recreationhq.net/playbook/25-percent-cost-recovery-standard-nrpa) explains how to use it, and the [90-day cost recovery challenge](https://www.recreationhq.net/playbook/90-day-cost-recovery-challenge) gives you a way to improve your number.

**Revenue per tax dollar invested.** As a hypothetical, if your department receives $800,000 in tax funding and generates $350,000 in program revenue, you return about $0.44 in program revenue per tax dollar. Showing it positions recreation as a productive investment, not just a cost center. Use your own figures.

**Community health and social outcomes.** These are harder to attribute to a single program, so be careful about what you claim. For context on the stakes, one published analysis estimated that healthcare expenditure for non-fatal falls among older adults was [US$80.0 billion in 2020, with the majority paid by Medicare](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11445707/). That is a national figure, not a measure of your programs, but it shows why health-related outcomes matter to other budget lines. If you run senior fitness or fall-prevention programming, track your own participation and outcomes and present those. See [senior programming as an opportunity](https://www.recreationhq.net/playbook/senior-programming-recreation-opportunity).

## Building your evidence package

The most effective budget presentations use three layers: quantitative data (the metrics above), comparative data (how your department compares with NRPA benchmarks and peer municipalities), and one human story. A single family that found connection, employment, or health through your programs makes the data feel real. Cleaner data also makes this easier, which is where [finding revenue leakage](https://www.recreationhq.net/playbook/revenue-leakage-parks-departments) in your own operations pays off.

## The three objections you will face

**"We can't afford it."** Your response: the cost of not investing. Show what programs would be cut and estimate the downstream effects, such as youth supervision gaps and senior isolation. Present these as your reasoned estimates, not guarantees.

**"Other priorities are more pressing."** Your response: constituent demand data. Survey your registrants and waitlists. Families waiting for programs they want are a real constituency. Show the list.

**"I'm not sure about the ROI."** Your response: the economic multiplier. NRPA reports that [operations and capital spending by U.S. local park and recreation agencies in 2021 resulted in nearly $201 billion in economic activity and supported more than 1.1 million jobs](https://www.nrpa.org/about-national-recreation-and-park-association/press-room/national-recreation-and-park-association-releases-report-on-the-economic-impact-of-local-parks/). Bring the number, and label it as national data. Also consider pairing it with [local business sponsorship](https://www.recreationhq.net/playbook/sponsorship-strategy-local-businesses-recreation) results to show community buy-in.

## Frequently asked questions

### What metrics should I show my mayor to prove program impact?

Lead with cost recovery compared with a benchmark, program revenue per tax dollar invested, and resident demand such as waitlists. Add one participant story to make the numbers concrete.

### What is a good cost recovery rate for a parks and recreation department?

NRPA's 2024 Agency Performance Review reports a national median of [25.2 percent](https://www.nrpa.org/siteassets/research/2024-agency-performance-review.pdf) of operating expenditures recovered from non-tax revenue. Your target should reflect your community and fee assistance policy.

### What is the economic impact of local parks and recreation?

NRPA reports that [in 2021 local agencies generated nearly $201 billion in economic activity](https://www.nrpa.org/about-national-recreation-and-park-association/press-room/national-recreation-and-park-association-releases-report-on-the-economic-impact-of-local-parks/) nationally and supported more than 1.1 million jobs.

### How do I answer "we can't afford recreation" at a budget hearing?

Show what would be cut, who would be affected, and your own estimate of the downstream costs. Pair that with waitlist data and your cost recovery numbers.

[See where your programs stand with a cost-recovery audit and impact report template →](https://www.recreationhq.net/cost-recovery)

Find your leaks

## See what your organization could recover.

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[Get my cost-recovery audit →](https://www.recreationhq.net/cost-recovery#audit)

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