Cleveland Metroparks, with a 25,000-square-foot total area, is one of the country’s largest park systems. The vast nature preserve, zoo, nine golf courses and eight lakefront parks are funded largely by real estate and personal property tax revenue, but those funds don’t cover the entire $150 million annual budget. That’s why private donations are important.

The Metroparks depends on that extra money to cover its financial obligations. Planned giving donations are one of the ways benefactors who support nature and the environment can help, according to Natalie Ronayne, Metroparks’ chief development officer.

“Most people who use the park take it for granted,” Ronayne said. “It’s always been there, which is another reason why when people decide to give a planned gift. They want to make sur

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