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National Park Foundation

 

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National Park Foundation



 
 
The National Park Foundation is the Congressionally chartered, charitable partner of America's national parks. The National Park Foundation works to strengthen the connection between the American people and their national parks.

Mission statement
Private philanthropy has been essential to the preservation, protection and improvement of America’s national parks and will continue to be essential in securing their future.






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The National Park Foundation is the Congressionally chartered, charitable partner of America's national parks. The National Park Foundation works to strengthen the connection between the American people and their national parks.

Mission statement


Private philanthropy has been essential to the preservation, protection and improvement of America’s national parks and will continue to be essential in securing their future. It was private citizens who first conceived of the idea of protected lands and their contributions have grown and nurtured the national park system for more than a century.

For the last four decades, the National Park Foundation — chartered by Congress as the only national charitable partner of America’s national parks — has taken the lead to sustain and grow this legacy of private citizen support. The mission of the National Park Foundation is to strengthen the connection between the American people and their national parks by raising private funds, making strategic grants, creating innovative partnerships and increasing public awareness.

The National Park Foundation was chartered by Congress on December 18, 1967.

National Programs and Initiatives


Working closely with the National Park Service
National Park Service

The National Park Service is the List of United States federal agencies that manages all List of areas in the United States National Park System, many U.S....
, the National Park Foundation makes grants that establish and enrich the connection that children, communities and all Americans have with their national parks. The National Park Foundation is the only organization engaged in national grant making to support parks through programs and projects that meet the priorities and critical needs across our National Park System.

First Bloom

The National Park Foundation works with youth groups to bring children – particularly urban kids – to nearby national parks, where park rangers teach them about plants native to the area. Then the kids dig in, nurturing the natural habitats and designing gardens to show off the park landscape and beautify their neighborhoods. Through hands-on immersion into the science of native plants and habitat restoration, First Bloom helps kids connect in new ways to their environment and develop an early passion for conservation.

African American Experience Fund

National parks are rich with African American history, from historic sites that preserve the legacies of the Tuskegee Airmen and Frontiersmen at Nicodemus, to those that tell the stories of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mary McLeod Bethune, George Washington Carver and more. These and hundreds of other national parks and historic sites speak to the important role of African Americans in building America.

The mission of the African American Experience Fund of the National Park Foundation is to connect Americans from all walks of life to the considerable contributions of African Americans throughout history by raising private funds to support educational, volunteer and community engagement programs in national parks and historic sites that celebrate and tell these stories.

Flight 93 National Memorial Campaign

The passengers and crewmembers of United Airlines Flight 93, whose heroic and selfless acts on September 11, 2001, saved countless American lives, will be forever remembered at the Flight 93 National Memorial, a 2,200 acre national park. The Memorial will be a place for individuals to learn about the events of September 11, 2001, and to find meaning and inspiration in their experience.

The Flight 93 National Memorial
Flight 93 National Memorial

Flight 93 National Memorial protects the site of the crash of United Airlines Flight 93, which was Aircraft hijacking in the September 11, 2001 attacks, in Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, about north of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and southeast of Pittsburgh....
 is being planned, designed and built through the collaborative efforts of a unique partnership between family members, federally-appointed commissioners, task force members and federal agencies. The National Park Service acts as the long-term steward of this sacred site. In April 2007, the National Park Foundation was chosen by the Partners of Flight 93 to serve as the lead fundraising partner to implement the national capital campaign, “A Common Field One Day…A Field of Honor Forever”, to build the Flight 93 National Memorial.

Governance

  • Secretary of the Interior
    United States Secretary of the Interior

    The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Interior Ministry as used in other countries....
     - ex officio (Chair of the Board)
  • Director of the National Park Service - ex officio (Secretary of the Board)
  • no less than six private citizens of the United States appointed by the Secretary of the Interior


The private citizens of the United States appointed by the Secretary of the Interior whose shall serve terms of six years. Members of the Board are volunteer leaders who serve as the Foundation’s chief fundraisers and are active participants in governance and policy overseeing total assets of more than $70 million.

The Foundation does not receive federal appropriations.

Board Members


Officers

  • The Honorable Ken Salazar
    Ken Salazar

    Kenneth Lee "Ken" Salazar is the current United States Secretary of Interior, an American politician and rancher from the U.S. state of Colorado....
    , Chairman
Secretary
United States Secretary of the Interior

The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Interior Ministry as used in other countries....
, U.S. Department of the Interior
  • Vin Cipolla, Vice-Chair
  • John V. Faraci
    John V. Faraci

    John V. Faraci is the CEO of International Paper Co.He attended Denison University, received an MBA from the University of Michigan and is a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity....
    , Treasurer


Board Members

  • Nancy W. Adams
  • Al Baldwin
  • Andi Bernstein
  • Kathryn C. Chenault, Esq.
  • John C. Cushman, III
  • Edward W. Easton, Sr.
  • Spencer F. Eccles
  • Linda J. Fisher
  • General Tommy Franks
    Tommy Franks

    General Tommy Ray Franks, United States Army, Order of the British Empire, is a retired General in the United States Army. His last Army post was as the Commander of the United States U.S....
  • Regan Kimberlin Gammon
  • Karen A. Johnson
  • Jay I. Kislak
  • Ann R. Klee
  • John L. Nau, III
  • Charles Peck
  • John W. Rice
  • Deedie Potter Rose
  • John Seiter
  • Kathleen Shanahan
  • Chris Sullivan


Vice Chair Emeriti
  • Nancy H. Bechtle
  • David Rockefeller, Jr.
    David Rockefeller, Jr.

    David Rockefeller Jr. is a philanthropist and an active participant in nonprofit and environmental areas. The eldest son of David Rockefeller, he is a leading fourth-generation member of the prominent Rockefeller family, serving on many boards of the family's institutions....
  • Morton H. Meyerson


External links