Nearly $700,000 has been distributed by the National Park Foundation to 36 park partner organizations as Strong Parks, Strong Communities capacity building grants. These grants will enable nonprofit park partners across the country to expand their impact through new technology, website redesigns, creative visitor engagement, strategic plan development, fundraising campaigns, professional development, and more.

The Strong Parks, Strong Communities capacity building grant program helps address park partner needs that have come to the forefront amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Park partners identified resiliency and ability to weather times of uncertainty as priority needs.

“The National Park Foundation is committed to increasing national park philanthropy across the board, and being responsive to current needs,” said LaTresse Snead, chief program officer for the National Park Foundation. “The capacity building grants help advance park partners’ goals to preserve natural and cultural resources, increase access to public lands for all people, and develop innovative programming.”

“The National Park Foundation thanks its generous and committed board of directors for making the Strong Parks, Strong Communities capacity building grants possible,” added Will Shafroth, president and CEO of the National Park Foundation. “Together with our partners at the National Park Service and Friends Alliance, we are enhancing park philanthropy for the benefit of parks and people.”

Strong Parks, Strong Communities is a collective effort to grow national park philanthropy, which consists of approximately 450 local philanthropic organizations across the country. The 2020 grantees are: