As the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service, the National Park Foundation aims to generate private support and build strategic partnerships to protect and enhance America’s national parks for present and future generations. Chartered by Congress in 1967, it continues the tradition of private citizens taking action to establish and protect national parks. The Foundation is dedicated to directly supporting the National Park Service.
The Open OutDoors for Kids (OOK) grant program aims to support National Parks and park partners in offering both onsite and online educational programs targeted at elementary-aged students from under-resourced communities and schools. The core goals include fostering introductory connections with national parks through immersive, inquiry-based learning experiences, enhancing the professionalization of education within the service, creating engaging learning environments, and supporting teacher professional development to integrate parks as valuable educational resources for classroom learning and engagement.