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 Park Partner Matching Grant is designed to extend resources to partner organizations prepared to make a significant impact on parks through various projects until the end of next year. Projects may focus on infrastructure, construction, or programmatic initiatives but must have explicit approval from the National Park Service (NPS), demonstrated by a letter from the park superintendent. Compliance with NPS policies is mandatory for these projects. The grant emphasizes that projects requiring infrastructure investments must get prior approval from the NPS Investment Review Board. A crucial stipulation is the requirement of matching funds from partners, verified by a letter of support from their board of directors. NPF grants are to be used strictly for project expenses, excluding salary, overhead, or other operational costs, and land acquisition expenses are ineligible. The program is open to projects that are already in progress and in need of final funding, as well as new, shovel-ready initiatives that can be fully realized through direct collaboration with the NPS.