Each year, hundreds of millions of visitors enjoy U.S. National Parks, from Death Valley in California to Acadia National Park in Maine. This week, the parks received the largest donation in National Park Service history.
This $100 million donation came from Lilly Endowment Inc. and the National Park Foundation described it as “a pivotal moment in safeguarding the future of America’s treasured national parks.”
“The impact of this gift will be felt in our parks and in surrounding communities for generations to come,” added Chuck Sams, director of the National Park Service. “This is a truly visionary investment, and an example of how the power of philanthropy can amplify this crucial work that we all believe in so much.”
According to the National Park Service, Congress established the first park – Yellowstone National Park – in 1872 and thus began a national park movement around the world. Here in the U.S., President Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the National Park Service, a federal Bureau of the Department of the Interior, in 1916. Today the system includes more than 400 areas covering more than 84 million acres in 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the Virgin Islands.
Protecting these areas does require money and resources. For example, the NPS said there was an estimated $23.3 billion of repair needed on roads, buildings, utility systems, and other structures and facilities across the system at the end of the last fiscal year. There are also more than 20,000 people employed by the NPS.
“The National Park Service budget is rolled up into the budget for the Department of the Interior and then with the rest of the Executive Branch and submitted to Congress for its review and approval,” according to the service.
In 1967, Congress chartered the National Park Foundation, a non-profit partner of the service. This organization generates private support and builds partnerships to help support the parks.
“The National Park Foundation is inspired by, and incredibly grateful for, this extraordinary gift from Lilly Endowment,” said Will Shafroth, president and CEO of the National Park Foundation of the recent donation. “For over 50 years, private philanthropy has played a vital role in bridging the gap between park needs and available funding. This grant will allow us to supercharge our efforts to ensure our national parks are for everyone, for generations to come.”
Per the press release, the donation funds will go towards creating opportunities for young people to engage with the parks, address critical initiatives to conserve and preserve threatened parks, improve visitor experiences with new technology, and to tell a more comprehensive historical narrative about our country, “including the experiences of communities whose voices and contributions have not been fully told as a part of the American story.”
“Our founders were inspired by the beauty and wonders of the natural world and supportive of research and educational programs about archaeology and the cultural history of our nation,” said N. Clay Robbins, chairman and CEO of Lilly Endowment. “We are pleased therefore to further their interests through this grant. We believe the National Park Foundation’s campaign will enhance the programming in and promote the future vibrancy of our country’s marvelous system of parks, monuments, and historic sites.”
Lilly Endowment’s grant contributes to a fundraising campaign for the parks, said the NPF. The Campaign for National Parks is intended to raise money for urgent needs and they hope to raise $3.5 billion overall, the foundation added.
“Together, the campaign will generate more support for national parks than ever before to ensure they not only endure, but thrive, for the benefit of all who cherish them,” said the NPF.
Last year, more than 325 million people visited parks in the National Park Service system. That number was up 4% compared to 2022.