Politics & Government

New Nonprofit Grants Designed to Help Keep State Parks Open

The California State Parks Foundation will award grants to 13 nonprofits committed to funding park maintenance and operating costs

A new grant will offer money to nonprofits that have committed to funding the maintenance and operating costs of state parks, including Olompali State Historic Park just north of Novato.

The California State Parks Foundation announced Thursday that it will award grants totaling $328,586 to 13 organizations fighting to keep local parks .

“We are pleased to announce these grants as part of our integrated effort to help keep these threatened parks open,” said CSPF President Elizabeth Goldstein.

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The grants support a growing movement towards public-private partnership as a way to keep the cash-strapped California parks open. Though 70 state parks were originally slated for closure by July 1, private donors, nonprofits local governments and legislation have allowed many parks to stay the process.

In October Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 42, a measure allowing state parks threatened with closure to enter into operating agreements with nonprofit organizations to stay open. In April, the Valley of the Moon Natural History Association signed a five-year agreement of Jack London State Park. 

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The Valley of the Moon Natural History Association, a nonprofit supporting educational, volunteer and interpretive studies at Jack London, Sugarloaf Ridge State Park and Annadel State Park, described the grants as a 'historic' moment for private public funding. 

“Thanks to the support of the Foundation...Jack London State Historic Park will remain open and thrive as a treasured community resource for all of the public to enjoy," said Valley of the Moon Natural Historic Association Executive Director Tjiska Van Wyk.

The association began operating the park May 1.

After almost a year of fundraisers and web campaigns, the Sonoma Ecology Center – and a subset 'Team Sugarloaf' – say the funding provides crucial support for their efforts to keep the park in the black.

“This is fabulous news for Team Sugarloaf,” said Executive Director Richard Dale. "This grant will allow us to bring all public services back to Sugarloaf, and will help create a reliable revenue stream to assure it stays open into the future.”

"“Our struggles for nearly a year to keep this special park from closing are turning into a celebration of what a team of committed groups and individuals can accomplish," said Dale.

Regionally, the Marin State Parks Association also received a grant to operate China Camp State Park. See the full list of grantees here.

These grants were funded by the  S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation and the Thomas J. Long Foundation. Since 1969, CSPF has raised more than $186 million to benefit state parks. For more information about California's state parks, visit calparks.org.


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