On August 25, 2016, National Park Services (NPS) celebrated its Centennial. To mark the pivotal year, NEEF, along with the Kendeda Fund, created the “Centennial and Beyond Fund” grant opportunity to provide technical and financial support for projects who build the capacity of local Friends Groups (or cooperating associations) that serve diverse audiences who reflect their park unit’s surrounding community. Funded projects had to demonstrate an interest in or need to strengthen organizational infrastructure, leadership, and collaborative ties with community partners. Grants, in amounts ranging from $15,000 to $30,000 each, were awarded to the following recipients:
- Appomattox 1865 Foundation, Appomattox, VA
- Big Thicket Association, Beaumont, TX
- C & O Canal Trust, Inc., Hagerstown, MD
- Friends of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Washington, DC
- National Park Partners, Chattanooga, TN
- Friends of Organ Mountains Desert Peaks, Las Cruces, NM
- Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes, Empire, MI
- Mississippi Park Connection, Saint Paul, MN
- Pinnacles National Park Foundation, Hollister, CA
- Rosie the Riveter Trust, Richmond, CA
- Santa Monica Mountains Fund, Thousand Oaks, CA
- Sequoia Parks Conservancy, Three Rivers, CA
- South Florida National Parks Trust, Coral Gables, FL
- Timucuan Parks Foundation, Jacksonville, FL
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