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Cooperating Associations are nonprofit
corporations that adhere to laws governing federal tax-exempt
501(c)(3) organizations. They operate under formal agreement
with NPS and are subject to NPS Management Policies and Director’s
Order #32: Cooperating Associations, with guidance provided
in Reference Manual 32. When cooperating associations engage
in fund raising to support education and interpretation, they
are also governed by Director’s Order #21 : Donations
and Fundraising.
This historical basis for cooperating
associations dates back to the Appropriations Act of 1920,
which recognized that donations of cash, lands, and buildings
may be made to the NPS from outside organizations. In 1937,
recognition of the legal status of cooperating associations
as nonprofit, state-chartered entities working in cooperation
with the National Park Service was placed in the Appropriations
Act for the Department of the Interior.
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