Working on its own and with partners, the National Park Foundation funds grants and programs that meet priorities and critical needs across our National Park System in the areas of youth, community outreach, conservation and professional engagement. The Foundation actively supports the National Park Service in its goal to prepare national parks for another century of conservation, preservation and enjoyment by its 100th anniversary in 2016. For more information about the National Park Foundation, visit www.nationalparks.org.

Ticket To Ride
One of the greatest barriers preventing our youth from experiencing the national parks around them is transportation. The goal of the Ticket to Ride program is to provide efficient transportation support for over 100,000 students to visit our national parks annually and to engage the youth in meaningful activities once there. Once in the parks, a world of learning begins as young people discover their natural, cultural and historical heritage, participate in volunteer and service-learning activities, enjoy recreational opportunities and most importantly, begin a lifelong relationship with their national parks.

If you have any questions, please contact Carolyn Hill, Program Director, 202-354-6471, Chill@nationalparks.org or Katherine Chesson, Program Manager, 202-354-6479, Kchesson@nationalparks.org

DEADLINE: Friday, March 15, 2013

Active Trails Program
Our national parks provide remarkable opportunities for outdoor recreation on more than 13,000 miles of land and water trails. These trails provide millions of people a year with opportunities to experience our nation's immaculate natural beauty and its dynamic past. They also offer recreational benefits that improve health, boost energy and lift the spirits of a sometimes over worked and over stressed population.

First implemented in five pilot parks in 2008, the Active Trails Grants Program was designed to promote healthy lifestyles while simultaneously protecting and enhancing our national parks' trail resources. This multi-faceted program encourages park visitors and local community members to connect on an ongoing basis with their national parks through recreation, hands-on trail work, and community engagement activities (special events).

For the RFP and Application Information
For previous year project examples

If you have any questions, please contact Carolyn Hill, Program Director, at 202-354-6471 or by email at Chill@nationalparks.org

DEADLINE: Friday, February 15, 2013

America's Best Idea Grants Program
Now entering its fifth year, the America's Best Idea Grants Program is an NPF signature program that provides a springboard from which national parks can initiate projects that reach out to new partners, strengthen existing relationships, and/or engage new audiences. The focus of this program is on diverse, under-engaged/underserved audiences, with a particular focus on youth.

You can find video and photo examples of the previous year's projects on the National Park Foundation website.

For the RFP
To Apply for a Grant

If you have any questions, please contact Carolyn Hill, Director, Grants & Programs at 202-354-6471 or by email at Chill@nationalparks.org

DEADLINE: Friday, February 1, 2013

Parks Climate Challenge
Now in its third year, Parks Climate Challenge (PCC) trains teachers how to educate students about climate change using national parks as classrooms. This is done by implementing a nationally relevant and replicable teacher training model that consists of three delivery mechanisms:

• An in-person teacher training conducted at national park sites
• An online component, parksclimatechallenge.org, that teachers can use to self-train and access resources necessary for teaching in the classroom.
• An in-park experience for students to deepen their understanding of climate change in national parks.

For the RFP
For the online application

If you have any questions, please contact Katherine Chesson, Program Manager, at 202-354-6479 or by email at kchesson@nationalparks.org

DEADLINE: Friday, March 16, 2012

Park Stewards Program
The Park Stewards Program gives high school teachers and students the opportunity to explore the relevance of national parks to their lives, and enables them to become civically engaged stewards of their national parks. Through the program model, high school teachers and park rangers team up to develop curriculum and service-learning activities that tie to the national park and applicable state standards. The curriculum and service-learning activities are then implemented throughout the year with the high school students and revised through the fall and spring semesters. Through the service-learning activities, the students apply academic knowledge and critical thinking skills (in addition to physical skills as appropriate) to address genuine needs of the park.

You can find video and photo examples of the previous year's projects by clicking here

To apply for a grant

If you have any questions please contact Carolyn Hill, Program Director, at 202-354-6471 or Chill@nationalparks.org or Katherine Chesson, Program Manager, at 202-354-6479 or Kchesson@nationalparks.org

DEADLINE: Friday, March 22, 2013

National Park Transportation Scholar
The Transportation Scholar program gives National Park sites the opportunity to receive expert assistance from transportation professionals on projects such as transportation planning, alternative transportation, analysis, coordination with local communities, environmental and traffic studies, and other transportation related tasks. This program is in partnership with the National Park Foundation, National Park Service, Eno Transportation Foundation, Federal Highway Administration, and the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks Technical Assistance Center. This program was developed to support and promote sustainable transportation solutions that help preserve Park resources and enhance visitors' experience. It is designed to provide National Park Areas with expert assistance on transportation related projects for six to 12 months, beginning on or about June 20, 2012. Transportation Scholars are individuals with substantial knowledge and expertise in transportation planning and related areas.

Contact:
Katherine Chesson, Program Coordinator
National Park Foundation
1201 Eye Street NW, Suite 550B
Washington, DC 20005
PH: 202-354-6479 / Fax: 202-371-2066
Email: kchesson@nationalparks.org

Transportation Scholar projects have been selected for 2012. Please check back in Fall 2012 for information about the 2013 Transportation Scholar program.

Below you will find brief summaries and deadlines for the current and upcoming grant opportunities. For additional information or questions about NPF programs and grants, please contact 202-354-6479.

IMPACT Grants
The NPF recognizes that sometimes the smallest grants can make the largest differences. Impact Grants (up to $10,000) are designed to help parks which need a small amount of additional funding to accomplish something they could not otherwise. Past grantee projects have ranged from a Northwest Bear Safety Initiative in Alaska, to overhauling infrastructure at nine in-park community gardens in Washington, DC, to conserving historic paintings in Iowa, to developing bi-lingual podcasts and distance learning programs in Florida. The National Park Foundation looks to fund projects that meet a critical need and/or are innovative, that have budgets appropriate to the project and that leverage resources where possible.

The fall 2012 round of the Impact Grants Program were funded by the National Park Foundation, ARAMARK through the Yawkey Foundation, The Fernandez Pave the Way Foundation, and The HISTORY Channel, and supports the entirety of the National Park Service. The award is meant to be a one-time gift with no expectation of repeat funding. Past grantees are permitted to reapply for funding to support new projects or needs that have materialized since their last grant award.

For previous year project examples

If you have additional questions, please contact Katherine Chesson, Grants and Programs Coordinator, at 202-354-6479 or by email at kchesson@nationalparks.org

Please check back in Fall 2012 for information about the 2013 IMPACT Grant application process.

PARK Teachers Program
The PARK (Parks As Resources for Knowledge) Teachers Program has developed innovative ways to improve teachers’ access and use of national park resources. The program establishes partnerships between National Park Service education staff and science methods faculty from local universities. Each park/university team collaboratively designs a science module(s) for pre-service teachers to learn from, selecting unique content based on that park’s natural resources. The program utilizes techniques empowering students to come to their own conclusions instead of being taught the correct answer.

As the program evolves, the National Park Foundation strives to impact teacher education programs across the country, targeting universities that focus on underserved audiences, forming strong national alliances with education partners, and applying the model to high school teachers — ultimately arming thousands of teachers nationwide with an understanding of the relevance of national parks as living classrooms.

The program is made possible through the generous support of the Toyota U.S.A. Foundation.

If you have any questions, please contact Carolyn Hill, Director, at 202-354-6471 or by email at Chill@nationalparks.org.

Please check back for more information in Fall 2012.

NOTE: Recent grants awarded by the National Park Foundation