On May 16, the Public Lands Alliance provided the National Park Service (NPS) with praise for several advancements in its draft revision of Director’s Order #21 and with recommendations to further improve the policy. This policy governs NPS engagement in philanthropic partnerships and provides guidance on the acceptance of private sector support by the NPS.
-
Read our letter to Director Jarvis that highlights the key advances and major recommendations in the Director’s Order #21 draft revision
-
Read our annotated version of the Director’s Order #21 draft revision with line-by-line analysis
“Philanthropy is essential to our national parks and a meaningful way for the American people to embrace their enthusiasm for special places from the Grand Canyon and Great Smoky Mountains to the Statue of Liberty and Pearl Harbor,” said Executive Director Dan Puskar. “Our recommendations call for policies and practices that encourage greater communication, increased trust and shared risk in public-private partnerships.”
“The Alliance applauds the National Park Service for its open, transparent approach to advancing park philanthropy and partnerships through the revision of Director’s Order #21. We are eager to partner with the National Park Service to develop the tools and training programs that its leaders and nonprofit partners will need to translate this new policy into more effective partnerships and greater philanthropic achievements.”
Education and Outreach
The Alliance’s recommendations followed an intensive period of education and outreach to the park partner community. The Alliance presented a series of virtual forums to help partners understand the draft revision, solicited suggestions and concerns from across the community, and engaged a “rapid response team” of park partner executive directors and chief development officers to hone the recommendations. The Alliance also met with NPS leadership to discuss its questions regarding the draft revision and to learn more about NPS hopes for partner recommendations.
Over 70 nonprofit park partner organizations have signed onto the Alliance’s recommendations. The Alliance is grateful to the National Parks Conservation Association and the National Park Hospitality Association for endorsing its recommendations in their formal submissions to the NPS.
“Our members and stakeholders used the public comment period to educate their board, staff and agency partners about how NPS policy impacts their partnerships,” said Dan Puskar. “Many organizations sent board and staff members to the Alliance’s online forums to explain the new policy, and circulated the Alliance’s draft recommendations within their boards for approval prior to adding their signatures. These final recommendations are stronger due to this deep level of engagement by the nonprofit park community.”
In The News
On May 9, the Washington Post published two sensational articles regarding the draft revision, grossly exaggerating the role and recognition of corporate donors in national parks. This has triggered a cascades of stories in the media about the role of corporate contributions to the NPS. Dan Puskar spoke with Fortune for a story that took issue with the Washington Post’s bias and emphasized the need for the NPS to engage in 21st century philanthropy. That story and the quotes it included from the Alliance have since been picked up by Smithsonian magazine and international media outlets.
Although the Post has not printed a retraction, its editorial board has since noted that “sky-is-falling characterizations are off-base exaggerations” and published a letter from Director Jonathan Jarvis.