As the official philanthropic partner of Shenandoah National Park, the Trust provides strategic investments in programs and initiatives that help protect, enhance, and preserve the resources of Shenandoah National Park for all to enjoy- for this and future generations.
Vision
We envision an inspired and engaged community of stakeholders coming together to ensure a sustainable future for Shenandoah National Park through conservation, education, and engagement.
Mission
As the official philanthropic partner of Shenandoah National Park, the Trust provides strategic investments in programs and initiatives that help protect, enhance, and preserve the resources of Shenandoah National Park for all to enjoy- for this and future generations.
Principles
- Protect – Contribute to the protection and preservation of the Shenandoah National Park’s natural and cultural resources.
- Connect – Create opportunities for all people to forge meaningful and direct connections with Shenandoah National Park.
- Educate – Provide education to multiple audiences about the Park’s value as an ecological, cultural, recreational, and economic asset in the region and nation.
Our Trust’s History
“Friends” organizations like the Shenandoah National Park Trust offer a direct way for all to care for our national treasures, adding a margin of excellence beyond what the National Park Service can achieve without such private sector support.
The Trust was established in 2004 as a project of the National Park Foundation, the congressionally chartered charity of the National Park Service. Bequests to the National Park Foundation from two individuals, earmarked to support Shenandoah National Park, served as seed funding to launch our group within the Foundation. In 2007, the Trust separated from the Foundation and established itself as an independent nonprofit organization. The $2 million seed funding became our Board-designated Endowment and ensured a strong footing for our young group.
Shenandoah History
On July 3, 1936, President Franklin Roosevelt dedicated Shenandoah National Park. Addressing several hundred spectators, Roosevelt declared: “We seek to pass on to our children a richer land, a stronger nation. I, therefore, dedicate Shenandoah National Park to this and succeeding generations of Americans for the recreation and for the re-creation which we shall find here.”
Since its founding, the park has carried the legacy of preservation through the changing seasons.
