Demand for support within the national park network has surged, prompting the Foundation to prioritize capacity-building grants. Since the program’s inception in 2020, the Foundation has issued over 270 grants, helping local nonprofits secure resources for everything from digital infrastructure to strategic donor outreach. Data from the 2020–2024 period indicates that recipients of these grants grew their revenue nearly twice as fast as their non-funded counterparts, with 94% of grantees reporting financial gains.

Lise Aangeenbrug, the Foundation’s Chief Program Officer, noted that these nonprofits are the essential engines behind park preservation and visitor engagement. The 2026 funding cycle focuses on diverse objectives, ranging from the Great Basin National Park Foundation’s goal to scale individual donor numbers for its 40th anniversary to the Overmountain Victory Trail Association’s transition from an all-volunteer model to hiring its first paid executive staff. Other recipients, such as the Glacier National Park Conservancy and the Manassas Battlefield Trust, are deploying funds toward system upgrades and comprehensive marketing strategies. These efforts, supported by donors including Subaru of America and the Richard King Mellon Foundation, are intended to create a more resilient network of partners capable of scaling their impact alongside the National Park Service.