About the Nonprofit
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With a desire to connect people to their parks, St. Louis County Parks Foundation was established in 2015 by a group of generous, civic-minded citizens. The Foundation’s goal is to bridge the gap between the public funds available and the necessary dollars needed to care for, restore, and enhance our county parks. In the last decade, budget shortfalls facing the St. Louis County Parks Department, along with increasing competition for public funding and decreasing governmental grants, have led to the need for creative solutions to preserve and maintain these important public resources. While foundations supporting public parkland are common nationwide, there has never been such a foundation in St. Louis County to support its extensive network of 73 parks that welcomes over 10 million visitors annually. St. Louis County Parks Foundation is the first and only foundation exclusively devoted to ensuring the preservation of 12,500 acres of county parkland.
As the official nonprofit partner of the St. Louis County Parks Department, we work in partnership to carry out our mission of increasing public appreciation, stewardship, and usage of county parks. Each year, we co-develop a list of strategic priorities based on the most pressing needs facing the parks. Our vision for St. Louis County Parks is a sustainable park system whose landscapes, facilities and programming are second to none.
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