Washington State Parks Foundation

Improve: providing grants and building capacity to implement critical State Parks projects. In 2023, this program funded 23 park improvement project grants across Washington, installed a new playground at ike kinswa State park, supported interpretive programs and continued a wildlife research study to better understand and protect vulnerable wildlife.

Welcoming for all: connecting people and celebrating their diverse traditions at State Parks. The program purpose is to help State Parks realize its mission and vision that Parks "connect all washingtonians to their diverse natural and cultural heritage and ensure Parks are "cherished destinations with natural, cultural, recreational, artistic, and interpretive experiences." With our support, over 5,450 individuals and families in communities across Washington were able to access State Parks using free passes provided and adventure packs. In addition, increased engagement with tribal nations is being supported via a grant to State Parks focused on relationship-building activities.

Connect: building an engaged and informed State Parks community. Critical to our mission is building a Parks community and connecting people to shared experiences in nature history and culture. We supported programs to help prepare first-time visitors, supported underserved communities to help them better access State Parks and increased coordination with the State Parks agency to align messages to make Parks more welcoming to all. We reached out to over 200,000 Parks users and our over 12,400 donors who act on behalf of our mission and give to, advocate for and treasure our State Parks.

Other services include organizational capacity building for friends of State Parks and advocacy work with partners and the public.