When you invest in endowments, you demonstrate your belief in the long-term viability and strength of the endowment’s beneficiary. By investing in one of our national park endowments, you are making an investment in an entity that has staying power and will be there well into the future – quite possibly forever.
Our long-term vision for Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic National Parks is to establish several million-dollar endowments for each park, each dedicated to their ongoing priorities – including trails, volunteerism, youth programs, science and research, search and rescue, and historical preservation.
Gifts given to one of Washington’s National Park Fund’s three park endowments – or to a mix of the three – are invested for the long haul. Investment income earned on our park endowments is awarded to park projects that otherwise would go unfunded.
My wife Sue and I have loved the parks since we were little kids. We would like to see the parks maintained in their natural state for our kids and their kids to enjoy, and a key part of that are endowments.
Don Gaines was a long-time park supporter and dear friend of the Fund before his passing in August 2024. He gave generously both in gifts of resources and time, having served for many years on WNPF’s Board of Directors including the crucial time of growth in the early stages of its creation. In recent years, his giving made a tangible difference for the park endowments – ensuring his impact will be felt in Washington’s national parks not just in his lifetime but in decades to come.
In part thanks to funding support from donors like Don, who have helped build the endowments to where they are today, WNPF’s endowments have generated additional funding for a variety of park projects, including Mount Rainier’s Meadow Rover volunteers, mental health support for first responders in North Cascades National Park, and the Artist-in-Residence program in Olympic National Park.
Read our story on the National Park Endowments and Don’s “Why.”
In 2010, Washington’s National Park Fund received an estate gift of $350,000 from the Eleanor Wilson Trust, $100,000 of which was designated to establish a Mount Rainier National Park Endowment.
WNPF’s Board of Directors established endowment funds for North Cascades and Olympic National Parks in 2013. A few years later, WNPF received its first million-dollar gift from the Bette Wallace Trust, affectionately known as “Aunt Bette,” from which $200,000 was invested into each park’s endowment.
Today, the three endowments total over $2 million, and WNPF invests a portion of the stock market investment gains back into the parks each year.
Special thanks to Linda Glein for being the driving force behind advancing our three growing national park endowments!
These guidelines govern the acceptance of gifts made to WNPF for the benefit of its operations, programs, or services.
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Have questions about how our national park endowments work and what they support? Check out our frequently asked questions.
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Ready to get started? Get in touch.
Andrea Christensen Director of Donor Engagement (206) 623-2063 fund@wnpf.org
Cover photo: Winter in North Cascades National Park (photo by Mitch Pittman, with aerial support provided by LightHawk, a partner of WNPF); footer photo (below): Olympic National Park by John Chao 📷