 The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation is the primary and professional fund raising organization for the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Foundation does not fund the Parkway's operational budget which is the responsibility of the federal government. The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation funds only those projects and programs which add a margin of excellence to the park's mission, enhance the visitor's experience, and have a lasting value.
NC Art Book raises money for Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.
The Foundation's authority to request and receive funds on behalf of the Blue Ridge Parkway is vested in a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service and Department of Interior.
The Foundation's historical program funding areas are:
- View area protection, preservation, and research
- Historic preservation
- Capital project funding
- Wildlife management
- Watershed preservation and water quality enhancement
- Education outreach -- Parks As Classrooms
- Family photograph and story archives
- Endowment and estate planning
For more information, go to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation Web site.
More details on active and ongoing projects of the Foundation:
In summer 2011, the Park Service began construction on their new Communications Center behind Park Headquarters in Asheville. Funding for the building construction is being provided by the Foundation. The completion of this project will replace obsolete microwave and land mobile radio equipment with state-of-the-art equipment that will provide the Park and the visiting public with an exceedingly reliable communication system that will enhance Park operations for many years to come.
Parks As Classrooms – Introducing schoolchildren in 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties to the Blue Ridge Parkway by providing funding for educational outreach through ongoing support and a growing endowment. The Foundation provides annual operating support.
Graveyard Fields – In Spring 2011, the Blue Ridge Parkway received a $261,336 National Scenic Byways Grant to enhance the existing overlook and trail system at the Graveyard Fields area at milepost 418 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The enhancements, designed to improve visitor safety and comfort, include expansion of the parking area, construction of a convenience station, trail improvements and new interpretive signs. The project work will be carried out by a partnership of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, the National Park Service and the US Forest Service, and has not yet been scheduled. The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation will be overseeing the project and contributing a $65,334 cash match for the project. In addition, the Foundation has already funded $20,000 of design services and secured over $10,000 in pro bono design work for the project. Those wishing to contribute to the project can make donations at www.brpfoundation.org/graveyard-fields-donation.
Rough Ridge Fund – a collaborative project with the National Park Service to upgrade boardwalk in this fragile area on the shoulder of Grandfather Mountain
Kids in Parks - a special intiative to combat childhood obesity and to engage those children and thir families with our national parks.
Camp Catawba Fund- Camp Catawba was an exceptional summer camp for boys that operated from 1944 to 1970 near Blowing Rock, N.C. Bounded by the Blue Ridge Parkway on one side and the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park on the other, the Parkway now owns the grounds of the camp, along with its near century-old chestnut lodge. Through an anonymous donor, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has established the Camp Catawba Fund in order to assist the Parkway in interpreting the camp to the public.
Capital Improvements -”When Nature Calls” campaign-building a new convenience station at Bass Lake(Moses H. Cone Memorial Park) and a second at Graveyard Fields.
Archives – a focused oral history and family photographs project, archives (news stories, essays, and journalistic photos) and photographic gallery to inventory experiences of the Parkway visitor.
Museum of North Carolina Minerals-The Museum was subject to a nearly one million dollar renovation and expansion in 2002 with new exhibits and a much expanded mission and broadened interpretive goals. This was made possible by a partnership between the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, the National Park Service, and Mitchell County (NC).
Design Guidelines for Adjacent Parkway Development – a compendium of design recommendations for parkway neighbors, developers, and community leaders.
Small Grants Program – Applications as received
Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation Trust – continued contributions to the Foundation’s endowment funds support specific visitor services along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Also see: Asheville Land Conservancy
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