Twelve Things You Should Know About Director's Order # 21: Donations & Fundraising Prepared by Glenn Eugster, Partnerships Office, National Capital Region, National Park Service, Washington, DC.

Twelve Things You Should Know 

About Director's Order # 21: Donations & Fundraising 

Prepared by Glenn Eugster, Partnerships Office, National Capital Region, National Park Service, Washington, DC.

September 7, 2004

Foundation Laws and Agreements

 Be sure to look to see if your enabling legislation speaks to donations and fundraising.

 Existing Cooperative, General or Memorandum of Agreements approved by NPS may provide important information that will influence your donations and fundraising activities.

 Don't forget to check NPS Management Policies 2001 for important information on what you can and can't do in your park or with your project.

DO-21 Checklist

1.   All fundraising to the benefit of NPS must be 

authorized in a written agreement (Section 4.2).

1.   When an NPS partner and an NPS manager mutually 

agree that a fundraising campaign is desirable, a formal fundraising agreement will be prepared…. 

The purpose of the fundraising agreement will be to identify:

1. roles and responsibilities of NPS and NPS partner.

1. The project(s)or program(s) to be funded and the 

priority order of funding, if appropriate;

The request for approval will be assessed according to the following criteria:

(c) an assessment of the magnitude of any future requirements on the NPS budget (Section 6.1)

1.     All fundraising campaigns require a fundraising 

plan. (Section 6.3)

1.     While the complexity of the plan (fundraising 

plans) will vary according to the magnitude of the campaign, in general the plan must detail techniques, timing, staff, needs (including the use of paid consultants), strategy, costs, and other components prescribed in the Reference Guide to Donations and Fundraising (Section 6.3).

1.   Single donations of $1 million or more require the

Director's approval. The Director may waive this requirement in the context of an approved fundraising campaign. (Section 3.2.2) 

1.   “The NPS will not accept a direct donation from 

persons or entities . . ." and lists 10 conditions that would make a person or entity a prohibited source. 

The NPS partner must first consult with the Director or Deputy, Regional, or Associate Director prior to soliciting, accepting, and recognizing any such gift that is intended for park purposes. In the consultation process, consideration must be given to how the solicitation, acceptance, and recognition of the donation will reflect on not only the NPS partner and the park/program it supports, but the entire NPS and the Department. " (Section 4.4.2)

1.     Where a source cannot give directly to the NPS, 

extreme caution must be exercised when the contribution is offered to NPS partners. (Section 4.4.2) 

1.   Donations will not be used to begin construction, 

or any phase of construction or other NPS project, where there are not sufficient appropriated and/ or donated funds in hand to complete the work so that it is usable (Section 4.3)

1.   A request for the Director's approval of a proposed 

fundraising campaign must include the following:

(2) the financial goal of the campaign (broken down by major components)

(5) any significant additional annual expenses for operations, maintenance, or staffing, or additional unfunded non-recurring costs that will result, the expected source(s) of funding and whether within current funding levels or proposed future increases (Section 6.1)

1. Feasibility studies, fundraising plans, and other 

requirements of the agreement must be submitted to the Director for approval (Section 6.1)

1. Park managers are strongly encouraged to develop 

a park-specific Donor Recognition Plan, and will be required to have one prior to the final approval of a fundraising campaign by the Director (Section 7.0)

1. The Associate Director for Partnerships,

Interpretation, Education, Volunteers, and Outdoor Recreation (ADPIEVOR) is delegated the functional authority to monitor compliance with the policies, procedures and standards set forth in this Director's Order; to establish those procedures or standards identified in this Director's Order; and to manage the NPS relationship with the National Park Foundation (Section 3.2.1)