- § 101111. Purpose and establishment of Foundation
- § 101112. Board
- § 101113. Gifts, devises, or bequests
- § 101114. Disposition of property or income
- § 101115. Corporate succession and powers and duties acting as trustee; personal liability for malfeasance
- § 101116. Corporate powers
- § 101117. Authority of Board
- § 101118. Tax exemptions; contributions toward costs of local government; contributions, gifts, or transfers to or for use of United States
- § 101119. Liability of United States
- § 101120. Promotion of local fundraising support
- § 101121. Second Century Endowment for the National Park Service
- § 101122. Authorization of appropriations; use of funds
§ 101111. Purpose and establishment of Foundation
To encourage private gifts of real and personal property, or any income from, or other interest in, the property, for the benefit of, or in connection with, the Service, its activities, or its services, and thereby to further the conservation of natural, scenic, historic, scientific, educational, inspirational, or recreational resources for future generations of Americans, there is established a charitable and nonprofit corporation to be known as the National Park Foundation to accept and administer those gifts.
(Pub. L. 113–287, § 3, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3120.)
§ 101112. Board
(a)Membership.—The National Park Foundation shall consist of a Board having as members no fewer than six private citizens of the United States appointed by the Secretary. The Secretary and the Director shall be non-voting members of the Board, ex officio.
(b)Term of Office and Vacancies.—The term of the private citizen members of the Board is 6 years. If a successor is chosen to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of a term, the successor shall be chosen only for the remainder of that term.
(c)Chairman.—The Chairman shall be elected by the Board from its members for a 2-year term.
(d)Board Membership Not an Office.—Membership on the Board shall not be an office within the meaning of the statutes of the United States.
(e)Quorum.—A majority of the members of the Board serving at any time shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
(f)Seal.—The National Park Foundation shall have an official seal, which shall be judicially noticed.
(g)Meetings.—The Board shall meet at the call of the Chairman and there shall be at least one meeting each year.
(h)Compensation and Reimbursement.—No compensation shall be paid to the members of the Board for their services as members, but they shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary traveling and subsistence expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties as members out of National Park Foundation funds available to the Board for those purposes.
(Pub. L. 113–287, § 3, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3120; Pub. L. 114–289, title IV, § 401(1), Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1488.)
§ 101113. Gifts, devises, or bequests
(a)Authority To Accept Gifts, Devises, or Bequests.—
(1)In general.—The National Park Foundation may accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and use any gifts, devises, or bequests, either absolutely or in trust of real or personal property, or any income from, or other interest in, the gift, devise, or bequest, for the benefit of, or in connection with, the Service, its activities, or its services.
(2)Coordination with service.—Activities of the National Park Foundation under paragraph (1) shall be undertaken after consultation with the Director to ensure that those activities are consistent with the programs and policies of the Service.
(3)Gift, devise, or bequest that is encumbered, restricted, or subject to beneficial interests.—A gift, devise, or bequest may be accepted by the National Park Foundation even though it is encumbered, restricted, or subject to beneficial interests of private persons if any current or future interest in the gift, devise, or bequest is for the benefit of the Service, its activities, or its services.
(b)When Gift, Devise, or Bequest May Not Be Accepted.—The National Park Foundation may not accept any gift, devise, or bequest that entails any expenditure other than from the resources of the Foundation.
(c)Interest in Real Property.—For purposes of this section, an interest in real property includes easements or other rights for preservation, conservation, protection, or enhancement by and for the public of natural, scenic, historic, scientific, educational, inspirational, or recreational resources.
(Pub. L. 113–287, § 3, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3120; Pub. L. 114–289, title IV, § 401(2), Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1488.)
§ 101114. Disposition of property or income
(a)Authority To Dispose or Deal With Property or Income.—Except as otherwise required by the instrument of transfer, the National Park Foundation may sell, lease, invest, reinvest, retain, or otherwise dispose of or deal with any property or income from the property as the Board may determine.
(b)Restriction.—The National Park Foundation shall not engage in any business or make any investment that may not lawfully be made by a trust company in the District of Columbia, except that the Foundation may make any investment authorized by the instrument of transfer, and may retain any property accepted by the Foundation.
(c)Use of Services and Facilities of the Departments of the Interior and Justice.—The National Park Foundation may utilize the services and facilities of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice, and the services and facilities may be made available on request to the extent practicable with or without reimbursement. Amounts reimbursed to either Department shall be returned by the Department to the account from which the funds for which the reimbursement is made were drawn and may, without further appropriation, be expended for any purpose for which the account is authorized.
(Pub. L. 113–287, § 3, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3121.)
§ 101115. Corporate succession and powers and duties acting as trustee; personal liability for malfeasance
(a)Perpetual Succession.—The National Park Foundation shall have perpetual succession.
(b)Powers and Duties of Trustee.—The National Park Foundation shall have all the usual powers and obligations of a corporation acting as a trustee, including the power to sue and to be sued in its own name.
(c)Personal Liability of Board Members.—The members of the Board shall not be personally liable, except for malfeasance.
(Pub. L. 113–287, § 3, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3121.)
§ 101116. Corporate powers
The National Park Foundation shall have the power to enter into contracts, to execute instruments, and generally to do any and all lawful acts necessary or appropriate to its purposes.
§ 101117. Authority of Board
In carrying out this chapter, the Board may—
(1) adopt bylaws and regulations necessary for the administration of its functions; and
(2) contract for any necessary services.
(Pub. L. 113–287, § 3, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3121.)
§ 101118. Tax exemptions; contributions toward costs of local government; contributions, gifts, or transfers to or for use of United States
(a)Tax Exemption.—The National Park Foundation and any income or property received or owned by it, and all transactions relating to that income or property, shall be exempt from all Federal, State, and local taxation.
(b)Contributions In Lieu of Taxes.—The National Park Foundation may—
(1) contribute toward the costs of local government in amounts not in excess of those which it would be obligated to pay that government if it were not exempt from taxation by virtue of subsection (a) or by virtue of its being a charitable and nonprofit corporation; and
(2) agree to contribute with respect to property transferred to it and the income derived from the property if the agreement is a condition of the transfer.
(c)Transfers Deemed To Be to or for the Use of United States.—Contributions, gifts, and other transfers made to or for the use of the Foundation shall be deemed to be contributions, gifts, or transfers to or for the use of the United States.
(Pub. L. 113–287, § 3, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3122.)
§ 101119. Liability of United States
The United States shall not be liable for any debts, defaults, acts, or omissions of the National Park Foundation.
(Pub. L. 113–287, § 3, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3122.)
§ 101120. Promotion of local fundraising support
(a)Program.—The National Park Foundation shall design and implement a comprehensive program to assist and promote philanthropic programs of support at the individual System unit level.
(b)Implementation.—The program under subsection (a) shall be implemented to—
(1) assist in the creation of local nonprofit support organizations; and
(2) provide support, national consistency, and management-improving suggestions for local nonprofit support organizations.
(c)Program.—The program under subsection (a)—
(1) shall include the greatest number of System units as is practicable; and
(2) at a minimum shall include—
(A) a standard adaptable organizational design format to establish and sustain responsible management of a local nonprofit support organization for support of a System unit;
(B) standard and legally tenable bylaws and recommended money-handling procedures that can easily be adapted as applied to individual System units; and
(C) a standard training curriculum to orient and expand the operating expertise of personnel employed by local nonprofit support organizations.
(d)Annual Report.—The National Park Foundation shall report the progress of the program under subsection (a) in the annual report of the Foundation.
(e)Affiliations.—
(1)Charter or corporate bylaws.—Nothing in this section requires—
(A) a nonprofit support organization or friends group to modify current practices or to affiliate with the National Park Foundation; or
(B) a local nonprofit support organization, established as a result of this section, to be bound through its charter or corporate bylaws to be permanently affiliated with the National Park Foundation.
(2)Establishment.—An affiliation with the National Park Foundation shall be established only at the discretion of the governing board of a nonprofit organization.
(Pub. L. 113–287, § 3, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3122.)
§ 101121. Second Century Endowment for the National Park Service
(a)Second Century Endowment.—To further the mission of the Service, the National Park Foundation shall establish a special account to be known as the “Second Century Endowment for the National Park Service”.
(1)Funds for the endowment.—The following shall apply to the Endowment:
(A) From amounts received by the United States each fiscal year from sales by the National Park Service of Federal Recreational Lands Passes under section 805(b)(1) of the Federal Lands Recreational Enhancement Act,1
1 See References in Text note below.
$10,000,000 shall be deposited into the Endowment.(B) In addition to deposits otherwise authorized, the Endowment shall consist of any gifts, devises, or bequests that are provided to the National Park Foundation for such purpose.
(C) The National Park Foundation shall deposit any funds received for the Endowment in a federally insured interest-bearing account or may invest funds in appropriate security obligations, as directed by the Board of Directors.
(D) Any accrued interest or dividends earned on funds received for the Endowment shall be added to the principal and form a part of the Endowment.
(2)Use of funds.—
(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), funds in the Endowment shall be available to the National Park Foundation as offsetting collections for projects and activities approved by the Secretary that further the mission and purposes of the Service.
(B) Gifts, devises, or bequests in the endowment under paragraph (1)(A), and any accrued interest or dividends earned thereon, shall be available to the National Park Foundation for projects and activities approved by the Secretary that further the mission and purposes of the Service.
(C) In administering the Endowment each fiscal year, the National Park Foundation shall be guided by the District of Columbia Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act of 2007 (D.C. Code § 44–1631 et seq.), including section 44–1633 on expenditures.
(D) No Federal funds received for the Endowment may be used by the National Park Foundation for administrative expenses of the Foundation, including for salaries, travel and transportation expenses, and other overhead expenses.
(b)Summary.—Beginning 2 years after the date of the enactment of this section, the National Park Foundation shall include with its annual report a summary of the status of the Endowment. The summary shall include—
(1) a statement of the amounts deposited in the Endowment during the fiscal year;
(2) the amount of the balance remaining in the Endowment at the end of the fiscal year; and
(3) a description of the sums and purposes of the expenditures made from the Endowment for the fiscal year.
(Added Pub. L. 114–289, title II, § 202(a), Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1485.)
§ 101122. Authorization of appropriations; use of funds
(a)Authorization of Appropriations.—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subchapter $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2030.
(b)Use of Funds.—Funds made available under subsection (a)—
(1) may be advanced each fiscal year to the National Park Foundation in a lump sum without regard to when expenses are incurred;
(2) shall be provided to the National Park Foundation for use to match contributions (whether in currency, services, or property) made to the Foundation;
(3) may not be used by the National Park Foundation for administrative expenses of the Foundation, including for salaries, travel and transportation expenses, and other overhead expenses; and
(4) may not be deposited by the National Park Foundation into any fund that will be invested or earn interest in any way.
(Added Pub. L. 114–289, title IV, § 402(a), Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1488; Pub. L. 117–328, div. DD, title VI, § 646, Dec. 29, 2022,