January 21, 2025 • 30 mins
"Nothing gets done without partners. And in fact, it's way more fun when you get to do it with other people."
Philanthropy is a powerful tool that often goes unnoticed in the world of park management. I have the privilege of diving deep into this with Sarah Unz, Vice President of Community Partnerships at the National Park Foundation, and Ryan McClure, Executive Director of Gateway Arch Park Foundation and Board Chair of the Friends Alliance. Read the blog for more on creating world-class experiences and preserving our natural treasures for future generations.
Notable Moments
00:00 Reimagining the Arch Experience
03:49 Embracing Environmental Partnerships
08:17 "National Park Friends Alliance Collaboration"
12:58 "Philanthropy's Role in National Parks"
14:30 Urban Parks: Unique Role & Philanthropy
19:13 Historic Courthouse Renovation Art Project
23:32 "Parks Fundraising Campaign Launch"
26:09 Proud National Park Campaign Collaboration
Resources
https://parkleaders.com/about/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/theparkleaders/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:08):
Welcome to the Park Leader Show where we are changing the landscape of
leadership in parks and conservation. I'm your host, Jody
Mayberry, and we have not one but 2 guests
on the show. We don't do that often, but this was a
special circumstance, a special occasion that made sense to
bring two people together. We have Sarah Uns, the
(00:30):
vice president of community partnerships for the National Park
Foundation, and Ryan McClure, who is the board
chair at the Friends Alliance. Sarah and Ryan, I'm so glad you're with
us. Thank you. To be here. Thank you. Now I'm
already fond of both of you, having not even started the discussion since
you are both from the Midwest, and Illinois is my motherland.
(00:52):
So I'm always fond of Midwesterners. Same here.
Midwest is the best. That's right. That's what my granny used to say.
Yeah. Well, let's start with your history with the
outdoors. Ryan, I'm gonna start with you. What is your history with the outdoors,
and how did you end up at the Friends Alliance? Sure.
Well, my day job is I'm the executive director of Gateway Arch Park
(01:16):
Foundation. So we are the Friends Group, official philanthropic
partner of Gateway Arch National Park. So Gateway Arch
undeniably represents St. Louis to the entire world.
I'm a diehard Saint Louisan. I love my city, and I
wanted to be part of of making Saint Louis the best
that it could be for everyone. And so the reason I got
(01:37):
into this work was because I love Saint Louis.
And the Arch there was this concept to completely
reimagine the the Arch experience for everyone. I
didn't know a whole lot about national parks before I got involved at
Gateway Arch Park Foundation. That was a happy outcome.
Unintended outcome of starting in
(02:00):
this job was that the Arch is a national
park. And through this work, I got to meet a lot of
people within the national park community, like Sarah and
others who really instilled this love of
national parks in me and now my family and my
kids. So that's how I got involved in the National Park Friends
(02:21):
Alliance, was attending my first conference in 2019
at Grand Teton National Park. So my wife and I got to go to that.
And I just caught fire for not just what the arch means to St. Louis,
but what the arch and national parks in general mean to the entire country.
So being able to serve now on the board of of the
National Park Friends Alliance and and now as board chair is truly an
(02:43):
honor just to do my small part to have an impact on
the national park system as a whole. Oh, Brian. What a good answer. You
make me feel all patriotic about parks.
Okay. Sarah, what about you? Up in Wisconsin,
what is your history with the outdoors? Because you live in a beautiful area. So
your history with outdoors and how you ended up with the National Park
(03:07):
Foundation. -Some of my earliest memories are just
running like a wild child outside. And, you
know, that's just, I think, a generational thing that you both probably
understand. And I knew from a real early age that I wanted
to, in those days, save the world. You know, I wanted to save the
planet. And I remember distinctly in 4th grade thinking,
(03:29):
I gotta start a recycling program in my garage. And I
remember distinctly writing my college entrance
applications. You know, you did that with a paper and a pencil saying that
nothing else matters if there's not a planet, a healthy planet for us
to pursue other occupations. And I knew that I
wanted to be in education. So I was an environmental educator for a number of
(03:51):
years. I worked at the Chicago Park District for about 7
years or so running environmental education programs. And through that
work, I realized that nothing gets done without partners.
And in fact, it's way more fun when you get to do it with other
people. Doing things by yourself or a village of 1 isn't very
productive or joyful. And so I started to really lean
(04:13):
into this partnership aspect from government partnerships, to other
cultural institutions, to other park districts and conservation organizations.
And when I saw the job pop up at the National Park Foundation
around community partnerships, I remember, like, looking to the left or the
right thinking, is this for real? Is this an actual job that someone
gets to have? And since being at the foundation,
(04:36):
I have just grown so so much professionally, but also like
Ryan, have been so positively influenced by
the community that supports national parks. You know,
we all of us have such a love for our park service colleagues,
rangers, interpretive staff, the maintenance teams, the leaders, the people who do the
budget. I mean, they they just serve the nation in such unique ways. There's this
(04:58):
whole other nonprofit side that also does such great
service to our national park system. And like Ryan, I feel such
an such honor and privilege. Like, I get to wake up and think about this
every day. That's that's amazing. Like, I was just saying
that to someone earlier today that this is an actual job that someone gets to
do, and I'm thrilled that I get to be here. So, Juan,
(05:20):
thank you for having me and and Ryan. But just to be able to
explain, I think that that nonprofit philanthropic side and
the role that groups like the Gateway Arch Park Foundation and the National Park
Foundation play is just a real privilege. Well, and that leads into
why you 2 are on the show because I
I always talk I talk with people from city parks, county parks,
(05:43):
state parks, national parks, and we have such a a park
focus in what's going on in parks. But
organizations like yours play such a big role in
what we do. I wanted to have a chance to highlight some
of that more. So, Sarah, if I
am a park ranger doing the rounds at
(06:04):
Yellowstone National Park, or if I'm an interpreter at the Gateway
Arch telling great stories, give me an overview of
what the National Park Foundation does and the
impact it might have on me as a ranger or interpreter
that I don't realize? Yeah, of course. You know, I
think first of all, one of the things that I hope is
(06:26):
that, you know, NPS staff know that we are your
partner and that we are some of your biggest champions and supporters
and that we're here to, you know, hold your hand and walk down the road
together. The National Park Foundation is
a leader and catalyst in safeguarding with
the Park Service America's 400 plus national parks. You
(06:48):
know, we're ensuring they're accessible and welcoming for everyone
forever. We are the official nonprofit partner to the National
Park Service. We help conserve and preserve threatened
wildlife and land. We inspire the next generation of park
stewards. We tell the full American story
about American history, and we ensure a world class visitor
(07:10):
experience. NPF is really driven by a shared
passion for these natural and cultural sites. We generate
support for parks through a community of donors, but also through
partners. And that partner community is just so impressive.
As a member of that community where we join hands with about
4 50 plus organizations across the country like Ryan's,
(07:33):
and these groups are raising over $500,000,000 per year.
It's just a really incredible group of people doing
work. And of course, there's more information to be found about what
more specifically the foundation does on nationalparks.org. But
overall, it's really this kind of this movement, this community
effort in which we can support our parks together. Oh,
(07:55):
Sarah, you're you're good at this because not only did you answer the question, you
worked in a plug for the website. That's very good. You
know, I do my best. Okay. Ryan,
same question to you. Give us an overview of what the Friends Alliance
does and then the impact it has on people
working the front lines of parks that they may not realize. Sure. Well,
(08:18):
you know, I love Sarah's answer, like, you know, of of how
the National Park Foundation supports the entire system.
And one of the ways that they're really intentional in supporting the
entire system by supporting individual parks too
is working with friends groups like Gateway Arch
Park Foundation that is a member of the National Park Friends Alliance. So you have
(08:40):
friends groups across the country that are now, I think,
working in in an incredible way with the
National Park Foundation to elevate the support that we
all provide. So, you know, the National Park Friends
Alliance has really I mean, has it receives
incredible support as an organization from the National Park
(09:02):
Foundation. And we are now an independent 501c3,
really an association group of all of the friends groups
within that are supporting national parks. And every
friends group is different. I have not found a friends group that is
the same as Gateway Arch Park Foundation, or the same as
Yosemite Conservancy, or the same as, you know,
(09:24):
Wilsons Creek back Wilsons Creek Battlefield Trust. You know, it's
we're all different, but we have common we certainly
have a common goal to support the parks in our community. But we also have
challenges that we're all facing. And one of the things that the National Park Friends
Alliance is doing, because of the support of the National Park
Foundation, is convening all of us together in a way that's
(09:47):
very intentional to talk about those challenges and the opportunities. How
can we make each of us better? You know, so you've got, you
know, really large friends groups that are raising tens of 1,000,000 of dollars
a year. As Sarah said, together, we raise, you
know, 500 you know, half a $1,000,000,000 combined.
But, you know, it ranges from groups that are raising $10,000,000 a
(10:09):
year down to volunteer led groups that are
raising meaningful amounts for their parks. But, I mean, they're volunteers. They're doing
the best that they can. And how do we uplift all the entire community?
Jodi, to your question about, like, what will a visitor or a park ranger see
at an individual park because of private philanthropy? You know,
Gateway Arts National Park is the one I I know best, so I'll I'll speak
(10:32):
to that. But, you know, all of the museum exhibits that you will see
at Gateway Arts National Park are privately funded. It's one of the
best museums and certainly in Saint Louis, one of the
best in the National Park system because private donors
believed enough in the arch and the story that it tells to invest
money in that. And we now, as a philanthropic private
(10:54):
organization, raise money every year to maintain that museum. So without
those private dollars, you would not see this highly interactive museum that
tells the story of westward expansion, the good and the bad
of that story in a very inclusive, engaging way.
You wouldn't see that level of quality in the museum exhibits without
private philanthropy. Well, and Ryan touched on something without saying
(11:16):
it directly, but I I know that it's there that it's not so
much of what you see that these friends groups
do. It's what wouldn't you see if it wasn't there?
Because so much of what they do is
visible to park visitors. Many gift shops wouldn't be there.
Many displays wouldn't be there. Many conservation projects
(11:38):
wouldn't be funded. And I think it's it's hard to
understand because when we think of funding for parks, we usually
think of the government funding what happens in parks.
But that's quite often that funding is mostly for operation.
The extra stuff, all the magic that we
create for visitors is quite often funded by
(12:01):
friends groups, National Park Foundation, private donors.
So can you talk to us, Sarah, about the
role overall philanthropy in in
national parks and conservation? Yeah, of course. Kind of building off
what you just said, Jody, we the National Park Foundation, in
in partnership with the Friends Alliance and the National Park Service,
(12:24):
put out a landscape analysis or survey
every 2 years to kind of get a get a sense, like what's happening in
this moment in time. And we've been doing that for many, many years now.
And we know that 2 thirds of partners provide education
in parks. I mean, think about that. And to your point of what wouldn't be
there if if partners weren't there. And we know that nearly
(12:46):
half of partners support historic restoration. And we know that
partners expect to grow their staff and their organizations on average
expect to increase their support to national parks by 12%
in the coming years. So these organizations are real powerhouses
when it comes to being able to provide that magic that you spoke about.
And in many ways, you know, even doing some of the more basic
(13:09):
functioning that it takes for a park to to be a great visitor
experience for for folks. But in terms of philanthropy, you
know, national parks have relied on on private funding since their
founding. You know, this isn't a new concept. This has been around since the very
beginning. And it's this support is is incredibly essential
for maintaining trails, visitor centers, doing all of those things we've just
(13:31):
talked about, but also tackling some of the most pressing challenges that we're
all facing collectively. Housing continues to be a really tough
challenge for many, many parks and partners across the nation.
And MPF with, you know, the partner community tries to
find passionate individuals who are just into this, you know, like
your listeners who who are park geeks, park, you know, park
(13:54):
people like Ryan and I, who really believe that they're worth investing
in. And I think that's the difference. That's the the secret
sauce of National Park Philanthropy is that you can really
invest in something that is immediate for today, but also invest in our
future generations. My wife and I, when we went to that first conference that I
told you about and she got to do some of the the tours, she called
(14:16):
all of us. She's like, wow. These these are a bunch of partners. I'm like,
yes. And she meant that in the best way possible, and we
wear that with a badge of honor. Never meet better
people. Yeah. Yeah. It is
great. Park people are certainly special because
just the that's why sometimes I warn people
(14:38):
before going on a hike with me or even even a walk through the
neighborhood. I'm like, you know, this is going to take a little while because we
might see something. You just it's a park. People are are
wonderful. Well, Ryan, can you expand on what
Sarah talked about on the role to philanthropy?
Because you, I think, have a little bit different
(15:00):
perspective because being out west, when
we talk parks, quite often we think open
spaces, natural features, but you're right there
in the heart of a city, a national park
unit that plays a much different role that is about
telling a story and serving a different type of people than we may
(15:22):
get here at Olympic National Park as an example.
Right. Which, by the way, I got to go to Olympic this summer, and
it was amazing. I took the whole family. It was just beautiful. But
to your point, you know, we're really, I mean, understandably
so passionate here at Gateway Arch National Park and the
foundation about urban national parks because you're right, Jody. Most
(15:45):
people, when they think of a national park, they're gonna think about the ones out
west. They're gonna think about Olympic. They're gonna think about Yosemite, Yellowstone,
Zion. You know? But there are some really, really
special national park places in urban areas. As you
mentioned, Gateway Arch National Park is in the middle, the heart of
downtown Saint Louis. And we like to say, Saint Louis starts at the
(16:06):
arch. And that means many different things. 1, it is the original
site of the village of Saint Louis, and many visitors to our
community start their journey in Saint Louis at at the
arch. But there's other you know, thinking about Cuyahoga Valley
National Park, who has a powerhouse of a friend's group
there. The Statue of Liberty, in Ellis Island
(16:28):
Foundation. Golden Gate Conservancy, you know,
Independence Park in in Philadelphia. I mean, you have these wonderful
spaces in urban areas that people don't necessarily think about when they
think about national parks, but they're just as important. And they
need they have different needs and different challenges. You know,
when you're in the heart of an urban area, you're gonna deal with different things
(16:50):
than Yosemite or Yellowstone will. And so that's one of the things we
advocate for the different challenges as the Friends Alliance of different
types of parks. And we can advocate for that in ways
that our our park partners at the National Park Service can't,
but they need us to do that. So I think, you know, we
we're really proud to represent urban
(17:12):
national parks in that way. So we get a sense of the type of
projects that get funded by philanthropy.
Can each of you think of an example, a specific
example that you worked on that that you're proud of or you wanna
highlight? I think, Ryan, we should talk about the one that we worked on
together, the courthouse. Yeah. Absolutely.
(17:34):
So I think, Trudy, one of the really unique things about
NPF as a funder of National Parks, but
also the partner community, is our work in building partner
capacity. You know, getting funding to
the growth of your organization isn't always easy to come by. A lot of donors
are really interested in projects or visible outcomes, and that's great.
(17:56):
That's really important. But capacity building really allows groups like
Ryan's to continue to grow and thrive and do things, push boundaries, be
nimble, be creative and innovative in their thinking. And NPF wants to be
a partner in that risk taking and try to, you know, get more of those
projects alive and thriving. And so one of our,
not too long ago, capacity building grant rounds to partners was
(18:19):
awarded to Gateway Arch Park Foundation, and it
really allowed Ryan and his team to do some work
within the community, but also alongside, you know,
a tremendous historical moment in time. So, Ryan, why don't you talk about
that project? Yeah. I'm I'm glad you brought that up, Sarah. So we
are in the home stretch of a a massive renovation of the old
(18:41):
courthouse in Saint Louis. So a lot of people don't realize the old courthouse is
part of the national park. The reason that building was preserved
primarily is because that is where the Dred and Harriet Scott case
was originally heard. 2 enslaved
individuals in their family who sued for their freedom in the old courthouse.
And that case eventually went to the Supreme Court, and they
(19:03):
lost in an awful decision where they were determined that it
was determined that they were property, not people. And that was a major
precipitating point of the American Civil War. So this
building I mean, the the foundation has put 1,000,000 of dollars into this and the
National Park Service is is putting in even more. But while
it was under construction, it's saying this is the second renovation in
(19:25):
its 150 year history, the 2nd major
renovation. We had construction fencing around the
building. And this takes up a whole city block in downtown Saint Louis.
And one of the things we wanted to do is have public art on that
fencing. And the National Park Foundation
provided funding for us to do that. And the way that it was done, we
(19:46):
partnered with a group called SDL Artworks that has
mostly high school apprentice artists from
underfunded school districts in in Saint Louis. So these
kids got to create art based on the themes of the
old courthouse that was seen I mean, along 4 Street in
downtown Saint Louis, which is highly trafficked. You know, and their
(20:08):
interpretation of what the old courthouse and the themes of the new exhibits that will
be mean to them. Being there the day that that was unveiled, to
be with those kids and their families, the pride that they
had in being part of such an important building,
an important moment of time, that is a life changing
moment for a student. And it wouldn't have happened
(20:30):
without the National Park Foundation supporting
Gateway Arch Park Foundation and working together. I mean, that's the kind of stuff that
they're doing every single day and we're doing every single day in
our communities. Projects like that are so important to
this. In 2024, I had the chance
to speak at the annual in service for Michigan State
(20:52):
Parks. And when I arrived, they met me and
gave me a tour of some of the work Michigan State Parks
is doing in downtown Detroit. And it's just fascinating.
Once parks had a presence there, how the neighborhood started to
change and the community started to change. And that is
not usually what we think about when we think about
(21:14):
a park's impact on a community. I think of where I live
and the impact parks have on small communities
bringing in tourist dollars and whatnot, but you do projects like
this in St. Louis or Detroit in the urban areas. And
it just ripples out from there. It is so fascinating to
see. Yeah. It was just a wonderful project, and I can't
(21:36):
speak enough about how thankful we were for that partnership with the the National Park
Foundation on that. That goes to show too, Julie, what how I was speaking kind
of my my origin story, if you will, that things aren't as fun if they're
not with a partner. And, you know, the National Park Foundation is a funder.
We're not in St. Louis doing this work. You know, we're in our
areas of the world making these partnerships stronger, investing
(21:59):
in those partnerships, but we're not on the ground doing that work. And to have
a community of partners across the nation
who are doing that, it's just such a
beautiful blending of how partnerships can
do far more than should we, you know, be working alone
and how NPF sees its growth and how it sees
(22:20):
the future. You know, partnerships is the way that we do business. And I
think that knowing that and investing in partners, and
this partnership community, the sky's the limit. This is such
scalable work. And as more park units come
on on-site, and more friends groups and more folks kind of enter this
movement, it really does seem like we have a moment in time
(22:41):
to conquer it all. And it feels really good to be in
community with folks who are ready to roll up their sleeves
and make change like Ryan has in his community. I love the
quote, If you wanna go fast, go alone. If you wanna go far, go
together. It may be quicker to get something done on your own, but it's not
gonna be as good. And I completely agree with
(23:03):
Sarah that we have a moment in time here where the sky is the
limit. And you've got a lot of passionate people in this
community that are, I think, gonna accomplish
passionate people and passionate organizations that are gonna accomplish some
amazing things in the next 5 to 10 years. Well, speaking
of moment in time and accomplishing amazing things, that takes us
(23:26):
to what you're currently focusing on, your campaign
for national parks. Tell us about that. Sure. I can jump in,
and Ryan is a supporter and,
partner in that as well. So the campaign is
prefaced on the fact that parks face a growing number of challenges,
and those brought on by, you know, increased annual visitation,
(23:49):
changes in our natural world. You know, that visitation in 2023
was about 325,000,000 people. And
by 2050, annual visitation is expected to
be, I think, exceed 500,000,000 And so private
support and philanthropy are pretty urgently needed to
supplement a lot of the funding that we all know through
(24:12):
our taxes, government support. And so we want to ensure
that parks are protected, they're accessible, and they're enjoyable now, but that they're
also enjoyable in the future. So the campaign is
a multibillion dollar fundraising campaign. The National Park Foundation is
a leader in that, but it's in collaboration with park partners
nationwide to meet those growing needs of parks
(24:35):
across the system. So the Park Foundation has committed to
raising a $1,000,000,000 by 2028 for this
campaign, and we are well on our way. We've raised more
than 902,000,000 towards this goal. And partners
across the country are expected to raise an additional 3,500,000,000
during this campaign. So total, you know, we're thinking we're going to be
(24:57):
raising about 4,500,000,000 by 2028. And again,
partners are also well on their way. As I mentioned at the top
of the show, they're raising $500,000,000 a
year. It's just an incredible nationwide effort. And so
we will be focusing our efforts on some urgent
priorities across the system. Those include, there are 4 of
(25:19):
them conserving and preserving threatened parks and wildlife,
telling the story of America, ensuring a world class visitor
experience, and inspiring the next generation of park stewards.
And as we've kind of talked about the theme of the show, partnership
runs through all of those four things so that
together we can make national parks the most resilient, modern and
(25:42):
welcoming now and in the future. So in terms of
the partner aspect, Ryan along with several other
organizations across the nation have been participating in this
campaign. They've signed on, they've joined thought leader work groups,
they've provided a lot of thought and time to
NPF to co create what this will look like. So we can all benefit
(26:04):
from this campaign and raise national parks to be a philanthropic
priority. Yeah. And that's something we're really proud to
be part of, both from the perspective of the Gateway Arch
Park Foundation and many, many members of the National Park Friends Alliance
are signed on to this campaign. And I really am
grateful and compliment the National Park Foundation for
(26:27):
structuring the campaign in this way. I mean, there there is funding
that they are raising as an organization, you know, you know, over
over $1,000,000,000, that's huge. But then,
their intentionality about wrapping in what other
groups are raising, both through their annual fundraising and
capital campaigns that they're doing, it gives
(26:50):
a full picture of what the philanthropic community
as a whole in America is doing for our national parks.
So we are incredibly proud to be part of
that. And it's not just Ryan McClure. It's this
entire every staff member of this organization is proud
of of the relationship and the connection that we have to the National Park
(27:12):
Foundation. It just makes what we're doing here in St. Louis so much
bigger. And I know, you know, our it it's it resonates
with our staff and our team and our volunteers and our board of directors that
we're part of something bigger than just Saint Louis.
Wonderful. And how exciting to hear how much
money has already been raised and the impact that's going to
(27:34):
have. It is incredible. People love
our parks. And we, when we talk about that, we
usually talk about that in terms of
visitation, rising visitation, the impacts, it has
not enough staff, not enough budget, but there's a whole other side to people
loving our parks. And that's how much they give to support our parks.
(27:56):
And you 2 have really done a wonderful job highlighting
that and hopefully giving some extra hope
to park rangers and interpreters, park professionals out there doing the
work to realize, oh, these people who come to visit, if they have
a great time, they're going to donate to the local
fringe group or the National Park Foundation or one of the
(28:18):
other organizations that do great work in parks. And that's
part of the role we play. If we give them a
great time, if we educate them, help them learn, help them
go home with a story. They're more likely to vote in our favor
when something is on the ballot and they're more likely to
give to groups like yours to help support the work that
(28:41):
we do. And you 2 have done a wonderful job helping us
understand how it all ties together in the role you do and
then the role we do that ties into what you
do. So this has been wonderful. Thank you so much for taking
the time to talk with us. Thanks. Happy to do it. Yeah.
Thank you for having us. We appreciate it. Well, before we go, Sarah
(29:03):
was so wonderful to give a plug early in the show, but,
Sarah, remind us again where we can find out more information about the National
Park Foundation. Oh, thanks, Jody. Yeah. We've got,
a fabulous online presence at nationalparks.org. You
can visit our website to, of course, donate, but just learn more about the
organization and what we do across the nation in supporting all of those
(29:25):
initiatives I've talked about, but also partners like Ryan, partners like the
Friends Alliance who are doing this work on the ground and find out more about
how you can, you know, kind of join the movement, join the community, and
be part of the the change and the magic of making national parks a
philanthropic priority. Wonderful. And, Ryan, what about the Friends
Alliance? Where can we find out more? Well, I definitely you know, I
(29:47):
appreciate, you know, the national parks dot org with it, National Park Foundation site.
Definitely, there's a lot of great information there. You can find out more about the
Friends Alliance at friends alliance.org, and you can kinda learn
more about the individual groups that are working
every day in each community and and strong partnership with the National Park
Foundation. Alright. Wonderful. Thank you so much for
(30:09):
being here and talking with us, and thank you for listening to the
Welcome to the Park Leader Show where we are changing the landscape of
leadership in parks and conservation. I'm your host, Jody
Mayberry, and we have not one but 2 guests
on the show. We don't do that often, but this was a
special circumstance, a special occasion that made sense to
bring two people together. We have Sarah Uns, the
(00:30):
vice president of community partnerships for the National Park
Foundation, and Ryan McClure, who is the board
chair at the Friends Alliance. Sarah and Ryan, I'm so glad you're with
us. Thank you. To be here. Thank you. Now I'm
already fond of both of you, having not even started the discussion since
you are both from the Midwest, and Illinois is my motherland.
(00:52):
So I'm always fond of Midwesterners. Same here.
Midwest is the best. That's right. That's what my granny used to say.
Yeah. Well, let's start with your history with the
outdoors. Ryan, I'm gonna start with you. What is your history with the outdoors,
and how did you end up at the Friends Alliance? Sure.
Well, my day job is I'm the executive director of Gateway Arch Park
(01:16):
Foundation. So we are the Friends Group, official philanthropic
partner of Gateway Arch National Park. So Gateway Arch
undeniably represents St. Louis to the entire world.
I'm a diehard Saint Louisan. I love my city, and I
wanted to be part of of making Saint Louis the best
that it could be for everyone. And so the reason I got
(01:37):
into this work was because I love Saint Louis.
And the Arch there was this concept to completely
reimagine the the Arch experience for everyone. I
didn't know a whole lot about national parks before I got involved at
Gateway Arch Park Foundation. That was a happy outcome.
Unintended outcome of starting in
(02:00):
this job was that the Arch is a national
park. And through this work, I got to meet a lot of
people within the national park community, like Sarah and
others who really instilled this love of
national parks in me and now my family and my
kids. So that's how I got involved in the National Park Friends
(02:21):
Alliance, was attending my first conference in 2019
at Grand Teton National Park. So my wife and I got to go to that.
And I just caught fire for not just what the arch means to St. Louis,
but what the arch and national parks in general mean to the entire country.
So being able to serve now on the board of of the
National Park Friends Alliance and and now as board chair is truly an
(02:43):
honor just to do my small part to have an impact on
the national park system as a whole. Oh, Brian. What a good answer. You
make me feel all patriotic about parks.
Okay. Sarah, what about you? Up in Wisconsin,
what is your history with the outdoors? Because you live in a beautiful area. So
your history with outdoors and how you ended up with the National Park
(03:07):
Foundation. -Some of my earliest memories are just
running like a wild child outside. And, you
know, that's just, I think, a generational thing that you both probably
understand. And I knew from a real early age that I wanted
to, in those days, save the world. You know, I wanted to save the
planet. And I remember distinctly in 4th grade thinking,
(03:29):
I gotta start a recycling program in my garage. And I
remember distinctly writing my college entrance
applications. You know, you did that with a paper and a pencil saying that
nothing else matters if there's not a planet, a healthy planet for us
to pursue other occupations. And I knew that I
wanted to be in education. So I was an environmental educator for a number of
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years. I worked at the Chicago Park District for about 7
years or so running environmental education programs. And through that
work, I realized that nothing gets done without partners.
And in fact, it's way more fun when you get to do it with other
people. Doing things by yourself or a village of 1 isn't very
productive or joyful. And so I started to really lean
(04:13):
into this partnership aspect from government partnerships, to other
cultural institutions, to other park districts and conservation organizations.
And when I saw the job pop up at the National Park Foundation
around community partnerships, I remember, like, looking to the left or the
right thinking, is this for real? Is this an actual job that someone
gets to have? And since being at the foundation,
(04:36):
I have just grown so so much professionally, but also like
Ryan, have been so positively influenced by
the community that supports national parks. You know,
we all of us have such a love for our park service colleagues,
rangers, interpretive staff, the maintenance teams, the leaders, the people who do the
budget. I mean, they they just serve the nation in such unique ways. There's this
(04:58):
whole other nonprofit side that also does such great
service to our national park system. And like Ryan, I feel such
an such honor and privilege. Like, I get to wake up and think about this
every day. That's that's amazing. Like, I was just saying
that to someone earlier today that this is an actual job that someone gets to
do, and I'm thrilled that I get to be here. So, Juan,
(05:20):
thank you for having me and and Ryan. But just to be able to
explain, I think that that nonprofit philanthropic side and
the role that groups like the Gateway Arch Park Foundation and the National Park
Foundation play is just a real privilege. Well, and that leads into
why you 2 are on the show because I
I always talk I talk with people from city parks, county parks,
(05:43):
state parks, national parks, and we have such a a park
focus in what's going on in parks. But
organizations like yours play such a big role in
what we do. I wanted to have a chance to highlight some
of that more. So, Sarah, if I
am a park ranger doing the rounds at
(06:04):
Yellowstone National Park, or if I'm an interpreter at the Gateway
Arch telling great stories, give me an overview of
what the National Park Foundation does and the
impact it might have on me as a ranger or interpreter
that I don't realize? Yeah, of course. You know, I
think first of all, one of the things that I hope is
(06:26):
that, you know, NPS staff know that we are your
partner and that we are some of your biggest champions and supporters
and that we're here to, you know, hold your hand and walk down the road
together. The National Park Foundation is
a leader and catalyst in safeguarding with
the Park Service America's 400 plus national parks. You
(06:48):
know, we're ensuring they're accessible and welcoming for everyone
forever. We are the official nonprofit partner to the National
Park Service. We help conserve and preserve threatened
wildlife and land. We inspire the next generation of park
stewards. We tell the full American story
about American history, and we ensure a world class visitor
(07:10):
experience. NPF is really driven by a shared
passion for these natural and cultural sites. We generate
support for parks through a community of donors, but also through
partners. And that partner community is just so impressive.
As a member of that community where we join hands with about
4 50 plus organizations across the country like Ryan's,
(07:33):
and these groups are raising over $500,000,000 per year.
It's just a really incredible group of people doing
work. And of course, there's more information to be found about what
more specifically the foundation does on nationalparks.org. But
overall, it's really this kind of this movement, this community
effort in which we can support our parks together. Oh,
(07:55):
Sarah, you're you're good at this because not only did you answer the question, you
worked in a plug for the website. That's very good. You
know, I do my best. Okay. Ryan,
same question to you. Give us an overview of what the Friends Alliance
does and then the impact it has on people
working the front lines of parks that they may not realize. Sure. Well,
(08:18):
you know, I love Sarah's answer, like, you know, of of how
the National Park Foundation supports the entire system.
And one of the ways that they're really intentional in supporting the
entire system by supporting individual parks too
is working with friends groups like Gateway Arch
Park Foundation that is a member of the National Park Friends Alliance. So you have
(08:40):
friends groups across the country that are now, I think,
working in in an incredible way with the
National Park Foundation to elevate the support that we
all provide. So, you know, the National Park Friends
Alliance has really I mean, has it receives
incredible support as an organization from the National Park
(09:02):
Foundation. And we are now an independent 501c3,
really an association group of all of the friends groups
within that are supporting national parks. And every
friends group is different. I have not found a friends group that is
the same as Gateway Arch Park Foundation, or the same as
Yosemite Conservancy, or the same as, you know,
(09:24):
Wilsons Creek back Wilsons Creek Battlefield Trust. You know, it's
we're all different, but we have common we certainly
have a common goal to support the parks in our community. But we also have
challenges that we're all facing. And one of the things that the National Park Friends
Alliance is doing, because of the support of the National Park
Foundation, is convening all of us together in a way that's
(09:47):
very intentional to talk about those challenges and the opportunities. How
can we make each of us better? You know, so you've got, you
know, really large friends groups that are raising tens of 1,000,000 of dollars
a year. As Sarah said, together, we raise, you
know, 500 you know, half a $1,000,000,000 combined.
But, you know, it ranges from groups that are raising $10,000,000 a
(10:09):
year down to volunteer led groups that are
raising meaningful amounts for their parks. But, I mean, they're volunteers. They're doing
the best that they can. And how do we uplift all the entire community?
Jodi, to your question about, like, what will a visitor or a park ranger see
at an individual park because of private philanthropy? You know,
Gateway Arts National Park is the one I I know best, so I'll I'll speak
(10:32):
to that. But, you know, all of the museum exhibits that you will see
at Gateway Arts National Park are privately funded. It's one of the
best museums and certainly in Saint Louis, one of the
best in the National Park system because private donors
believed enough in the arch and the story that it tells to invest
money in that. And we now, as a philanthropic private
(10:54):
organization, raise money every year to maintain that museum. So without
those private dollars, you would not see this highly interactive museum that
tells the story of westward expansion, the good and the bad
of that story in a very inclusive, engaging way.
You wouldn't see that level of quality in the museum exhibits without
private philanthropy. Well, and Ryan touched on something without saying
(11:16):
it directly, but I I know that it's there that it's not so
much of what you see that these friends groups
do. It's what wouldn't you see if it wasn't there?
Because so much of what they do is
visible to park visitors. Many gift shops wouldn't be there.
Many displays wouldn't be there. Many conservation projects
(11:38):
wouldn't be funded. And I think it's it's hard to
understand because when we think of funding for parks, we usually
think of the government funding what happens in parks.
But that's quite often that funding is mostly for operation.
The extra stuff, all the magic that we
create for visitors is quite often funded by
(12:01):
friends groups, National Park Foundation, private donors.
So can you talk to us, Sarah, about the
role overall philanthropy in in
national parks and conservation? Yeah, of course. Kind of building off
what you just said, Jody, we the National Park Foundation, in
in partnership with the Friends Alliance and the National Park Service,
(12:24):
put out a landscape analysis or survey
every 2 years to kind of get a get a sense, like what's happening in
this moment in time. And we've been doing that for many, many years now.
And we know that 2 thirds of partners provide education
in parks. I mean, think about that. And to your point of what wouldn't be
there if if partners weren't there. And we know that nearly
(12:46):
half of partners support historic restoration. And we know that
partners expect to grow their staff and their organizations on average
expect to increase their support to national parks by 12%
in the coming years. So these organizations are real powerhouses
when it comes to being able to provide that magic that you spoke about.
And in many ways, you know, even doing some of the more basic
(13:09):
functioning that it takes for a park to to be a great visitor
experience for for folks. But in terms of philanthropy, you
know, national parks have relied on on private funding since their
founding. You know, this isn't a new concept. This has been around since the very
beginning. And it's this support is is incredibly essential
for maintaining trails, visitor centers, doing all of those things we've just
(13:31):
talked about, but also tackling some of the most pressing challenges that we're
all facing collectively. Housing continues to be a really tough
challenge for many, many parks and partners across the nation.
And MPF with, you know, the partner community tries to
find passionate individuals who are just into this, you know, like
your listeners who who are park geeks, park, you know, park
(13:54):
people like Ryan and I, who really believe that they're worth investing
in. And I think that's the difference. That's the the secret
sauce of National Park Philanthropy is that you can really
invest in something that is immediate for today, but also invest in our
future generations. My wife and I, when we went to that first conference that I
told you about and she got to do some of the the tours, she called
(14:16):
all of us. She's like, wow. These these are a bunch of partners. I'm like,
yes. And she meant that in the best way possible, and we
wear that with a badge of honor. Never meet better
people. Yeah. Yeah. It is
great. Park people are certainly special because
just the that's why sometimes I warn people
(14:38):
before going on a hike with me or even even a walk through the
neighborhood. I'm like, you know, this is going to take a little while because we
might see something. You just it's a park. People are are
wonderful. Well, Ryan, can you expand on what
Sarah talked about on the role to philanthropy?
Because you, I think, have a little bit different
(15:00):
perspective because being out west, when
we talk parks, quite often we think open
spaces, natural features, but you're right there
in the heart of a city, a national park
unit that plays a much different role that is about
telling a story and serving a different type of people than we may
(15:22):
get here at Olympic National Park as an example.
Right. Which, by the way, I got to go to Olympic this summer, and
it was amazing. I took the whole family. It was just beautiful. But
to your point, you know, we're really, I mean, understandably
so passionate here at Gateway Arch National Park and the
foundation about urban national parks because you're right, Jody. Most
(15:45):
people, when they think of a national park, they're gonna think about the ones out
west. They're gonna think about Olympic. They're gonna think about Yosemite, Yellowstone,
Zion. You know? But there are some really, really
special national park places in urban areas. As you
mentioned, Gateway Arch National Park is in the middle, the heart of
downtown Saint Louis. And we like to say, Saint Louis starts at the
(16:06):
arch. And that means many different things. 1, it is the original
site of the village of Saint Louis, and many visitors to our
community start their journey in Saint Louis at at the
arch. But there's other you know, thinking about Cuyahoga Valley
National Park, who has a powerhouse of a friend's group
there. The Statue of Liberty, in Ellis Island
(16:28):
Foundation. Golden Gate Conservancy, you know,
Independence Park in in Philadelphia. I mean, you have these wonderful
spaces in urban areas that people don't necessarily think about when they
think about national parks, but they're just as important. And they
need they have different needs and different challenges. You know,
when you're in the heart of an urban area, you're gonna deal with different things
(16:50):
than Yosemite or Yellowstone will. And so that's one of the things we
advocate for the different challenges as the Friends Alliance of different
types of parks. And we can advocate for that in ways
that our our park partners at the National Park Service can't,
but they need us to do that. So I think, you know, we
we're really proud to represent urban
(17:12):
national parks in that way. So we get a sense of the type of
projects that get funded by philanthropy.
Can each of you think of an example, a specific
example that you worked on that that you're proud of or you wanna
highlight? I think, Ryan, we should talk about the one that we worked on
together, the courthouse. Yeah. Absolutely.
(17:34):
So I think, Trudy, one of the really unique things about
NPF as a funder of National Parks, but
also the partner community, is our work in building partner
capacity. You know, getting funding to
the growth of your organization isn't always easy to come by. A lot of donors
are really interested in projects or visible outcomes, and that's great.
(17:56):
That's really important. But capacity building really allows groups like
Ryan's to continue to grow and thrive and do things, push boundaries, be
nimble, be creative and innovative in their thinking. And NPF wants to be
a partner in that risk taking and try to, you know, get more of those
projects alive and thriving. And so one of our,
not too long ago, capacity building grant rounds to partners was
(18:19):
awarded to Gateway Arch Park Foundation, and it
really allowed Ryan and his team to do some work
within the community, but also alongside, you know,
a tremendous historical moment in time. So, Ryan, why don't you talk about
that project? Yeah. I'm I'm glad you brought that up, Sarah. So we
are in the home stretch of a a massive renovation of the old
(18:41):
courthouse in Saint Louis. So a lot of people don't realize the old courthouse is
part of the national park. The reason that building was preserved
primarily is because that is where the Dred and Harriet Scott case
was originally heard. 2 enslaved
individuals in their family who sued for their freedom in the old courthouse.
And that case eventually went to the Supreme Court, and they
(19:03):
lost in an awful decision where they were determined that it
was determined that they were property, not people. And that was a major
precipitating point of the American Civil War. So this
building I mean, the the foundation has put 1,000,000 of dollars into this and the
National Park Service is is putting in even more. But while
it was under construction, it's saying this is the second renovation in
(19:25):
its 150 year history, the 2nd major
renovation. We had construction fencing around the
building. And this takes up a whole city block in downtown Saint Louis.
And one of the things we wanted to do is have public art on that
fencing. And the National Park Foundation
provided funding for us to do that. And the way that it was done, we
(19:46):
partnered with a group called SDL Artworks that has
mostly high school apprentice artists from
underfunded school districts in in Saint Louis. So these
kids got to create art based on the themes of the
old courthouse that was seen I mean, along 4 Street in
downtown Saint Louis, which is highly trafficked. You know, and their
(20:08):
interpretation of what the old courthouse and the themes of the new exhibits that will
be mean to them. Being there the day that that was unveiled, to
be with those kids and their families, the pride that they
had in being part of such an important building,
an important moment of time, that is a life changing
moment for a student. And it wouldn't have happened
(20:30):
without the National Park Foundation supporting
Gateway Arch Park Foundation and working together. I mean, that's the kind of stuff that
they're doing every single day and we're doing every single day in
our communities. Projects like that are so important to
this. In 2024, I had the chance
to speak at the annual in service for Michigan State
(20:52):
Parks. And when I arrived, they met me and
gave me a tour of some of the work Michigan State Parks
is doing in downtown Detroit. And it's just fascinating.
Once parks had a presence there, how the neighborhood started to
change and the community started to change. And that is
not usually what we think about when we think about
(21:14):
a park's impact on a community. I think of where I live
and the impact parks have on small communities
bringing in tourist dollars and whatnot, but you do projects like
this in St. Louis or Detroit in the urban areas. And
it just ripples out from there. It is so fascinating to
see. Yeah. It was just a wonderful project, and I can't
(21:36):
speak enough about how thankful we were for that partnership with the the National Park
Foundation on that. That goes to show too, Julie, what how I was speaking kind
of my my origin story, if you will, that things aren't as fun if they're
not with a partner. And, you know, the National Park Foundation is a funder.
We're not in St. Louis doing this work. You know, we're in our
areas of the world making these partnerships stronger, investing
(21:59):
in those partnerships, but we're not on the ground doing that work. And to have
a community of partners across the nation
who are doing that, it's just such a
beautiful blending of how partnerships can
do far more than should we, you know, be working alone
and how NPF sees its growth and how it sees
(22:20):
the future. You know, partnerships is the way that we do business. And I
think that knowing that and investing in partners, and
this partnership community, the sky's the limit. This is such
scalable work. And as more park units come
on on-site, and more friends groups and more folks kind of enter this
movement, it really does seem like we have a moment in time
(22:41):
to conquer it all. And it feels really good to be in
community with folks who are ready to roll up their sleeves
and make change like Ryan has in his community. I love the
quote, If you wanna go fast, go alone. If you wanna go far, go
together. It may be quicker to get something done on your own, but it's not
gonna be as good. And I completely agree with
(23:03):
Sarah that we have a moment in time here where the sky is the
limit. And you've got a lot of passionate people in this
community that are, I think, gonna accomplish
passionate people and passionate organizations that are gonna accomplish some
amazing things in the next 5 to 10 years. Well, speaking
of moment in time and accomplishing amazing things, that takes us
(23:26):
to what you're currently focusing on, your campaign
for national parks. Tell us about that. Sure. I can jump in,
and Ryan is a supporter and,
partner in that as well. So the campaign is
prefaced on the fact that parks face a growing number of challenges,
and those brought on by, you know, increased annual visitation,
(23:49):
changes in our natural world. You know, that visitation in 2023
was about 325,000,000 people. And
by 2050, annual visitation is expected to
be, I think, exceed 500,000,000 And so private
support and philanthropy are pretty urgently needed to
supplement a lot of the funding that we all know through
(24:12):
our taxes, government support. And so we want to ensure
that parks are protected, they're accessible, and they're enjoyable now, but that they're
also enjoyable in the future. So the campaign is
a multibillion dollar fundraising campaign. The National Park Foundation is
a leader in that, but it's in collaboration with park partners
nationwide to meet those growing needs of parks
(24:35):
across the system. So the Park Foundation has committed to
raising a $1,000,000,000 by 2028 for this
campaign, and we are well on our way. We've raised more
than 902,000,000 towards this goal. And partners
across the country are expected to raise an additional 3,500,000,000
during this campaign. So total, you know, we're thinking we're going to be
(24:57):
raising about 4,500,000,000 by 2028. And again,
partners are also well on their way. As I mentioned at the top
of the show, they're raising $500,000,000 a
year. It's just an incredible nationwide effort. And so
we will be focusing our efforts on some urgent
priorities across the system. Those include, there are 4 of
(25:19):
them conserving and preserving threatened parks and wildlife,
telling the story of America, ensuring a world class visitor
experience, and inspiring the next generation of park stewards.
And as we've kind of talked about the theme of the show, partnership
runs through all of those four things so that
together we can make national parks the most resilient, modern and
(25:42):
welcoming now and in the future. So in terms of
the partner aspect, Ryan along with several other
organizations across the nation have been participating in this
campaign. They've signed on, they've joined thought leader work groups,
they've provided a lot of thought and time to
NPF to co create what this will look like. So we can all benefit
(26:04):
from this campaign and raise national parks to be a philanthropic
priority. Yeah. And that's something we're really proud to
be part of, both from the perspective of the Gateway Arch
Park Foundation and many, many members of the National Park Friends Alliance
are signed on to this campaign. And I really am
grateful and compliment the National Park Foundation for
(26:27):
structuring the campaign in this way. I mean, there there is funding
that they are raising as an organization, you know, you know, over
over $1,000,000,000, that's huge. But then,
their intentionality about wrapping in what other
groups are raising, both through their annual fundraising and
capital campaigns that they're doing, it gives
(26:50):
a full picture of what the philanthropic community
as a whole in America is doing for our national parks.
So we are incredibly proud to be part of
that. And it's not just Ryan McClure. It's this
entire every staff member of this organization is proud
of of the relationship and the connection that we have to the National Park
(27:12):
Foundation. It just makes what we're doing here in St. Louis so much
bigger. And I know, you know, our it it's it resonates
with our staff and our team and our volunteers and our board of directors that
we're part of something bigger than just Saint Louis.
Wonderful. And how exciting to hear how much
money has already been raised and the impact that's going to
(27:34):
have. It is incredible. People love
our parks. And we, when we talk about that, we
usually talk about that in terms of
visitation, rising visitation, the impacts, it has
not enough staff, not enough budget, but there's a whole other side to people
loving our parks. And that's how much they give to support our parks.
(27:56):
And you 2 have really done a wonderful job highlighting
that and hopefully giving some extra hope
to park rangers and interpreters, park professionals out there doing the
work to realize, oh, these people who come to visit, if they have
a great time, they're going to donate to the local
fringe group or the National Park Foundation or one of the
(28:18):
other organizations that do great work in parks. And that's
part of the role we play. If we give them a
great time, if we educate them, help them learn, help them
go home with a story. They're more likely to vote in our favor
when something is on the ballot and they're more likely to
give to groups like yours to help support the work that
(28:41):
we do. And you 2 have done a wonderful job helping us
understand how it all ties together in the role you do and
then the role we do that ties into what you
do. So this has been wonderful. Thank you so much for taking
the time to talk with us. Thanks. Happy to do it. Yeah.
Thank you for having us. We appreciate it. Well, before we go, Sarah
(29:03):
was so wonderful to give a plug early in the show, but,
Sarah, remind us again where we can find out more information about the National
Park Foundation. Oh, thanks, Jody. Yeah. We've got,
a fabulous online presence at nationalparks.org. You
can visit our website to, of course, donate, but just learn more about the
organization and what we do across the nation in supporting all of those
(29:25):
initiatives I've talked about, but also partners like Ryan, partners like the
Friends Alliance who are doing this work on the ground and find out more about
how you can, you know, kind of join the movement, join the community, and
be part of the the change and the magic of making national parks a
philanthropic priority. Wonderful. And, Ryan, what about the Friends
Alliance? Where can we find out more? Well, I definitely you know, I
(29:47):
appreciate, you know, the national parks dot org with it, National Park Foundation site.
Definitely, there's a lot of great information there. You can find out more about the
Friends Alliance at friends alliance.org, and you can kinda learn
more about the individual groups that are working
every day in each community and and strong partnership with the National Park
Foundation. Alright. Wonderful. Thank you so much for
(30:09):
being here and talking with us, and thank you for listening to the
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