National Park Foundation Earns Top Honors for Best-In-Class Corporate Social Impact Efforts

WASHINGTON — The National Park Foundation will be honored with the Golden Halo Award, the highest honor for companies and causes that collaborate to produce financial and economic dividends, at the Engage for Good conference in May 2019.

“It’s so inspiring to see the powerful social impact leadership that the National Park Foundation has demonstrated, particularly in recent years,” said Engage for Good President David Hessekiel. “The Golden Halo Awards are reserved for best-in-class companies and nonprofit organizations that have authentic, demonstrable and significant commitments to building a better world and the bottom line. It’s our great honor to hold these organizations up as examples of the incredible power of partnership to inspire and engage consumers, employees and the community at large."

National Park Foundation President and CEO Will Shafroth will accept the honor at the Engage for Good Conference on May 29-30 at Chicago’s Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel.

“The Golden Halo Award is a huge honor and a testament to the collective impact the National Park Foundation and partner companies are making for national parks and people across the country,” said Will Shafroth, president of the National Park Foundation. “When we invest in national parks, we’re supporting local communities as they’re inextricably connected. Together the National Park Foundation and our partners are helping to ensure national parks and local communities thrive.”

Corporations have been key partners of the national parks since the very beginning, over 100 years ago, and that legacy has continued through the National Park Foundation. Through major initiatives including Find Your Park / Encuentra Tu Parque, Open OutDoors for Kids, service corps, wildlife and trail conservation, veteran engagement, disaster relief and more, corporations have helped celebrate the landmark centennial of the National Park Service by providing more than $100 million in support for our national parks.

The National Park Foundation’s corporate program has grown rapidly over the last five years as the Foundation leveraged the moment of the 2016 National Park Service Centennial to launch a new national sponsorship platform and raise its profile in the marketplace through creative and new activation and brand integration opportunities. The momentum has continued past the centennial celebration, as NPF successfully expanded its corporate partnerships, announcing several exciting new high-level partnerships with top brands.

Industry leaders including American Express, Budweiser, Hanesbrands, L.L.Bean, Nature Valley, Subaru, Union Pacific and Coca-Cola are inspiring people to discover the breadth and depth of America’s National Park System through their partnership with the National Park Foundation and support of the Find Your Park/Encuentra Tu Parque public engagement campaign.

Overall, a diverse roster of over 50 corporate partners are raising awareness and generating support for our national parks through cause marketing, licensing, philanthropic grants and in-kind contributions.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION
Celebrating 50 years, the National Park Foundation is the official charity of America’s national parks and nonprofit partner to the National Park Service. Chartered by Congress in 1967, the National Park Foundation raises private funds to help PROTECT more than 84 million acres of national parks through critical conservation and preservation efforts, CONNECT all Americans with their incomparable natural landscapes, vibrant culture and rich history, and ENGAGE the next generation of park stewards. In 2016, commemorating the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary, the Foundation launched The Centennial Campaign for America’s National Parks, a comprehensive fundraising campaign to strengthen and enhance the future of these national treasures for the next hundred years. Find out more and become a part of the national park community at www.nationalparks.org.