Did you know the gift you bought for yourself or perhaps that one special family member or friend at the visitor center’s gift store during your last National Park visit was more than just a gift? In fact, odds are it was so much more.
Many of your beloved National Parks or public lands have a dedicated non-profit, or Cooperating Association, that directly supports it. These Cooperating Associations often are multi-faceted, both focusing on fundraising for the Park, and stewarding education, interpretation, and various projects and programming that support the visitor experience. One of the most important functions of Cooperating Associations is management of the retail stores within Visitor Centers and other storefronts within a Park. Did you know all profits generated from Cooperating Association ran stores directly fund the Park(s) the organization supports? It’s the cherry on top to buying the perfect gift. Pretty awesome, right?
Photo Credit: Grand Teton Association
Photo Credit: Grand Teton Association
For instance, Yellowstone Forever operates the gift shop within the Old Faithful Visitor Center in addition to the large outpost just outside the North Entrance adjacent to the Roosevelt Arch in Yellowstone National Park. Canyonlands Natural History Association on the other hand not only manages the stores found in Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park, but additionally supports retail operations found in Natural Bridges National Monument and other Southeastern Utah public lands. On a broader scale, Western National Parks Association supports over 70 different Parks across the west – mostly smaller National Park Service units.
Photo Credit: Yellowstone Forever
Photo Credit: Yellowstone Forever
All in all, as you can see, there are numerous rock star organizations that are the heart and soul of the efforts to maintain and enrich your most beloved public lands. Wild Tribute is honored to call many of these organizations trusted and genuine partners. Throughout each year we are fortunate to work closely with these organizations, witnessing first-hand the level of dedication and passion that produces an output of good that’s frankly unmatched in the public land community. For this reason, Cooperating Associations are beneficiaries of the vast majority of our 4 the Parks donations. You can read more about specific Cooperating Associations and their related domains and missions on our Partners page. We encourage you to do a “double click” on these organizations, review their contributions, and consider becoming a member or benefactor.
Photo Credit: Zion National Park Forever Project
Photo Credit: Zion National Park Forever Project
So next time you are in the Gift shop contemplating your purchase, don’t hesitate. You’re taking an incredible experience with you while in parallel giving back to the place that just provided the arena for such. Thank you for supporting our public lands, together we ALL can make a difference individually and collectively.
We'd remiss by not making mention of "our wild tribute" as a company. The aforementioned applies to any purchase made in a Cooperating Association managed gift store, but Wild Tribute purchases made within these stores contribute an additional donation on top of the store generated profits. 4% of Wild Tribute's proceeds are donated to organizations that protect America's most wild and historic places. You can read more about our wild tribute here, and specifically where our 4 the Parks donations are going to work.
