Yosemite Foundation

Through the generosity of our donors, Yosemite Conservancy provides grants and support to Yosemite National Park to help preserve and protect Yosemite today and for future generations. Work funded by the Conservancy is visible throughout the park, in trail rehabilitation, wildlife protection and habitat restoration. The Conservancy is also dedicated to enhancing the visitor experience and providing a deeper connection to the park through outdoor programs, volunteering, wilderness services and its bookstores.

Yosemite Conservancy is the park's primary fundraising partner and does not replace congressional funding for Yosemite National Park, but enhances it. The purpose of friends groups like Yosemite Conservancy is to help the National Park Service achieve a margin of excellence by funding programs that are outside routine park maintenance and management. Funding from private supporters enhances the experiences of visitors in parks and the protection of natural and cultural resources in ways that are beyond the financial capacity of the National Park Service.

In Yosemite, each project grant is proposed by the National Park Service then reviewed and vetted with Yosemite Conservancy leadership. The Conservancy's Board approves the grants that will be funded each year.

Yosemite Conservancy has a professional staff of 65 individuals from the executive team, development, marketing, project management, finance, technology, retail, publishing and visitor and volunteer services all working in concert to advance the mission of the organization. The Conservancy has offices in San Francisco and El Portal (just outside the park), strategically placing staff where they will be most successful in fundraising, project management and enhancing the Yosemite visitor experience.

Yosemite National Park project managers submit status reports to the Conservancy in May, August and December each year. Conservancy staff work closely with National Park Service staff to ensure that progress is made toward completing the projects in the proposed time frame and that donors are kept apprised of any milestones or challenges.