Cooperating associations are official nonprofit education partners of the NPS. Working side-by-side with NPS staff, nearly 70 associations curate and manage park stores across the National Park System. Through NPS-approved products, programs, and events, they help people better understand and connect with the meanings and themes of a park. Effective interpretive programs ignite curiosity. Cooperating associations help satisfy that curiosity with engaging educational products that allow visitors to take a tangible piece of the experience home with them.
An Association is defined as a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation established under State law, with which the NPS has a signed standard Cooperating Association Agreement. Director's Order and Resource Manual 32 provide guidance for those activities performed under a signed standard Agreement. As part of their standard agreement with the NPS, Associations donate proceeds from their sales to support the park’s interpretation, education, and research activities.
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Learn more about DO 32 and RM 32 and why they are important.
The National Park Service has many agreement templates available to facilitate various kinds of partnerships
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Overview Are you interested in learning more about the National Park Service’s Cooperating Associations, including understanding this important partnership; its history, role, and function; and the application of Director’s Order (DO) 32 and Reference Manual (RM) 32? This is the first webinar in a series of planned webinars focused on important topics in Cooperating Associations
Do you have questions about Cooperating Associations and Partnerships? Access a list of regional coordinators here.
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NPSNext invites conversation and collaboration. To effectively solve problems and leverage opportunities you need all staff to contribute. Depending on the size of your park/unit you may need to reach out beyond the planning workshop to gather ideas and actions.
Now that you’ve had the powerful conversations with the people who work in your program or park, it’s time to distill it all down to a vision. In this phase of the process, you’ll compile and edit the shared values and key actions that rose to the surface during the workshops. You’ll also begin the work of communicating these new commitments.
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