# Public Law 113-287/Chapter 1011

Chapter 1011—Donations
* Subchapter I—Authority of Secretary
* Sec.
* 101101. Authority to accept land, rights-of-way, buildings, other property, and money.
* 101102. Authority to accept and use funds to consolidate Federal land ownership.
* Subchapter II—National Park Foundation
* 101111. Purpose and establishment of Foundation.
* 101112. Board.
* 101113. Gifts, devises, or bequests.
* 101114. Disposition of property or income.
* 101115. Corporate succession and powers and duties acting as trustee; personal liability for malfeasance.
* 101116. Corporate powers.
* 101117. Authority of Board.
* 101118. Tax exemptions; contributions toward costs of local government; contributions, gifts, or transfers to or for use of United States.
* 101119. Liability of United States.
* 101120. Promotion of local fundraising support.
Subchapter I—Authority of Secretary
§ 101101. Authority to accept land, rights-of-way, buildings, other property, and money
The Secretary in the administration of the Service may accept—
    (1) patented land, rights-of-way over patented land or other land, buildings, or other property within a System unit; and
    (2) money that may be donated for the purposes of the System.
§ 101102. Authority to accept and use funds to consolidate Federal land ownership
(a) In General.—The Secretary may—
    (1) accept and use funds that may be donated in order to consolidate Federal land ownership within the existing boundaries of any System unit; and
    (2) encourage the donation of funds for that purpose, subject to the condition that donated funds are to be expended for purposes of this section only if Federal funds in an amount equal to the amount of the donated funds are appropriated for the purposes of this section.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.—There are authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year not more than $500,000 to match funds that are donated for those purposes.
Subchapter II—National Park Foundation
§ 101111. Purpose and establishment of Foundation
To encourage private gifts of real and personal property, or any income from, or other interest in, the property, for the benefit of, or in connection with, the Service, its activities, or its services, and thereby to further the conservation of natural, scenic, historic, scientific, educational, inspirational, or recreational resources for future generations of Americans, there is established a charitable and nonprofit corporation to be known as the National Park Foundation to accept and administer those gifts.
§ 101112. Board
(a) Membership.—The National Park Foundation shall consist of a Board having as members the Secretary, the Director, and no fewer than 6 private citizens of the United States appointed by the Secretary.
(b) Term of Office and Vacancies.—The term of the private citizen members of the Board is 6 years. If a successor is chosen to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of a term, the successor shall be chosen only for the remainder of that term.
(c) Chairman and Secretary.—The Secretary shall be the Chairman of the Board and the Director shall be the Secretary of the Board.
(d) Board Membership Not an Office.—Membership on the Board shall not be an office within the meaning of the statutes of the United States.
(e) Quorum.—A majority of the members of the Board serving at any time shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
(f) Seal.—The National Park Foundation shall have an official seal, which shall be judicially noticed.
(g) Meetings.—The Board shall meet at the call of the Chairman and there shall be at least one meeting each year.
(h) Compensation and Reimbursement.—No compensation shall be paid to the members of the Board for their services as members, but they shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary traveling and subsistence expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties as members out of National Park Foundation funds available to the Board for those purposes.
§ 101113. Gifts, devises, or bequests
(a) Authority To Accept Gifts, Devises, or Bequests.—
    (1) In general.—The National Park Foundation may accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and use any gifts, devises, or bequests, either absolutely or in trust of real or personal property, or any income from, or other interest in, the gift, devise, or bequest, for the benefit of, or in connection with, the Service, its activities, or its services.
(2) Gift, devise, or bequest that is encumbered, restricted, or subject to beneficial interests.—A gift, devise, or bequest may be accepted by the National Park Foundation even though it is encumbered, restricted, or subject to beneficial interests of private persons if any current or future interest in the gift, devise, or bequest is for the benefit of the Service, its activities, or its services.
​(b) When Gift, Devise, or Bequest May Not Be Accepted.—The National Park Foundation may not accept any gift, devise, or bequest that entails any expenditure other than from the resources of the Foundation.
(c) Interest in Real Property.—For purposes of this section, an interest in real property includes easements or other rights for preservation, conservation, protection, or enhancement by and for the public of natural, scenic, historic, scientific, educational, inspirational, or recreational resources.
§ 101114. Disposition of property or income
(a) Authority To Dispose or Deal With Property or Income.—Except as otherwise required by the instrument of transfer, the National Park Foundation may sell, lease, invest, reinvest, retain, or otherwise dispose of or deal with any property or income from the property as the Board may determine.
(b) Restriction.—The National Park Foundation shall not engage in any business or make any investment that may not lawfully be made by a trust company in the District of Columbia, except that the Foundation may make any investment authorized by the instrument of transfer, and may retain any property accepted by the Foundation.
(c) Use of Services and Facilities of the Departments of the Interior and Justice.—The National Park Foundation may utilize the services and facilities of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice, and the services and facilities may be made available on request to the extent practicable with or without reimbursement. Amounts reimbursed to either Department shall be returned by the Department to the account from which the funds for which the reimbursement is made were drawn and may, without further appropriation, be expended for any purpose for which the account is authorized.
§ 101115. Corporate succession and powers and duties acting as trustee; personal liability for malfeasance
(a) Perpetual Succession.—The National Park Foundation shall have perpetual succession.
(b) Powers and Duties of Trustee.—The National Park Foundation shall have all the usual powers and obligations of a corporation acting as a trustee, including the power to sue and to be sued in its own name.
(c) Personal Liability of Board Members.—The members of the Board shall not be personally liable, except for malfeasance.
§ 101116. Corporate powers
The National Park Foundation shall have the power to enter into contracts, to execute instruments, and generally to do any and all lawful acts necessary or appropriate to its purposes.
§ 101117. Authority of Board
In carrying out this chapter, the Board may—
    (1) adopt bylaws and regulations necessary for the administration of its functions; and
    (2) contract for any necessary services.
​§ 101118. Tax exemptions; contributions toward costs of local government; contributions, gifts, or transfers to or for use of United States
(a) Tax Exemption.—The National Park Foundation and any income or property received or owned by it, and all transactions relating to that income or property, shall be exempt from all Federal, State, and local taxation.
(b) Contributions In Lieu of Taxes.—The National Park Foundation may—
    (1) contribute toward the costs of local government in amounts not in excess of those which it would be obligated to pay that government if it were not exempt from taxation by virtue of subsection (a) or by virtue of its being a charitable and nonprofit corporation; and
    (2) agree to contribute with respect to property transferred to it and the income derived from the property if the agreement is a condition of the transfer.
(c) Transfers Deemed To Be to or for the Use of United States.—Contributions, gifts, and other transfers made to or for the use of the Foundation shall be deemed to be contributions, gifts, or transfers to or for the use of the United States.
§ 101119. Liability of United States
The United States shall not be liable for any debts, defaults, acts, or omissions of the National Park Foundation.
§ 101120. Promotion of local fundraising support
(a) Program.—The National Park Foundation shall design and implement a comprehensive program to assist and promote philanthropic programs of support at the individual System unit level.
(b) Implementation.—The program under subsection (a) shall be implemented to—
    (1) assist in the creation of local nonprofit support organizations; and
    (2) provide support, national consistency, and management-improving suggestions for local nonprofit support organizations.
(c) Program.—The program under subsection (a)—
    (1) shall include the greatest number of System units as is practicable; and
    (2) at a minimum shall include—
       (A) a standard adaptable organizational design format to establish and sustain responsible management of a local nonprofit support organization for support of a System unit;
       (B) standard and legally tenable bylaws and recommended money-handling procedures that can easily be adapted as applied to individual System units; and
       (C) a standard training curriculum to orient and expand the operating expertise of personnel employed by local nonprofit support organizations.
(d) Annual Report.—The National Park Foundation shall report the progress of the program under subsection (a) in the annual report of the Foundation.
(e) Affiliations.—
    (1) Charter or corporate bylaws.—Nothing in this section requires— ​
       (A) a nonprofit support organization or friends group to modify current practices or to affiliate with the National Park Foundation; or
       (B) a local nonprofit support organization, established as a result of this section, to be bound through its charter or corporate bylaws to be permanently affiliated with the National Park Foundation.
    (2) Establishment.—An affiliation with the National Park Foundation shall be established only at the discretion of the governing board of a nonprofit organization.