Donate
Your donation makes a direct impact on community programs that would not be possible otherwise.
With your tax-deductible donation, we will continue to build on the preservation and restoration of our beautiful Boulder County Parks & Open Space lands.
Foundation Programs
Your donation makes a positive and direct impact to the Boulder Parks & Open Space Foundation Programs.
2025 Grant Award Recipients
The foundation is focused on projects that provide benefits to historically marginalized communities and foster collaboration and partnership with other organizations. The 2025 grant awardees include:
- Harvest of All First Nations
2025 Corn Festival
$25,000 - Boulder County Parks & Open Space
Las Aventuras de San Lazaro
$2,200 - Environment for the Americas
Accessible Outdoor Experiences
$27,544 - El Centro Amistad
Tierra y Alma (Earth and Soul)
$25,000
These grants and the recent grant-funded projects below show how your generous donations can support future open space projects that would otherwise not be possible.
Left Hand Outdoor Challenge
The Left Hand Outdoor Challenge is a program designed for Boulder County-area teens ages 14-18 and seeks to teach them about various careers in natural resources as well as to develop new outdoor skills. The program gives young adults the skills necessary to become stewards of open space lands. The Foundation helps provide the operating budget needed for this amazing program to run effectively and impact Boulder County area teenagers.
Field Trip Transportation
Parks & Open Space offers free education programs to students in the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley school districts. But sometimes the transportation costs for buses to the sites can be prohibitive. The Foundation provides funding for schools that need assistance covering bus costs. Each year, we make it possible for hundreds of students to attend places like the Walker Ranch homestead, the Agricultural Heritage Center, Walden Ponds, and Heil Valley Ranch. This allows students to experience the hands-on learning and nature immersion at these sites.
Volunteer Naturalist Center
Nearly $400,000 was allocated to remodel the Volunteer Naturalist Center at Walden Ponds Wildlife Habitat. The project included replacing the center’s roof, installing energy-efficient skylights, painting the exterior, adding Wi-Fi, replacing the HVAC system, and conducting a site survey for a future interpretive storage building and a small picnic/program shelter adjacent to the center.
Portable Sawmill for Historic Restoration
The Foundation purchased a $15,000 portable sawmill, which staff use to produce custom lumber from logs gathered through forestry thinning projects. This lumber is then utilized in the restoration and preservation of historic buildings.
Cal-Wood Fire Restoration
Parks & Open Space used helicopters to quickly stabilize the soil at Heil Valley Ranch after the devastating fire. Donation funding was critical since the soil was in danger of erosion and flooding. Soil stabilization prevented the loss of trails, parking lots, vegetation, and other infrastructure.
And Many More
These are just some of the many ways the Foundation helps support Boulder County Parks & Open Space. We are always looking for new opportunities to help conserve natural, cultural, and agricultural lands.
About Us
Organization
A Legacy For The Future
The Parks & Open Space Foundation was formed at the end of 2004 as a supporting organization for the Boulder County Parks & Open Space Department.
The Board of Directors are appointed by the County Commissioners and include:
- At least ⅓ members from the Parks & Open Space Department.
- ⅓ members from the Parks & Open Space Advisory Board or the Historic Preservation Advisory Board.
- ⅓ members from the general public.
The Foundation is open to general membership and is envisioned to be one of those enduring vehicles that provides for personal connections to open space.
The Foundation is incorporated in the State of Colorado and is a designated nonprofit charity under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation has a 509(a)(3) status, a sub-category of 501(c)(3), meaning it is a supporting organization. Contributions are tax deductible in accordance with state and federal laws.
Our Vision
The physical reminders of our heritage thrive through partnerships that preserve and enhance natural and historic resources.
Our Mission
The Parks & Open Space Foundation strengthens the connections between the public and the Boulder County Parks & Open Space Department by raising private funds, supporting innovative projects, fostering partnerships and increasing community involvement.
Guiding Values
To help promote the quality of life for today and tomorrow:
- We believe prehistory, pioneering, mining and agricultural heritage is vital to our lives and to future generations.
- We value geologic features, ecosystem diversity, wildlife habitat, scenic prairie and mountain vista, and natural landscapes.
- We value places for reflection, solitude, learning, inspiration and discovery.
- We believe in opportunities for people to connect with the land through passive recreational and other sustainable public uses.
- We believe in maintaining community integrity by creating (and maintaining) urban buffers.
- We believe in inspiring current and future stewards of our lands and resources.
- We accomplish our mission with honesty, openness and a respect for diverse opinions.
Contact Us
D'Ann Lambert Treasurer
dlambert@bouldercounty.gov
303-678-6276
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 227Hygiene, CO 80533
"Our strength lies in our imagination, and paying attention to what sustains life... Open lands open minds."
- Terry Tempest Williams