Why does the Blue Ridge Parkway need money?
The Blue Ridge Parkway’s budget has only increased 0.5% since 1980 — visible effects are sparse law enforcement coverage, campgrounds which have opened late or not at all, and grown-over but once maintained overlooks. To help provide remedy, partner organizations like the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation raise funds from private sources to help offset the loss of the visitor’s experience. The Foundation does not fund maintenance or those projects and programs which are the responsibility of the federal government. Your contribution to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation is only applied to those projects which meet two criteria — 1) the project/program must have a lasting value, and 2) project/program must enhance the visitor’s experience. Examples are the funding of the Parkway’s education outreach program which reached over 36,000 children last year, expansion of the Museum of North Carolina Minerals, and restoration of some of the architectural elements of the Moses Cone Manor House.
