Essex Heritage Awarded $25K Strong Parks, Strong Communities Grant

SALEM, MA — Essex Heritage will use a $25,000 Strong Parks, Strong Communities to work with experts on how its parks can be better represented through digital and print media.

The National Park Foundation awarded the grant this week to Essex Heritage and 40 other park partner organizations nationwide.

"We are grateful for this Capacity Building Grant from the National Park Foundation, which allows us the opportunity to take a closer and more critical look at how we are representing all communities in the Heritage Area," Essex Heritage CEO Annie Harris said.

The Strong Parks, Strong Communities grants will enable partner organizations to invest in strategic planning, community engagement, improving the visitor experience in parks, increasing organizational relevancy and resiliency, and launching new fundraising campaigns.

"Philanthropy and partnership are essential to the success of America's national parks," National Park Foundation CEO Will Shafroth said. "New funding will help park partners across the country to build capacity, improve strategic planning and fundraising initiatives, and to more deeply engage the communities and national parks they serve.

"Ultimately, investing in the growing community of park partners is a commitment to expanding and transforming the role philanthropy plays to ensure national parks reach their full potential."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)