History

Fairmount Park Conservancy is a private nonprofit founded in 1998 on the recommendation of the Fairmount Park Commission. The Conservancy partners with the City of Philadelphia to restore its park system by securing private and public funding, engaging volunteers and leading signature projects and programs.

In its first 15 years, the Conservancy raised more than $25 million for the Philadelphia park system and increased public awareness of parks’ role in contributing to the Greater Philadelphia region’s health and vibrancy, fundraising for high-profile public space projects including major renovations of the Water Works South Garden and Cliff Paths at the edge of the Schuylkill River and the establishment of the Boxers’ Trail in East Fairmount Park, and leading the $5.5 revitalization of Hunting Park in North Philadelphia.

With the completion of the Hunting Park project in 2012, the Conservancy’s mission and work had evolved well beyond fundraising to position the organization as a collaborative leader and partner of the park system focused on planning, project management, program development, and community engagement around transformative public space projects.

In 2015, the Conservancy merged with the Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust, a nonprofit originally founded by an act of City Council to support the preservation of city-owned architectural resources in Fairmount Park. The Trust began generating revenue for historic preservation by providing investment opportunities for vacant and underutilized Fairmount Park properties and later came to offer fee-based services through an expert staff of conservators.

Today, the Conservancy leads capital projects, restores natural lands, preserves historic structures, and engages communities through park stewardship, public events, and civic initiatives across 10,200 acres including East and West Fairmount Park, FDR Park, Cobbs Creek Park, and 140 neighborhood parks. It has become widely known as a respected leader in the city’s growing open space movement, taking on numerous projects and programs that have broadened its reach, and demonstrated its capacity for more dynamic and complex initiatives while raising more than $200 million in support for its work.