Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy (CNPC) received a $526,865 private donation from The Cathy D. Perry Trust, which is the largest single donation in the organization’s 10-year history.
CNPC, the official Friends Group and primary philanthropic partner of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA), will apply these funds to much-needed trail improvements at CRNRA to repair, rebuild and, in some cases, reroute the “over-loved” trail systems. CNPC plans to grow these funds through matching programs and grants, according to a press release announcing the donation.
The Cathy D. Perry Trust allocated the funds for greenspace. Its trustee, Atlanta native Scott Olsen, selected CNPC as the beneficiary. He vetted the organization and the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA) over several years before making the donation.
“I wanted to make sure I was doing right by Cathy’s wishes to support a treasured greenspace. I am a significant user of the park’s trails and am regularly there with my golden retriever Charlotte. It thrills me to use these funds to help this amazing park that is so important to our community,” Olsen said, according to the release.
CNPS Board President Graham Dorian said the park needs his organization’s help with trail maintenance and other projects and thanked the trust for its donation.
“Our National Park is honored that Scott has selected our Official Friends Group to receive these substantial funds. We are grateful there are people in the community, like Cathy D. Perry and Scott Olsen, who see the value in the national park,” CRNRA Superintendent Ann Honious said in the release.
Brittany Jones, who was recently appointed as CNPC’s first executive director, will spearhead the organization’s efforts in engaging the philanthropic community–both corporate entities and private individuals–to set the wheels in motion for the Comprehensive Trails Management Plan.
The CRNRA includes a 48-mile stretch of the Chattahoochee River that flows through metro Atlanta and a series of 15 parkland units with more than 66 miles of trails, running through 7,000 land and water acres in four counties and nine cities. At 3.5 million visitors in 2022, the CRNRA ranked 22nd out of all 420+ National Parks in visitations.
