The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) has released its Friends Group Impact Report, highlighting the significant contributions that Friends Groups made to New York’s state parks and historic sites in 2025.
A “Friends Group” is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting one or more park or historic sites under the jurisdiction of State Parks through volunteer activities, financial support, on-site programming, and other means.
State Parks maintains relationships with a robust network of Friends Groups. As of Summer 2026, the agency has agreements with almost 70 such organizations statewide.
Twenty-four of these are affiliated with a historic site or historic state park, and 43 are affiliated with a park. Although each State Parks region has at least two active groups, a large concentration lies within the eastern part of New York State.
The size and budget of Friends Groups can vary greatly: 41 groups are volunteer-led organizations, 26 groups are supported by paid employees, and revenue budgets range from just thousands to millions of dollars.
Friends Groups with active agreements were asked to complete a survey about their calendar year 2025 financial, program, and volunteer activities.
Financial information was reported on a cash basis. Data collection ran from January through early April 2026. State Parks received 53 responses, a 79% response rate.
The report found that Friends Groups statewide provided nearly $31 million in value to the agency, demonstrating the important role these community-based organizations play in supporting State Parks sites and expanding opportunities for visitors.
Based on data reported by participating organizations, the report measures the collective impact of Friends Groups through revenue generation, program attendance, volunteer support, equipment donations, and support for capital projects.
More than 20,000 hours of volunteer support were provided by Friends Groups through specific programs such as I Love My Park Day and regularly occurring on-site activities.
Friends Groups also supported 28 construction projects through financial contributions and project management.
Altogether, Friends Groups provided nearly $31 million in value to State Parks including:
More than $15 million in construction support
$8.5 million in programming
$6.69 million in direct financial contributions
More than $466,000 in volunteer labor
$232,000 in equipment donations
As part of their mission to add value to parks and historic sites, Friends Groups generated nearly $27 million in revenue in 2025 – primarily through program fees and private donations, according to the report.
They offered more than 3,000 public programs in 2025, attracting approximately 273,000 visitors.
Many of these programs were offered free of charge or for $10 or less per person, helping make meaningful experiences at state parks and historic sites accessible to a broad range of visitors.
Historic Site Friends Groups reported 2,319 programs, which had 118,631 attendees in 2025. Program costs totaled $2,402,256.
Historic Site Friends Groups also contributed through volunteerism. In 2025, groups provided 597 hours of labor to State Parks sites, equivalent to $13,719.
Overall, Historic Site Friends Groups provided $21,609,972 in value to the agency.
This includes over $14 million in construction support, $2.4 million in programming costs, almost $5 million of direct contributions, $13,719 worth of volunteer labor, and $179,557 in equipment donations.
Visit this State Parks website to learn more about joining a nearby Friends Group.
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