Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters
About Us
Mission
The mission of Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters is to preserve, protect, and enhance Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and inspire a community dedicated to the Monument’s future.
What We Do
Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters is an official philanthropic partner to the National Park Service at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. Friends has a membership of nearly 1,000 people, a partnership network that includes dozens of organizations, and a dedicated team of board members, staff, and volunteers. The organization formed in early 2017, following a years-long grassroots effort to establish these 87,500 acres as a unit of the National Park Service, which occurred on August 24, 2016.
In our work, we are dedicated to both the monument and its surrounding communities. Friends is currently focused on supporting park projects that transform the visitor experience and implementing meaningful programs for Katahdin region youth to connect with the land. Our philanthropic efforts previously led to the creation of Tekαkαpimək Contact Station, a landmark welcome center orienting visitors through Wabanaki-led exhibits. Friends continues to promote understanding of the monument to the public and to advocate for greater public access, connectivity, and federal funding.
Strategic Plan | 2025 to 2027
Starting in the Fall of 2023 Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters embarked on a new strategic planning process, supported by a generous grant from the National Park Foundation. We began by listening deeply to the communities we serve, hearing from over 40 stakeholders in 1-on-1 interviews and group sessions, and nearly 300 supporters and visitors through an online survey. This set the stage for our dedicated staff and board to gather, reflect, and chart the course for Friends at this exciting moment in our young organization’s history. The result is a refined mission statement, a new vision, and for the first time, a set of organizational values that will guide all we do going forward.
Annual Info
Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters was incorporated as a 501(c)3 non-profit in 2017. Our EIN, or Federal Tax Identification Number, is 81-5102906. Each fiscal year, which we align with the calendar year, we have filed an IRS form 990. Starting in 2019, we expanded our annual filing, reviewing, and reporting process to include a financial audit and published annual report.