MISSION
The Great Falls Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to promoting an active and outdoor lifestyle by collaborating with land and water resource managers, producing adventure sporting events and competitions, and fostering the safe recreational use of our natural resources.
HISTORY
The Foundation was established in November 2015, and received its charitable 501(c)(3) status from the IRS in January 2016. We work closely with the National Park Service, state parks and recreation agencies, local emergency response departments, and other public and private resource stakeholders. Timed to coincide with the National Park Service’s 100th Anniversary celebration, the Foundation fully endorses the Park Service’s mission to “… cooperate with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.”
We were motivated to establish this Foundation in order to provide an enduring platform to effectively and efficiently produce the annual Potomac Festival and Great Falls Race, an extreme kayak race. As an independent organization, we are able to work directly with the National Park Service on permitting, the regional fire/rescue services on safety, and partners such as the American Canoe Association on insurance. Moreover, as a charitable organization, we are able to more readily accept sponsorships, work meaningfully with private and corporate donors, and professionally manage the event’s finances.
The Foundation advocates for access to, and preservation of, natural resources so that those resources may be utilized in pursuit of an active and outdoor lifestyle. To accomplish this mission, the Foundation builds and enables public-private partnerships that celebrate, preserve, and fund activities that showcases sustainable recreational utilization of natural resources.
VISION
The goals and objectives of the Great Falls Foundation are to:
Support advocates of access by demonstrating human-powered recreation as a fundamental purpose of, and facilitator of stewardship of our public lands.
- Create a public / private alliance between the administrators of public lands (NPS, etc.), recreation groups, and corporate sponsors.
- Generate stakeholders who value our parks and public spaces through the publicity generated by our events.
- Protect, enable, and promote whitewater kayaking and other paddlesports competition of the highest caliber on Great Falls of the Potomac River and other world-class streams through stewardship, and cooperation with governing agencies and land-owner interests.
- Support grassroots river races that showcase the natural wonders of whitewater rivers and the athletes and river ambassadors who organize events that bring positive exposure to our natural sources of recreation.
- Preserve the right to organize and compete on healthy streams for future generations.
- Celebrate, preserve, and fund public lands through world class sporting events which showcase our public spaces being enjoyed as originally intended.
Create and manage events that are the ultimate expression of the sports being displayed and the venue being utilized.
THEMES
The Great Falls Foundation pledges to use its platform and resources to:
Expose new communities to the National Parks along the Potomac River and to other state and national parks
Produce the annual Potomac Festival & Great Falls Race
- Produce other Potomac River-area competitions, including but not limited to the following:
- Whitewater Races on the Little Falls section of the Potomac
- Attainment Races through Mather Gorge
- Canoe/Kayak Stakeout Races on Great Falls and other Potomac Whitewater
- Standup Paddleboard Races on Widewater of the C&O Canal
- Standup Paddleboard Competitions on Potomac Whitewater
- Wildwater Races
- Paddle/Bike/Run Triathlons & Biathlons
- Facilitate and/or produce sporting events, competitions, and similar activities in other regions.
- Organize and facilitate a Mid-Atlantic Race Series.
- Cooperate with public authorities on issues related to the recreational use of natural resources, such as river safety, conservation, and stewardship.