Description
The Friends of Governors Island is an independent nonprofit that works to ensure the Island’s continued growth and accessibility as a vibrant public resource. As the designated fundraising partner of the Trust for Governors Island and the National Park Service, the Friends stewards the Island’s green spaces, enhances the visitor experience and builds a community dedicated to the Island’s future.
The company core activities include running Governors Island’s visitor services and volunteer programs; raising funds to care for the park’s landscapes, expand public access, and create more free programming; and advocating to ensure Governors Island remains a shared space for all.
The Friends of Governors Island was founded in 1995 as the Governors Island Alliance to advocate for the return of Governors Island to the people of New York. The organization’s goal of redeveloping the former military base as a great civic space was the basis for the 2003 transfer of the Island from the Federal Government to New York and the National Park Service. The Governors Island Alliance became an independent nonprofit in late 2014 and changed its name to the Friends of Governors Island in 2016.
The organization received its independent 501(c)(3) status at the end of 2014 and completed its first independent fiscal audit in 2015.
