Give - Support Your Parks
Contribute to the Park Foundation
When you support the Somerset County Park Foundation, you are making an investment in the quality of the life of the citizens of Somerset County to enjoy their parks and open spaces, promoting wellness through experiencing nature and the outdoors, and contributing to making a difference in improving programs and facilities offered to the community. We can’t do it without you!
To learn more about the donation programs, please Email Geoff Soriano.
Friend of the Parks
Become “A Friend of the Parks” by Supporting the Park Foundation
The Park Foundation exists to support the Somerset County Park Commission’s programs, facilities, and open space through advocacy and fundraising. We want to connect park users to become park supporters by encouraging those who love and enjoy the parks to donate, and therefore invest in the community. By donating through financial support, you are helping the Park Foundation to provide vital services throughout the park system. No donation is too small! Donations can be made as a one-time contribution or on a reoccurring basis. You can also make a general donation or specify it for a specific park or department use. Become a “Friend of the Parks” and support your park system. Your generosity is greatly appreciated! Some of the previous support provided to the park system includes:
- Scholarships for youth and adults on the Autism spectrum to attend Therapeutic Recreation programs.
- Restore wildlife habitats at the Environmental Education Center
- Rehabilitate nature trails frequented by hikers and horseback riders
- Purchase trees, shrubs, and flowers for planting throughout the park system
- Improvements at the award-winning Leonard J. Buck Garden and the Rudolf. W van der Goot Rose Garden
- Support for annual Arbor Day event
- Financial support for the free summer concert series
- Purchase of canoes and kayaks for the popular paddling programs
- Milkweed for Monarch Butterflies habitat program
- Matching grant for the STEM-based biomimicry science lab for youth
- Pasture fencing and portable stabling units at Lord Stirling Stable
Legacy Giving and Beneficiary Gifts
There are many ways to leave a gift to the Somerset County Park Foundation with the most common being a specific bequest with a specified dollar amount or asset gifted to the Foundation from your estate. To leave a bequest to the Somerset County Park Foundation in your will or trust, please use the following language: "I hereby give (residuary, percentage, share or specific asset) to the Somerset County Park Commission, PO Box 5147, North Branch, NJ 08876. Federal Tax ID #: 22-2562113.”
Beneficiary gifts are also a common way people choose to leave legacy gifts. You can name the Somerset County Park Foundation as a beneficiary of your retirement plan or company life insurance, by contacting the administrator of your account and asking for a beneficiary designation form.
These gifts support the mission of the Somerset County Park Foundation to support the Somerset County Park so that the park system can meet its mission to a commitment to excellence in promoting stewardship of land and resources, providing outstanding recreation opportunities and leisure services, and fostering an environment which is service-oriented and responsive to public needs.
Somerset County Park Foundation advises that individuals who wish to donate, to speak with their financial advisors or estate attorney about potential tax advantages of planned giving.
Buy-A-Brick Program
Recognize family members, friends, loved ones, and those who have made meaningful contributions to our lives through the Buy-A-Brick program. The engraved bricks are installed in the grand main entry plaza to the TD Bank Ballpark, home of the Somerset Patriots Baseball Club.
The proceeds from the “Buy-A-Brick program will be utilized by the Somerset County Park Foundation Scholarship Fund to assist participants of the Park Commission’s Therapeutic Recreation Department. The Foundation recognizes the efforts of the Therapeutic Recreation Department and the fact that annually, one-quarter of the participants need financial assistance in order to participate in the programs. Additionally, for most children with learning disabilities, the programs provide the only avenue to develop friendships with peers. For some adult participants, this may be their sole community contact and opportunity for social interaction other than their families.
Tribute Bench & Living Legacy Tree Program
Honoring a loved one through a donation of a tree or park bench is a thoughtful way to recognize and pay tribute to family and close friends. The Park Foundation will install a plaque containing information concerning the donor and the person being honored or memorialized.
Rebuild the Boardwalks at the Environmental Education Center
The boardwalk trails at the EEC at Lord Stirling Park in Basking Ridge are in major need of repair. The park’s trails are well loved by visitors, but Mother Nature has taken its toll and it is time to rebuild. Park usage surged during the COVID-19 pandemic when people reconnected with nature. Park naturalist staff embraces this new lifestyle and wants to continue providing a healthy, safe place to use the trails. Volunteers and maintenance staff have been busy with repairs, but with more than four miles of boardwalk trails and the increased cost of lumber, there is still a long way to go. “Rebuild the boardwalks” is a campaign to raise funds for materials to restore the boardwalks. Help us refurbish access to this natural wonder.
Natural Beauty: Somerset County Parks
The landscape of Somerset County has long been prized as one of the most attractive places to live in New Jersey. The Lenni Lenape inhabited sites along the Passaic River 6,000 years ago. In the Raritan Valley, the Dutch observed in the 1640s that “The district is the handsomest and pleasantest country that man can behold.” The County’s rolling landscape also attracted men like William Alexander, Lord Stirling, and a general in Washington’s army, who established his country estate in 1761 in Basking Ridge and built a mansion “designed to emulate the residence of an English nobleman.” By 1878, a local historian characterized Somerset County as “the garden of New Jersey,” and noted, “Its verdant plains are being sought as a residence by many from the overflowing cities on its borders. When all its advantages are properly estimated, it presents attractions to the public which few other counties can offer to an equal extent.” These lands are now under the stewardship of the Somerset County Park Commission. Their stories are told in the book entitled Natural Beauty: Somerset County Parks. Section I of the book tells the history of the land for the past several hundred years, and Section II is a beautiful overview of each park, accompanied by photographs that tell each unique story. The book was funded by the Somerset County Park Foundation and is available with a $40 donation.
- Checks may be sent to Somerset County Park Foundation, PO BOX 5147, North Branch NJ 08876 or via credit card through this link.