This particular Parks Foundation (named for my surname because my wife dreamt it) isn’t funded yet. So what we can do is offer ideas — people and organisations that we will support once the money exists.

Perhaps some of you will be inspired to donate to those causes or other worthy causes.

African Leadership Academy
I know this organization intimately, having worked for it for a few years, almost a decade ago. The school is based in South Africa. It takes promising young students from across the continent and gives them a powerful education. It’s doing a wonderful job of training young Africans to be the future leaders that the continent needs. You can donate here, or if you’re in the US and want the tax receipt, you can donate through the African Leadership Foundation, a 501(c)3. It’s the same place.

COBURWAS
Based in a UN refugee settlement camp in Uganda, COBURWAS (which sometimes also goes by CIYOTA) is the very definition of a grassroots organization. Formed by youths living in the camp, the group works to make everyone’s life better. They’ve built a primary school in the camp, set up career training for young women, and often do not only community building but also ethics and morality educational work. They’re amazing people and they get a lot of mileage out of your money.

The Cheetah Conservation Fund
This one is near and dear to my heart. Based near Outjiwarongo, Namibia, the Cheetah Conservation Fund is working to save cheetahs from extinction. I had the pleasure of visiting the headquarters some years ago. You can donate to them here.

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We discovered when planning this project that there is another Parks Foundation, the William and Charlotte Parks Foundation for Animal Welfare. They specialize in supporting research to improve animal welfare. You can visit them here.