Jefferson National Parks Association

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Jefferson National Parks Association

Type	501(c)(3)
ISIN	🆔
Predecessor	Jefferson National Expansion Historical Association (JNEHA)
Founded 📆
Founder 👔
Area served 🗺️
Members
Number of employees
🌐 Website	www.jnpa.com
📇 Address
📞 telephone

Jefferson National Parks Association (JNPA) is a U.S. nonprofit organization and official cooperating association of the National Park Service, as well as a partner of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Founded in 1961, it is an independent organization with a paid staff and a volunteer board. Based in St. Louis, Missouri, JNPA supports visitor education, heritage preservation, and cultural programs at national parks, historic sites, and public lands across the midwestern United States. The organization operates retail stores, produces educational publications, funds interpretive programs and exhibits, and provides grants to parks and local heritage projects.

History

The 501(c)(3) organization was established in 1961 as the Jefferson National Expansion Historical Association (JNEHA) to support what is now Gateway Arch National Park (formerly known as Jefferson National Expansion Memorial).The association adopted the name Jefferson National Parks Association in 1999.

JNPA is a federally recognized National Park Service cooperating association that supports the educational and interpretive activities of multiple NPS units. At Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, JNPA is listed as the park's cooperating association, providing educational products and services and supporting interpretive programs through proceeds from approved sales. The organization also supports Gateway Arch National Park and other NPS sites in the Midwest. Cooperating associations like JNPA provide funding and services for interpretive and educational work in accordance with NPS policies for nonprofit partners.

Mission and Activities

JNPA states its mission is to provide quality educational products and related services that enrich public understanding and appreciation of America's national parks, public lands, and historic places.

Key activities include:

• Operating an on‑site and online park stores that offer educational and interpretive materials and whose proceeds support educational programs at partner sites.
• Supporting youth and family programs, including Junior Ranger camps, “Read with a Ranger,” and STEM-focused learning experiences at partner sites, as well as staffing and operating the youth education department at Gateway Arch National Park.
• Financing living history and cultural demonstrations at partner parks and historic sites.
• Providing archival, conservation, and preservation support for park collections.

Partner Parks and Sites

JNPA partners with 13 National Park Service and public land sites:

Map of JNPA Partner Parks as of June 2026.

Map of JNPA Partner Parks as of June 2026.

• Gateway Arch National Park (St. Louis, Missouri)
• Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site (Little Rock, Arkansas)
• Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site (St. Louis, Missouri)
• President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site (Hope, Arkansas)
• Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park (Ste. Genevieve, Missouri)
• Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (St. Paul, Minnesota)
• Voyageurs National Park (International Falls, Minnesota)
• Missouri National Recreational River (Yankton, South Dakota)
• Lewis & Clark Visitor Center (Crofton, Nebraska)
• Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument (Springfield, Illinois)
• New Philadelphia National Historic Site (Barry, Illinois)
• Theodore Roosevelt National Park (Medora, North Dakota)
• Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site (Stanton, North Dakota)

Financial Support of Partner Parks

JNPA reported net assets exceeding $12.7 million for the fiscal year ending September 2024, according to its IRS Form 990 filing. The organization reported $5.8 million in revenue and $3.9 million in expenses for that year.

For fiscal year 2025, the association reported net assets of approximately $14.1 million and revenue from retail operations exceeding $5.7 million, according to its IRS Form 990 filing.

Affiliations

Arch Alliance

Jefferson National Parks Association is a member of the Arch Alliance, a public/private partnership formed in 2016 to support Gateway Arch National Park and the surrounding region. Other Alliance members are the National Park Service, the Great Rivers Greenway, the City of St. Louis, Bi-State Development Agency, and the Gateway Arch Park Foundation.

Public Lands Alliance

JNPA is a member of the Public Lands Alliance, a national network of nonprofit partners that supports America's public lands through education, stewardship and visitor engagement. Through this affiliation, JNPA works with other cooperating associations and park partners to provide guidance on nonprofit management, retail operations, interpretive programming, and community outreach.

National Park Friends Alliance

JNPA is a member of the National Park Friends Alliance, a network of nonprofit partner organizations that supports National Park Service sites and other public lands across the United States.

Programs at Gateway Arch National Park

Retail Operations

JNPA operates retail locations at Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis, including The Arch Store, the Old Courthouse Gift Shop and the seasonal Arch Store to Go trailer. Annual revenue from these operations are used to support interpretive and educational programs at the park. The park reported more than 2.5 million visitors in 2024.

Gateway Arch Specialty License Plate Program

File:License-plates-2.jpg

Three specialty Gateway Arch license plates for the State of Missouri

Since 2004, JNPA has administered Missouri’s Gateway Arch specialty license plate program, allowing Missouri car owners to display a custom “Arch” license plate while making a tax-deductible contribution to the organization. The program support educational projects and interpretive projects at Gateway Arch National Park and promotes awareness of the broader history of America’s westward expansion.

Applicants begin the process by donating $25 for a one-year plate or $50 for a two-year plate to JNPA, along with an additional $15 processing fee via the Missouri Department of Revenue. JNPA then issues the applicant an Emblem Use Authorization Statement, which is required by the Department of Revenue to issue the plate. Applicants submit the standard specialty plate application to complete the process.

Old Courthouse Retail Store

Following extensive renovations to the historic Old Courthouse at Gateway Arch National Park, the building reopened to the public on May 3, 2025. JNPA opened a new retail store within the historic building. The renovations were part of the CityArchRiver project and included updated galleries and improved accessibility features.

JNPA operates a retail outlet at the Old Courthouse that sells books and other products related to St. Louis and American history, including materials about the courthouse’s role in landmark civil rights and suffrage cases, including Dred Scott v. Sandford, which denied citizenship to African Americans, and Minor v. Happersett, which challenged restrictions on women’s voting rights. Proceeds from sales at this and other park retail locations support educational and interpretive programs at Gateway Arch National Park.

Lower Mississippi Delta Initiative

Since 2021, JNPA has co-administered the National Park Service’s Lower Mississippi Delta Initiative, providing grants for cultural preservation, museum exhibits, and community education programs across five states. In 2024 it distributed $186,781 to 11 projects, including archeology exhibits, music festivals, and historical markers that interpret the Delta region’s cultural heritage.

Virtual Reality

In 2023, JNPA collaborated with the National Park Service to create a virtual reality program at Gateway Arch National Park entitled Cobblestones & Courage. The 10‑minute program uses a 3D headset to recreate the St. Louis riverfront of the 1850s, where the levee served as a crossroads for westward migration. The program depicts stories of individuals connected with the riverfront era and presents the sights and sounds of the levee during that period.

Staffing Support

In 2025, JNPA provided funding for the archivist and librarian positions at Gateway Arch National Park, which are part of the park's Archives and Research Center. The organization purchased furnishings and equipment for the park's library and archives facilities and continues to support the upkeep of the Archives.

Iconic Conversations Speaker Series

File:Iconic conversations.jpg

Flannery Burke speaks at St. Louis Old Courthouse on Nov. 9, 2025 to discuss Gateway to the East: Broadening Native Perspectives on St. Louis.

In 2025, JNPA and Gateway Arch National Park launched Iconic Conversations, a monthly speaker series held at the Old Courthouse in St. Louis. The program includes talks by local authors, historians, and other community members on various aspects of St. Louis's history, including the city’s early beginnings, architecture, civil rights struggles, neighborhood, and the development of the Gateway Arch and other regional topics. Speakers have included historian Peter Kastor, architectural historian John Guenther, author Amanda Doyle, author Andy Hahn, and community activist Vivian Gibson.

References

This article "Jefferson National Parks Association" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Jefferson National Parks Association. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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