I am an employee of a county parks department. We have a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Friends organization that supports us. I recently learned that another group is planning to form another 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation to benefit one of our parks. Can someone do that without our permission? I know it may sound odd to question someone wanting to raise money for us, but we desire some level of involvement with the organization and they have not contacted us.
Unlike some of the social media where a friend has to be accepted, I don’t know of any law or rule that would prevent a group from independently creating a “friends” group for a specific park within the system. There is every reason why some people would want to support a specific park rather than the entire system.
They have to talk with you eventually, however, because they can’t improve the property, provide new equipment or do much else in the park without your approval. I can understand your concern, but if they haven’t contacted you, I would suggest that you reach out to them to see how you can work together so that everyone benefits.
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