In 1994 the Garden of the Gods Foundation was created as a 501(c)(3) charity to preserve and protect the Garden of the Gods Park. It receives contributions from the public and funds projects for the Garden identified by the Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department.
Six trustees oversee the Foundation and review all contributions and disbursements. Requests must be for items beyond Park Department budgets. The Pikes Peak Community Foundation manages an Endowment Fund for the Foundation which was created by a contribution in 1999 from Ben Coates.
Annually, the Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department presents to the Foundation a list of proposed projects in priority order. The Foundation then undertakes those projects for which it has funds in the order of priority. Should additional funds become available, the Foundation can request more projects from the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department. A donor could request a choice of such projects.
In the first ten years the Foundation made grants of $ 858,726. To see a yearly listing of the grants go to the Grant History page.