OUR VISION
Friends of Acadia seeks an Acadia National Park that is the best funded, best managed, and best maintained national park for its size and volume of use. Mt. Desert Island is distinguished by its intact natural character and the quality of village life. The air is clean, the water pure. Low-emissions public transit, funded primarily by park entry fees, contributes to conserving Acadiaís special qualities. Park visitation conforms to sensible carrying capacities. People feel a powerful reverence for their great national park and its host island. They want to keep this place beautiful for all generations. They help protect its outstanding natural, cultural and economic attributes by supporting Friends of Acadia.

OUR MISSION
The Mission of Friends of Acadia is to preserve, protect, and promote stewardship of the outstanding natural beauty, ecological vitality, and distinctive cultural resources of Acadia National Park and surrounding communities for the inspiration and enjoyment of current and future generations.

OUR OPERATING PRINCIPLES
In accomplishing its mission, Friends of Acadia is guided by the principles of stewardship, advocacy and education, citizen engagement, collaboration, and independent leadership:

STEWARDSHIP:

• We protect the park
  We mobilize people and forge alliances to respond to threats to the park and engage in issues in the surrounding communities when there is a risk of detrimental impact on the park.
• We provide a margin of excellence
  We augment federal funds and services, rather than replace them. We raise philanthropic funds and recruit volunteers for projects and programs in Acadia and for its stewardship. We create sustainable revenues through endowments where appropriate.
• We work with communities
  We promote public conservation in surrounding communities through programs and grants that enhance their natural character, protect Acadia’s unique resources, and strengthen the park’s integrity.
• We focus resources
  We steward our organizational and financial resources to maximize the benefits of programs offered and funds expended. We engage in projects and programs that we believe will have the greatest positive impact on the park.
• We leverage donated funds
  We operate on a sound financial basis, leveraging member’s charitable gifts to bring the highest conservation return per donated dollar.

CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT:

• We promote volunteerism
  We supply a corps of motivated volunteers of all ages to meet designated park needs, including the upkeep of foot paths and carriage roads, thereby encouraging individuals to develop a deeper sense of connection with the park.
• We provide opportunities
  We seek a broad and diverse membership to maximize the number of park advocates, stewards, and donors. We encourage every visitor to join Friends of Acadia as a means of giving back to the park that inspires them.

ADVOCACY AND EDUCATION:

• We advocate
  We advance the interests of the park and its visitors before Congress and the Maine Legislature, within the National Park Service, and before other federal, state, and local bodies.
• We promote excellent management
  We speak for park visitors to encourage the continual betterment of park policies and operations.
• We educate
  We provide and support education of the public regarding the legacy of our national parks and the conservation values they represent.

COLLABORATION:

• We work in partnership
  We believe in the power of collaboration. By working in partnership, we extend our reach, access specialized skills and talents that complement our core capabilities, avoid duplication, and engage additional resources in the park’s protection.

INDEPENDENT LEADERSHIP:

• We operate independently
  We function as a free-standing nonprofit organization, supportive of the park but independent from it. We reserve the right to differ respectfully.
• We offer leadership
  We are committed to setting the standard for national park partnerships, providing supportive philanthropic leadership. Through benchmarking and rigorous performance measurement of our efforts, as well as calculated risk taking, we strive to continuously improve the quality of the visitor experience while preserving the park’s natural character.