Merger of Organizations Supporting Balboa Park

Balboa Park Conservancy (the Conservancy) and Friends of Balboa Park (Friends) were both San Diego nonprofits with a mission of attracting private resources, including funding and volunteers, to improve and enhance Balboa Park, one of the nation's largest urban cultural parks. The park includes 30 cultural, horticultural and science nonprofits that together attract 14 million visitors each year. In addition to their similar missions, both the Conservancy and Friends collaborated with the park's institutions and the city's Department of Parks and Recreation in addition to operating many overlapping programs. They decided to pursue a merger in order to achieve greater organizational efficiency and institutional growth as well as greater clarity for the donor community and the public at large, benefitting both organizations as well as Balboa Park itself. The Lodestar Foundation provided a grant to help cover the costs of the integration.

Grant Information

Grant Amount: $30,000

Year Granted: 2021

Grantee: Balboa Park Conservancy

Location: California

Grantee Website:

Balboa Park Conservancy