Mesa Verde Foundation

Spruce Tree House, Mesa Verde.

Mesa Verde National Park, located in southwest Colorado, offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Puebloan people who made it their home for over 700 years, beginning about 550 A.D.

Though best known for its magnificent and remarkably well-preserved cliff dwellings, Mesa Verde protects nearly 5,000 known archeological sites, evidence of a society of over 4,000 people who thrived on these plateaus.

The park also houses more than 3 million artifacts, including extraordinary pots, baskets, bowls, mugs and sandals.

The Mesa Verde Foundation (MVF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, philanthropic partner to Mesa Verde National Park. Its mission is "to fund capital improvements, projects and educational endeavors for Mesa Verde National Park that promote an understanding of its cultural and natural resources."

The Foundation's immediate goal is funding renovation of Mesa Verde's historic Far View Visitor Center into the Tribal Cultures Center when the park's new Visitor and Research Center opens in late 2011 or early 2012.