About MVF
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 Mesa Verde Foundation was established in 1997 and is governed by a Board of Directors. 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. MVF's mission translates to a substantial real-world impact on the park by addressing the significant challenges Mesa Verde faces:Challenge #1:
Many of the Park's facilities are obsolete or inadequate for their purpose:
 The road into Mesa Verde National Park. |
- Far View Visitor Center is located 15 miles from the park entrance on a narrow, winding road and is unable to accommodate Mesa Verde's visitor volume. Visitors sometimes drive 30 - 45 minutes to Far View to discover that tickets are not available for tours of the park's premier sites — Cliff Palace, Balcony House and Long House.
- Artifact Storage Facility: Mesa Verde has never had an appropriate facility to store, catalogue, study or display its priceless collection of 3 million archeological artifacts.
The collection is currently housed in a metal building known as the "Tin Shed", constructed 50 years ago as a temporary field lab. The severely overcrowded facility provides no access to the collection for researchers or the public, has no space for newly acquired artifacts and exposes the collection to inadequate temperature and humidity control and risk of damage from rodents. Most importantly, the building is in a fire zone — the "Tin Shed" and the entire collection were very nearly destroyed by fire in 2002.
The "Tin Shed", Mesa Verde’s current archeological storage facility. - The Park's Museum was built in the early 1920s to accommodate 5,000 to 10,000 visitors annually. Today, the Park has over 500,000 visitors each year. The museum lies 20 miles from the park entrance — nearly an hour's drive. Many visitors simply never make it to the museum.
Solution #1:
The new Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center will be located at the park entrance to welcome visitors, educate them about Mesa Verde and help them prepare for their visit. It will include two components to address shortcomings of existing facilities:
Architectural rendering of the new Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center
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- An appropriately located visitor center designed to accommodate present and future visitor volume.
- A state-of-the-art facility for Mesa Verde's priceless archeological collection.
Challenge #2:
Currently, there is no connection shown between the culture of the Ancestral Puebloans and the24 modern-day Native American Tribes affiliated with the park.
Solution #2:
With visitor center functions moving to the new facility, historic Far View Visitor Center will undergo a creative renovation into a Tribal Cultures Center and Dance Plaza. The Center will celebrate the affiliated tribes' contemporary cultures and provide an enhanced understanding of the linkage between the Ancestral Puebloans and the tribes, including:
 Far View Visitor Center Future Home of Mesa Verde Tribal Cultures Center |
- Exhibits on contemporary Pueblos and Tribes
- Native American artwork display and artisan demonstrations
- Dance Plaza for Native American ceremonies, dance, storytelling, seminars, etc.
- Tribal culture and language preservation, including seminars and demonstrations on Puebloan life skills, such as pottery making and firing, hide tanning, blanket making, traditional agriculture, flint knapping, etc.
- Bookstore / gift shop featuring publications by and about Native American cultures and products produced by affiliated tribes
2008 Form 990
2007 Form 990
2006 Audited Financials