City of Oaks Foundation
PO Box 18928
Raleigh, NC 27619
919 996 4773
Vision
The City of Oaks Foundation seeks an environmentally vibrant Raleigh whose citizens take pleasure in the City’s natural resources and appreciate how they improve our lives.
Mission
The City of Oaks Foundation conserves natural areas for Raleigh’s citizens and visitors. The Foundation uses a non-confrontational, collaborative approach to acquire land and sponsors efforts that move people to explore Raleigh’s natural and cultural resources.
Goals
The Foundation will hold itself accountable to tracking success of the following goals.
- Most natural areas of any similar-sized city
- Greatest number of natural area visitors per capita of any similar-sized city
- Citizens with superior awareness of our natural and cultural resources’ value
Programs
The Foundation will achieve its mission by pursuing the following programs.
- Land Trust
- Advocacy and Fundraising for Programming and Need-based Program Scholarships
- Conservation Leadership and Advocacy
History
The City of Oaks Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in 2010 by the late William Joslin, his wife Mary Coker Joslin and the City of Raleigh to receive from the Joslins the generous gift of their 4.2-acre homeplace and garden inside the Beltline for use as a public garden. Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department will assume management of this property upon Mrs. Joslin’s death.
The City of Oaks Foundation’s Board of Trustees is chaired by former Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker and also includes Nell Joslin, Raleigh Parks and Recreation Director Diane Sauer, Louis Wilkerson, Jr. and Danny Kadis. Three trustees are appointed by the Raleigh City Council, one trustee is appointed by the Joslin family, and one trustee is appointed by Triangle Land Conservancy, which holds a conservation easement on the Joslin Garden.
As the Foundation’s Board of Trustees worked with Mary Joslin and the City of Raleigh to make plans for the eventual public enjoyment of the Joslin Garden, the Foundation trustees came to realize that other Raleigh landowners might also be interested in donating their land or a conservation easement.